Laura’s Porto Jumpsuit
With July’s Classic Box cotton poplin Laura paired it with a plain white linen viscose to make the Sew Over It Porto Jumpsuit from the Summer Dreaming eBook
Ahoy there mateys! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist!)
It was my turn to receive the Classic Box this month, and I was just overjoyed to get such a fun fabric! Hayley always picks the cutest cottons that err just on the right side of cute without being too novelty.
We all know that Gemma is our resident jumpsuit queen, but ever since my first Zadie, I am a total convert to all things jumpsuit. The ease and practicality of trousers but don’t have to think about matching tops and bottoms, plus they look really chic. I always think that people in jumpsuits just radiate confidence.
I knew I wouldn’t have enough fabric to make a full jumpsuit, so I thought maybe a playsuit?
I bought the Sew Over It Summer Dreaming ebook the day it came out, pretty much on the basis of the Siena Dress. Alas I have still not gotten around to making that, but I have made a couple of things from it but I pretty much forgot that a jumpsuit pattern came with it until I was browsing my pattern stash for inspiration and instantly knew that it would be perfect.
The Porto Jumpsuit consists of a loose-fitting shirt style bodice with slim leg trousers. The best part is the elasticated waist, so it nips you in whilst still being super comfortable. There are buttons to the waist which makes it easy to get on and off without the need for fiddly zip closures.
The pattern also gives you a variation of just the trousers, and you could also just make the shirt, which I think is a lovely pattern by itself. I especially love the super-cute sleeve tabs and the vented breast pockets that drew me in.
The pattern calls for lightweight and drapey fabric, more so I think for the bodice as it drapes over the elastic waist. The cotton was going to be too stiff for this, however it was going to be a good weight for the trousers. I thankfully had some plain white linen viscose in my stash that matched perfectly, and I think really gives it that nautical feel.
I made the pattern in the larger size band which is drafted for a dressmaker’s D cup. I am actually around a dressmakers C, so to get a good fit I chose the size based on my high bust and did a 1” small bust adjustment (1/2” each side). This did make the guidelines for the pocket placement a bit squiffy, so I just redrew a new box in around the same place.
You start off with sewing the shirt portion first. It is a classic construction with a full collar and stand. I took the option to hand sew the inner collar with a slip-stitch that resulted in a wonderfully clean finish which I will now be doing on all of my collars. And instead of buttons, I used these cute pearl snaps.
The trousers are a pretty straightforward straight leg with a slight taper towards the ankle. There are in-seam pockets, but I do think that the construction is a little long winded. Whilst it did produce wonderfully neat pockets that lie well to the front, you can get the same result sewing these like regular in seam pockets – there’s lots of online tutorials for this.
Unfortunately, the instructions went a bit askew when it came to attaching the bodice. The pictures were correct but the text was not right. I pretty much had to guess the seam-allowance as it had to accommodate the elastic and the buttonholes. I think it was about 3cm in the end.
I am so thrilled with how this came out and cannot recommend this pattern enough. Other than the SBA, I didn’t make any fit adjustments. The rise and leg width are perfect and the whole thing is ridiculously comfortable.
After this, I think I’m in the running to steal the “Queen of Jumpsuits” crown off Gemma!