{Grainline Studio} Farrow Dress

You know when you buy fabric and have absolutely no idea what you'll make with it? That happens to me all the bloody time sometimes. Case in point, this gorgeous Dashwood rayon I bought from Fabricate last year. As soon as I saw it, I fell in love with the colour and I knew I'd have to make something out of it. But since I didn't know what that was yet, in the fabric box it went and stayed there for some time...

If you have read this blog for a little while, you will not be surprised to learn that I had never paid attention to the Grainline Studio Farrow dress. However, a few months ago Joy shared this post on Instagram and my brain went "We must make this, we must make this NOW!" Clearly, we didn't, as that happened in November and it is now the following March; but I filed the idea away for a later date. 

A couple of weeks ago, I suddenly remembered the fabric was in my stash, matched it up with the pattern in my head and the plan was hatched. 

The fabric is amazing to sew with. It's viscose and it is a little shifty but, for the most part, it almost behaves like a superfine cotton. It hardly frays and there's a little more body to it than the last few viscose fabrics I have used. Philippa at Fabricate no longer has this particular one in stock, but she has loads of other gorgeous Dashwood Rayons in. The pattern doesn't mention rayon or viscose in their suggested fabrics list but I'm a rebel so I went for it.

I really love the high-low hem and the overall floatiness of it! I made the Farrow over the Mother's Day weekend and wore it for our meal out on Sunday evening. It is the absolutely perfect dress for the occasion. As my friend Mel called it: it's an all-you-can-eat dress! The necklace I'm wearing was my Mother's Day present, by the way. 

I made a size 4, based on my bust measurement. I could probably get away with a 2 but I really love how this one hangs and I don't think I'd want it any more fitted. 

The pattern has separate neck and arm facings and I really dislike them. Too many things flapping around. So I drafted an all-in-one facing for the front and another for the back. I did have to scratch my head for a while and unpick one side because I couldn't work out how to attach it if the centre back seam is already sewn up. The answer was the burrito method. Next time, I will leave the centre back seam unsewn until the facings are attached though. Much easier.

I am over the moon with this dress, actually! The construction is so interesting. The front and back are made up of 4 panels each. The front skirt panels are cleverly folded, then topstitched to create the pockets. It's really cool. 

And the pockets are a very decent size, too! All these panels make the Farrow a bit fabric hungry. The pattern called for 2.3m for my size. I didn't get a lot of change out of 2m of fabric, which is quite a lot for what is effectively a tent dress.

Perfect alignment of the 4 front panels! 👌

As we know, nothing is perfect and I made a boo-boo while sewing this. I have no idea what happened or what I did but look at that rippling on the left-hand side (as I wear it), just next to the centre front seam... I think I might have stretched out that section while I was sewing up the pocket. I only noticed it when I went to press it and now it's all I can see when I look at these photos. 🤦‍♀️

I accept it is a very minor thing and I am head over heels in love with the end result. I especially like that I can wear it with tights and a turtleneck in cold weather and on its own during the warmer months. It is, in fact, a year-round, all-you-can-eat dress! Yes, please! 💕