This fabric was kindly gifted to me by Atelier Jupe earlier this year, with no obligation attached. I truly feel honored to have had the chance to get familiar with this fabric company and have the chance to work with some of their fabric – it is fantastic quality and it was a joy to work with! This viscose was part of their Spring / Summer 2021 line, and I’ve already grabbed a cut from their Autumn / Winter 2021 – 2022 line to start up soon!
It took me longer than I would’ve hoped to sew up this fabric – I received it toward the beginning of the summer, but thanks to some other projects I had in mind that needed to be finished before the baby arrived, this one got pushed back a little bit and ended up getting finished in September. These photos were taken on one of the first days I started feeling a little bit like myself again after baby arrived – I was just over one month postpartum, I’d just had my hair done and was wearing something other than cozy loungewear and robes. It felt nice to be a little bit dressed up!
I had been wanting to sew the True Bias Southport dress for awhile, and I decided this was a great opportunity. The Southport dress, while offering a little bit of waist definition, is fairly loose and accommodating to my changing size and shape, and most importantly it has a nursing-capable button front! I prefer dresses to two piece outfits most of the time, but dresses don’t often make much sense when nursing a baby, so I am all the more thrilled when it works out!
I sewed a size 10 in this dress, which ultimately may have been a size (or two?) too large. I remember having this problem frequently after my daughter was born, as well. I’m so nervous about my changing size and feeling so out of sorts in my own body that I choose to size up, sometimes too much. Luckily, this dress has a drawstring waist which helps to add some shape and waist definition.
Prior to adding that drawstring, I honestly wasn’t sure how much I was going to like this dress as I was making it! This is a bright and busy print, which I thought would be well served by the subjective simplicity of this dress pattern. There aren’t a ton of style lines to contend with, so neither the pattern lines nor the fabric were bound to get lost in each other. However, there was definitely a point where I tried this on and looked in the mirror and felt very swallowed up by the fabric. At that point, I felt that my best case scenario was a kooky art teacher aesthetic. Luckily, once I got it all put together, I feel a little more… Fun art teacher chic? Haha.
I’ll be making more Southport dresses in my future, and I will most definitely be sewing with more Atelier Jupe fabric! The colors in this fabric are lovely and saturated, and the fabric itself is soft and drapey. The weight of the fabric feels suitable for summer while also not so thin that I couldn’t wear it in our mild Texas winters. The next cut of Atelier Jupe fabric I’ve chosen will be meant for a skirt to wear in the cooler months, and I think it will work out just fine!
Dress: handmade by me
Pattern: True Bias – Southport Dress
Fabric: Atelier Jupe – Soft Animal Print Viscose
Key Ingredients:
Brother XR9500PRW Sewing Machine
Brother 1034D Overlocker
Schmetz Universal 70/30 Needles
Dahle 36×48 Self-healing Cutting Mat
Thanks for reading my thoughts on this dress! Both the pattern and fabric used for this project were generously gifted to me – the pattern as a perk for testing another True Bias pattern, and the fabric by Atelier Jupe, neither with any obligation to post. All words and opinions expressed throughout this post are my own, as always. Links provided throughout this post may be affiliate links – if you choose to purchase any products through these links, I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you. This simply helps me justify the costs of my sewing habit and the time it takes to share it with you!! Happy Sewing!
- XX Elizabeth
