Portofino: A Blast from Loes Hinse Past

Funny thing is I don't remember the insanity in this one. I just remember how much I liked the dress and how well the bodice stayed in place for a "wrap" style. This is no longer available for purchase, but I would be glad to lend you mine to copy. If you are like me, and most of you are, you just might have a copy of your own in your pattern collection. After looking at this again, I just might make this in the sheer. Imagine, I could just make it with no search and destroy fitting problems.

I am resurrecting and updating my old pattern reviews. I seem to have misplaced them in the computer transfer. I am foraging on the Internet for the pic and reviews where I originally posted them. It is a nice little walk down sewing memory lane. Glad you can join me in the stroll.

Portofino Review

Portofino, Portofino, how did I alter you? Let me count the ways. Do you hear the faint sound of hysterical laughter in the background? Pay no attention; that is just the sound of me getting closer to the edge of insanity as I made this garment. It didn’t help that I decided to make this to wear to a wedding the next day. I thought this would take me 4 hours to make at the most, and it would have except for the gazillion tweaks and several alterations.

 

Description of the pattern:

The Portofino, by Loes Hinse, has a separate bodice attached to an A-line four panel skirt with a godet at both the center front and back. The bodice is a modified princess seam from the shoulder/neck area with a wrap front insert. It has very fitted elbow length sleeves.

 

Why did you choose this pattern?

I thought the v neck wrap front combined with the higher waistline would be flattering. I also like the idea of the godets inserted at the hemline to add fullness to the skirt without adding excess fabric hanging from the waist and over the hips.

 

What fabric did you choose? Why?

I refer to this fabric as evil black polyester crepe. Sewing on it is my penance for stockpiling way too much fabric over the years. I am not a big fan of 100% polyester because I always feel as if I am marinating in it. I am rather baffled as why I bought so much of it for a suit way in the distant past, but it is great fabric for wearable muslins. It is actually a nice fabric, not all that uncomfortable to wear, it drapes well and looks good, but it is evil to sew. It ravels incessantly, slips, and slides, then revolts at being creased in exactly the place you want it. I have kept it around because I can make something out of it when I want to experiment on fit and in the end be rewarded with a garment I can actually wear. It is rather mysterious because I keep making things out of it and I always seem to have enough left for something else. I think it may have come to life in my fabric stockpile and procreates in the dark.

 

What modifications did you make to the construction process recommended for this pattern?

If I were working with a very sheer lightweight fabric I would have used the recommendations for finishing the neck edge, skirt and sleeve hems. However, the evil black polyester crepe would have totally rebelled with such skimpy amounts. The pattern instructions call for finishing the fabric edges of the sleeve and skirt hem by serging or with a zig zag stitch, then it asked that the sleeves be turned under ½ “ and the skirt hem 3/8” to topstitch from inside the garment to reduce puckering. I made the hem 2” on the skirt and used my blind hemstitch to hem. The sleeves have a 1” hem and I topstitched it. I finished the edge of both with a zig zag.

The neck edge was to be finished in the same manner with only 3/8” being turned under. I really don’t feel this is sufficient for most fabrics but especially not for working with my friend. The shoulders and neck support a great amount of the weight for the dress. My fear was that it would stretch out of shape with time. I ran to JoAnn’s at 8:30PM to pick up something that could be used to attach at the neck edge and reinforce the area. I had in mind twill tape because I thought it could be shaped to the moderate neckline curve. It has been a long time since I bought twill tape in the package and just assumed it was still made out of cotton. I didn’t bother to look at the fiber content as I was running to the check out counter before closing. When I took it out of the package I found that it is now made of my friend 100% polyester. There goes the ability to shape it with steam and manipulation. Since I was still on my quest to wear it by 1:00 PM the next day, I decided to work with it. I sewed it on to the neck edge by laying it on the right side of the edge similar to how lingerie elastic is attached. I turned it under, fought with it and the iron around the shoulder curve, clipped it a tiny tiny bit on the outside so it would lay flat, and topstitched it. It proceeded to pucker and pleat no matter how much I eased it as I was sewing. Tearing out little black stitches on crepe late at night is not a fun thing. I got out my Steam a Seam Lite 2, fused the tape down all the way around the neck and then easily topstitched. The edge really lays nicely now and the twill tape adds that stabilizer that helps prevent gaping in wrap tops. The neckline on this is a little low but is easily compensated with a safety pin. I have an idea for how to make it shallower in the alterations section if you are interested.

 

How is the sizing of the pattern? What alteration did you have to make for size?

