Introducing the Felix Dress!

I'm so excited to show you our newest pattern, the Felix Dress! If you've seen me at any point this summer I've probably been wearing mine. I wore it to Soul Craft in Melbourne and to teach at Bernina University. It's made appearances at my knit night at Knit 1 and I can't get enough of it! It doesn't hurt that it gathers compliments everywhere it goes. Even at our shoot our model Chinwe didn't want to take them off!

A little about how this design took shape: I've always liked the idea of a gathered waist skirt, and how they look on others, but in reality they almost always feel too feminine for me when I put them on. To solve this problem, yet still have the fuller skirt look I was going for, I eased the skirt in rather than gathering it. The result is a swingy skirt without the waistline bulk of gathering and a slightly more sleek, sophisticated silhouette.

The neckline took shape in a similar fashion. I love a v-neck and I think wrap necklines are gorgeous, but every time I've had a wrap dress I never wear it because I find them too fiddly for my lifestyle. To get the look of a wrap without having to adjust it multiple times throughout the day we went with the faux wrap. I absolutely love this neckline and think it's beautiful on its own or with necklaces of varying length.

With all I've already said, I think my favorite thing about the Felix dress is probably the movement it creates when worn. The swingy shape paired with drapey fabrics means this dress moves so beautifully.

It was something that we tried to capture during the shoot and hopefully we succeeded. It flows and swishes around you as you move in a way that I can't get enough of! Now lets talk a bit about the features of the Felix Dress:

1. Faux wrap neckline: graceful and flattering without worrying about it staying closed.
2. Fit flares out from shoulder: the fitted shoulder anchors the dress.
3. Three sleeve options: choose between sleeveless, flutter sleeves, or 3/4 sleeves.
4. Eased waistline: reduced bulk keeps the silhouette from becoming overwhelming.
5. Generous pockets: because of course!
6. Full skirt in two skirt lengths: choose knee length or midi.

1. Fully lined bodice and skirt: this is my favorite part and makes the dress really fun to sew!
2. No ease in skirt: helps further reduce the bulk.

Grab your copy of the Felix Dress in the shop and stay tuned for posts on style inspiration, fabric selection, and the full sew-along.

We can’t wait to see your versions — make sure to use the hashtags #grainlinefelix and #grainlinestudio so we can follow along with your progress!