The True Bias Rio Ringer pattern came across my Instagram feed at exactly the right moment. I’d been living in leggings ridden with holes (that I just can’t bring myself to throw away because they’re SO SOFT), T-shirts, and zip-up hoodies. Not that there’s anything wrong with dressing like that—I think we’re all allowed to dress however we want right now. But I’ve also found that putting in even the minimal amount of effort can really boost my mood and make me stand a little taller at my “alternative” standing desk… made of board games and cookbooks.

I definitely feel a little better throughout the day if I put on at least one item of for-public-consumption clothing. Bonus points if this piece of clothing is super comfortable and fits into the #secretpajamas category.

I’m thrilled to say that the Rio Ringer Dress meets all of the aforementioned criteria! It’s the first pattern in a long while that I’ve finished sewing within two days of buying the PDF pattern and printing it out. A serger definitely speeds up the process here, but this would be a relatively quick sew on a regular sewing machine, too.

Rio Ringer Dress – The Details

• Pattern: Rio Ringer T-Shirt & Dress by True Bias, which comes in two sizing ranges (0-18 and 14-30)
• Fabric: Jersey knit from Oak Fabrics for the body and sleeves (95% cotton, 5% spandex), Merchant and Mills ribbing from Oak Fabrics for the binding (it’s expensive but you only need 1/4 yard!)
• Size: 8 (my measurements are 36-29-39; 6’0″ with a long torso)
• Alterations: Added 3/4″ at the lengthen line (waist) and 3/4″ to the hem
• Construction: I used my serger for everything except the binding and hem. I followed Kelli’s sewalong on her Instagram stories, and she’s also hosting one on her blog. (Sidenote: Is there a way to pause Instagram stories? I had to keep tapping back to replay the instructions since I wasn’t keeping up with her steps in real time). She instructs you to attach the binding in the flat instead of the round, a method that I’ve only tried once before and LOVE here. The bands lie perfectly flat. It’s a little fiddly topstitching/attaching layers of binding to the sleeve, but just go slow and use lots of pins. Mine’s not perfect, but black thread, binding and fabric hide a lot!

The Verdict

I could use a little more room at the shoulders since mine are very broad, but I love how this turned out! I may add an extra inch to the hem if I make this again to have a more work-appropriate summer dress. I think I shaved more than 3/8″ off the seam allowance when I was serging the sleeves, so those are a tad tight, too, but not enough to bother me.

Part of me wanted to make a dress with contrasting binding, like most of the samples True Bias showed, but I thought my first stab at this pattern should be a little more versatile. This kind of qualifies as a Little Black Dress, right?

Have you been inspired to sew lately? Like many of you I’m sure, I’ve made a stack of masks, so it’s definitely nice to take a break and make a garment. Just-for-fun sewing stress relief is a real thing!