Have you ever tried on your almost finished garment, took one look in the mirror, then wanted to grasp your sharpest shears and cut it into very tiny pieces? Every seam matched and the darts were almost perfect but after I attached the skirt to the bodice it looked like a big Hefty yard waste bag with holes cut for the arms and neck. I truly know this is an accurate comparison, because I have done this to a Hefty bag when I didn’t have a raincoat or umbrella in a torrential downpour.

I am a firm believer in flat pattern measurement and knew it was essential with this pattern. As I tried on the bodice of the dress during construction I thought it looked great even when I pulled it down to simulate the weight of the skirt on it. I guess I didn’t pull enough because once I added the skirt the weight took all the shape out of it. I fought with it and won in the end. I feel obligated to make another one just to use what I learned while I was altering the evil black one.

Before I cut the pattern out I altered the sleeve circumference and the width of the sleeve cap. The bottom of the sleeve is very tight and will NOT fit most women. I could barely get the tape measure around my forearm at the measurement of the sleeve bottom. Just in case you are wondering – my forearms are not all that big. I slashed the sleeve vertically up the middle to the center top. I made a horizontal slash across the sleeve to the bottom of the armscye at each side. I spread the vertical line to add 1 5/8” to the sleeve bottom and spread it enough to add ¾ “ to the sleeve cap. This worked out just right and the sleeve fits well.

I measured the flat pattern before cutting from the side seam to center front of the garment, the shoulder to the bottom of the bodice, the shoulder seam width, and the sleeve length. The XXL were all well matched to my measurements. I didn’t measure the shoulder width because I knew that Loes Hinse leaves enough room in the XXL for me in the back. I measured the width of the bodice bottom, and with ease that was appropriate with my measurements. I tried the bodice on before attaching the sleeves. The neckline sits away from the neck quite a bit so the shoulder seam curved out and extended too far over my shoulder. I marked it where my “bones told me” the sleeve cap should be and then cut off the excess curve to ease out to the pattern armscye about ½ way down the front and back. I was concerned about the sleeve cap fitting into the altered armscye but knew that I had enough fabric to cut another pair if needed. They fit perfectly and came out over the top of the arm just the way a fitted sleeve should. The bodice still fit well at this point and hugged up under the bust just the way it was supposed to. I was confidently thinking that it would make a cute top if I added length and a closure. Then I attached on the skirt.

This is not heavy fabric but it was enough to pull the bodice into a hanging lump of fabric. The bodice hung too low with the waist at an extremely unflattering part of my anatomy straight from the bust. Remember the Hefty bag. My perfectly matched seams were sacrificed to the great alteration gods of sewing. I sewed a wider seam to 7/8” attaching the bodice and skirt. That raised the seam to where it was intended. If I sew this again I would make this adjustment higher up in the pattern before cutting then true the neckline slant. This would raise the V of the wrap. I then started to pin out the excess fabric on the sides until the skirt fell nicely from the waist. I discovered that little to no ease is needed at the “waist” with this style. I then started shaping the sides by taking it in at the underarm seam angling it in to waist seam until the seam was 1” then angling it out again to until it met the side seam approximately 9” below the waist. Now the bodice seams did not match so I maneuvered them around some, stitched the seam again, and back to matching seams. I pressed the seam towards the bodice side and I had a fitted dress, but I could still get it on over my head without a zipper.

 

How were the instructions?

The instructions were sufficient if one was sewing a sheer lightweight dress. Different methods are needed for other fabrics. The directions mention pressing a little at the end. This dress needs to be pressed a lot during construction for it to end in an attractive garment. I always press as I sew each seam before doing the seam finish then again after.

 

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I really like how the finished neckline follows the curve of the shoulders and neck. The mock princess seams curve with the line of the bust perfectly and fall from the shoulders just as they should. I think this also helps reduce the gape usually associated with wrap styles because it doesn’t have to wrap all the way to the side around so many curves. The method for inserting the godets is wonderful, and if followed creates a perfect point at the top with the back matching the front. I did sew from the hem up on those seams to help this. The evil black polyester crepe shimmies and stretches easily so it helped to keep them where they were supposed to be. The second seam sewn made one side higher at the waist. My sewing teachers would not approve, but I decided to just trim it so it matched the other side and it worked out perfectly. The godets also add a lot of fullness without it falling from the waist in an unflattering manner.

 

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? How do you like the finished project? Would you sew it again?

I believe it looks like the photo and it is very comfortable to wear because everything “stays where it should.” I think it makes a nice “little black dress” and is versatile to dress up or wear under a jacket. My original intent was to make a sheer version and layer it over a slip type dress of a solid. I may still do that but it isn’t high in my priority of projects at this time. Now that I have it fitting so well I feel obligated to do something with it; I might just tackle that idea of a blouse. By the way, the dress was totally finished and pressed 1 ½ hours before I had to leave for the wedding.