Pinstripe Linen Jenny Overalls

Yes, I have made ANOTHER pair of overalls.

And they are DIVINE.

When all this work from home is finished, I am going to wear them to work and not give *#$%^ what anyone thinks. Pinstripes make them work appropriate, no?

They are Jenny Overalls in pinstripe linen. I bought this linen when it went on sale and I had loved using it to make this dress, but I had no idea what I was going to do with it. Then came lockdown, and my overall streak, and suddenly I knew EXACTLY what I needed to make. (It was from Fabrics-store.com, but they don't seem to have it anymore)

I'm out of overall hardware, so I went with the cute front tie thing I've seen on some other overalls. I just made a couple of rouleaux loops and sewed them into the top seam of the bib. 

The only other thing I did differently was to add a couple of darts to the top of the waistband to try to get it to lay a little flatter against my back. Really I need to just use a curved waistband piece for the back I think. But in this hack version, I added two 1/4 inch darts 6 inches apart on the center back waistband, and did the same for the waistband facing.

I once again did double side button closures. I'm running low on my stash, so I had to use the ones that say VIP jeanswear on them. I'll just disregard the jeanswear bit.

So that's about all I have to say about these. Don't be surprised if the next thing I make is more overalls!

Goldenrod Yellow Denim Jenny Overalls

Overalls are my work-at-home wear of choice. Comfy for endless online meetings and presentable in a casual setting, my linen, striped, and denim Jenny's have been in constant rotation.

Seeing everyone putting their sewing skills to use as part of the civic response makes me feel slightly guilty for engaging in selfish sewing. However, I'm fortunate to be in a situation where our jobs and schools can continue online, so I'm busier than ever trying to be a full time working and homeschooling mom. Therefore I need sewing to maintain my sanity, which is definitely being put to the test!

I've been curious about Cone Mills Loomstate denim, so I looked to see what Threadbare fabrics had and immediately fell in love with Goldenrod. The fabric came at LIGHTENING fast speed! Which made me very happy, and I threw it into the wash immediately upon arrival. I've read about the theories of shaping unsanforized denim to your body, but that isn't really what I'm interested in right now, so I washed and dried it 3 times to make sure there would be no shrinkage in the finished overalls. It washed up to a lovely denim-y texture with a surprising amount of mechanical stretch for a non-stretch denim.

I used my altered Jenny Overalls pattern (Closet Case Patterns) that has tapered legs and side buttons. Since this was a non-stretch fabric, I went with the original Jenny overall pocket bags rather than the pocket stay that I had drafted. On my last pair of Jenny's that I made in stretch Cone Mills denim, I did the french seam backwards, and I'm reminded of it every time I stick my hands in my pockets and feel the seam. This time I nearly did the same thing, but I realized it before sewing the second seam and ripped and fixed it. French seaming pockets is particularly confusing because you want the right side of the fabric on the inside of the garment AND you also want the part of the french seam that is usually on the inside of the garment, on the inside of the garment.

For the pocket bags and facings I used a cotton fabric that I've had in my stash for many years. It is a fun fabric with great colors, but I haven't been able to envision wearing it as a shirt or dress... but I decided that it might make a great lining since the purple seemed to be a lovely contrast with the yellow.

This is my fourth pair of Jenny Overalls! It's funny though how each pair turns out quite different. On this one I narrowed the hips quite a bit... I am wondering if the fact that jogging is my exercise of choice lately is changing the shape of my body. I also impulsively cut 5/8 ths off of the height of the rise since I've felt that it is a bit high on my other overalls... but then I regretted it after I sewed it all together and tried it on, I think I like it better where it was. But it's probably fine, really. The biggest change was that the back waistband was gaping on these, so I had to rip everything apart and add a seam to the center back waistband to remove an inch. I also removed a wedge from the center back seam. I don't remember having this problem with any of my previous versions, but they were all stretch fabrics, and in some I added waistband elastic to the back seam... so perhaps this has always been a problem. Looks like the waistband still isn't perfect in back, but trust me it is better than it was!

I thought I had some overall hardware... but it turns out I had used it all up. I did have these super cute floral jeans buttons though from a mixed box I bought on Amazon awhile back. So I opted to add buttonholes to the straps, so that I can add hardware later if I want to. Actually I'm sort of liking the buttonhole method, the look is a bit more casual, but the overall hardware sometimes catches in my hair whereas the buttonholes are very low profile.

I'm wearing these today and loving them. I want ALL THE OVERALLS... I have more planned! I'm wearing them with my plum blossom blouse in these pics.

