Overalls have been bouncing around the edges of fashion trends for a couple of years now (I think it’s a natural progression from the jumpsuit trend). Until recently I was very reticent to try them. I spent a lot of time in the late 90s wearing old denim overalls that once belonged to my Dad. They were perfectly worn in and I loved them. Keep in mind this was the Pacific Northwest during the grunge era. I don’t think I particularly stood out for looking, well, grungy. Eventually I gave up the overalls and decided to never look back.
But, then I kept seeing the CUTEST overalls and wanting to wear them myself. At first I was planning to make McCalls M7547. I was really attracted to the classic styling combined with the slim leg and bootcut. I haven’t found the right denim fabric yet and it’s still on the list but sadly moved a little farther down in the queue. I’ve had so many queue jumping patterns this year that I think I’m not going to come close to finishing my 2017 Make Nine list. I’ve currently done four out of nine, which actually isn’t bad. But there are so many new patterns that I want to sew!
Anyway, back to the bibs. As soon as I saw the Burnside Bibs by Sew House Seven, I knew I had to make them. (Queue jumper alert!) I really like that this pattern suits itself to a lot of different kinds of fabric, not just a traditional denim. In styling, they are quite different from my denim overalls of the 90s. But in comfort they remind me why I wore overalls so often. They are just super fun to wear. I kind of feel like I can get more done wearing them. lol
I made View 1 which is a little more fitted and has an invisible side zip. I really like the semi-fitted silhouette. I’ve made a few Sew House 7 patterns before (check out those projects here) which gave me a good idea of what size to select and where I might need make adjustments. I made a size 8 which fits my waist and hips pretty closely (28.5” waist and 39” hips). My bust is larger than a size 8 but it wasn’t an issue because the bodice is very forgiving (yay!).
I’m 5’11” with a long torso, so I added 2” to the bib and 2” to the crotch depth. I knew from when I made the Nehalem Pants that I needed to add at least 1” to the crotch depth. To test the fit before I cut into my fabric, I pinned the pattern together and tried it on. I went back and forth a few times adjusting the length and I’m really pleased with where I settled on it. I used the shorten/lengthen lines provided on the pattern to determine where to lengthen. I always appreciate when those lines are included in a pattern. It’s so helpful to a tall gal. I cut the length of the legs along the Full Length cutting line just for safety. But then I cut off about 5” for a slightly cropped length. The instructions and illustrations provided are excellent. To make the straps I used the tube method and in retrospect I think it would have been a cleaner finish if I had done the folded method. Otherwise the construction went really smoothly.
The fabric is a black linen from The Fabric Store. I have an ongoing partnership with The Fabric Store and picked up this fabric from their Los Angeles location. They have a really great selection of linen (as well as wool, cotton, silk and Liberty fabrics!). If you’re ever in the LA area I highly recommend making time to visit their store. It’s a lovely little boutique that is always a joy to visit. I can become overwhelmed in some of the large warehouse stores so I really appreciate the curated offerings at The Fabric Store. The linen was really easy to work with and I appreciate that the black doesn’t show any of my occasionally wonky top stitching.
I totally love these overalls. I kind of want to wear them every single day. It’s a little too hot to wear them every day. But boy do I wish I could. The fit is really comfortable and flattering. I’ve been wearing them with the ties in the back because I discovered that in that position I could take off the overalls (to use the loo obvi) by just unzipping. The biggest annoyance about jumpsuits and overalls is that they take so much longer to take off. But these were not too annoying. I actually made a jumpsuit once that I never wore because it was too hard to take on and off.
Have you jumped on the overall train? Or jumped on a train wearing your bibs?
