Ah sweet overalls (or dungarees). I forgot how much I loved to wear you. Last time I wore a pair of these was in my uni days back in the 90s. I had a black cheesecloth pair that were on super high rotation until one saaaaaad day when they ripped exactly where you might expect a pair of overalls to rip. Cheesecloth on high rotation will do that to a bum seam.
This clever pattern is the lovely Turia Dungarees by Pauline Alice. I first spied these on Kirsty's blog and then another couple of impressive makes popped up on Karen and Bella's blogs too. And three's a charm I say. There's also a lot to be said for waiting for a few pattern reviews to pop up so you can seek some pearls of sewing wisdom from those who venture before you. Karen has also done a really helpful blog post on adding your metal buttons. Not so tricky, as it turns out! All three bloggers gave some great tips which I applied to my version, including:
- inserting just one zip, not the recommended two.
- staystitching the edges of the bib piece
- adding in some reinforcement top-stitching detail at Step 21, where straps meet back.
I also shortened mine a little further because I didn't want to cuff them (the design is intended to be worn cropped).
The fabric I chose was our 100% linen Wainscot Denim. This is one of my favourite shades ever - sort of a dark chambray that gives me a denim look with all the lovely softness of linen.
