My journey into sewing with PDF Patterns is well underway. I’ve sewn two patterns from the True Bias Pattern Company. I made the Rio Ringer T-shirt and the Southport Dress. I’ll share about the t-shirt in another post, but today is all about the dress.

I decided to try different Independent Pattern Designers to get some experience working with PDF Patterns. After asking on my Instagram page for recommendations, I received lots of feedback, including companies that offer free PDF Patterns. I’ll be sharing more about that in the coming weeks and months as I continue exploring PDF Patterns.

I chose to start with the True Bias Pattern Company because they have a lot of cute patterns that I want to try. So after ordering the Rio Ringer T-shirt, I went back and ordered five more patterns.

I ordered the Southport Dress, Calvin Wrap Dress, Hudson Pants, Lander Pants, and Roscoe Blouse. Then I sent them all off to be printed by pdfplotting.com. If you missed my tutorial about preparing PDF Patterns, you can watch the video HERE.

Last Saturday, August 8th, was my birthday, so I wanted to wear the Southport Dress. So I stayed up until 1:00 in the morning to finish the dress. My sons and I had plans to watch movies all day and they surprised me with flowers and my favorite treats.

I wore the dress all day long while watching movies and it was very comfortable. I used a 100% Rayon Silky Print that I had in my fabric collection for two years. It’s very lightweight with lots of drape. Here are some options for RAYON PRINTS.

The dress comes in two lengths, maxi and above the knee. There is a button front opening on the bodice, gathered waist with self tie (or you can purchase a tie), pockets and bust darts. View B, the maxi dress, has a center front slit.

I cut a size 10 but I may try an 8 next time because I had a bit more room than I needed in the bodice. Thinking it would be too short, I added 1″ to the length but I really didn’t need it so I sewed a deeper hem. Purchased bias binding from my stash was used to finish quicker. But I would prefer using self-made bias binding with the fashion fabric or a contrasting fabric of the same weight. I don’t really care for the stiffness of the purchased binding.

The company recommends that you have Intermediate sewing skills to complete this project. I believe Advanced Beginners should be able to sew the dress. If you’re a new beginner, however, I suggest checking out my Beginner’s Sewing Course before attempting to sew the Southport Dress.

There is a written sew-along on the True Bias website if you need guidance. Also, the instructions that come with the pattern are easy to follow.

If you are not a fan of PDF Patterns, the Southport Dress is also available in paper copies on the website.

If you’d like to see how the dress moves, I’ve created a Pattern Review Video on my YouTube Channel. You may watch the video HERE.

Here’s more Southport Inspiration looks from other sew sisters in our community.

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember: When you live in your DESIGN, it is from there that God SHINES!

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