Classic Comfy Overalls: Cone Mills Denim S-Gene Jenny Overalls

I've been planning to make some basic denim Jenny Overalls since I made my first pair. Recently I came across the 3 yards of Cone Mills denim I'd bought for this purpose, and started washing it up. 

I got it cut and started sewing, then life happened. It languished in piles around my sewing machine, taunting me. I'd sneak in a little sew here and there, and finally, 3 weeks later, they were done!

I used Cone Mills S-Gene Denim, probably 9 oz. This is a pattern that calls for non-stretch, but I was going for comfort, so I figured it would be fine. I did end up taking in the side seams a bit more than I would have for a non-stretch.

I also narrowed the legs, using Heather's tutorial for a tapered leg Jenny, and also her tutorial for side seam buttons, since I'm sort of obsessed with this look.

I used these buckles and these buttons, the ones with the tiny stars in a circle, both in antique brass finish.

The topstitching and bar tacks are done with Mara 70 thread in color 448. I think this tip originally came from Lladybird. It sort of saved me since my machine doesn't much care for topstitching thread that is any thicker than this. When I first started making jeans I bought Mara 30 in a bunch of colors but it is a battle to use it, and forget about trying to sew a buttonhole with it. 

Since I was using stretch denim, I decided to do a front pocket stay, such as the one on Ginger Jeans. I drafted the pieces using the Jenny pattern, and sewed them up in a cute clouds quilting cotton that I picked up on super sale at Hobby Lobby. 

I also made the bib facing out of my cute cloud cotton! The inside waistband is also this quilting cotton, although I didn't get any pics of it.

This is the first time I followed the directions for the straps and just turned over the edges .25 twice. I thought it would be fine with denim, but they are floppier than I'd like. Next time I'll go back to cutting double the strap pieces and sewing them together as a faced strap, it makes them much more sturdy and they hold their shape better.

They are super comfy, the denim is soft on the inside and the stretch makes movement effortless. I imagine they'll be a favorite for weekend tasks like gardening and housework and hanging with the kids. I'll probably also wear them to work on occasion, for more casual days, although I think they'd also make a statement with a pair of shiny boots and a great blazer. 

Bonus pictures of our cat Dala, preening and dozing on our Eames chair (look alike).

Striped Jenny Overalls

My favorite, favorite black linen Jenny Overalls are in the mending pile... they are worn paper thin in some crucial areas, so they're candidates to try out invisible mending. I love these so much nothing can replace them. But in the meantime a girl needs some overalls...

I bought this striped stretch linen from Emmaonesock thinking I'd make pants. When I got it, it was not nearly as stretchy as I thought it would be, and I failed to commit on a pants pattern. The thought crossed my mind: "What lovely overalls this fabric would make." And the fact is, overalls don't take much more fabric than pants...

And then there are always overalls with removable bibs...!

So I don't have a lot more to say about making the Jenny Overalls. They are great. I make them with the grading between sizes established in my black linen overalls and the Frida Overalls, and vary the width of the side seam based on how I'm feeling about fit (the pattern has a generous 1 inch side seam). These also have a double side button fly that you can see in this tutorial.

Lots of pictures and not a lot of text follow.

Outside of bib and inside of pants, showing the buttons for attaching to the waistband, and the buttonholes through the inside of the waistband. The very last hole on each side is attached to the jeans button on the double button side button fly.

 

I drafted a front pocket stay for this version, since my fabric had stretch and wasn't quite as heavy as one could hope. I sort of love it! French seamed in the manner learned from Closet Case Patterns Ginger Jeans. 

Machine blind stiched hem. I guess this photo would be better rotated 180 degrees, sorry.

Button side fly. Buttons are from Amazon, a set that included 6 different kinds. I was loving these nautical themed ones for this project.

Front bib and pants front seen from the front side. The bib is cut on the bias.

 Straps are faced with white linen. 

Back view... front side of straps and back side of waistband.  

I forgot to mirror the angle on the back of the straps... doh! But one really can't tell when wearing, so sorry not sorry, and not fixing it! The horizontal buttonholes are for the straps. The vertical buttonholes and buttons on the waistband are for buttonhole elastic that has yet to be installed. Long story short, I've been inspired by my 7 year old's little girl jeans to try buttonhole elastic so that I can adjust the fit based on how I'm feeling, day to day, hour to hour. Anyhow I'll write a post on that if it ends up working.

Inside of straps and waistband. 

I just LOVE these. Not quite as versatile as my black linen ones, but very striking.

Worn here with a white Liesl Classic Shirt.

More overalls in the making...

Frida-alls: Frida Kahlo Overalls with Removable Bib

Frida Kahlo was never known to wear overalls.

However, I think she'd probably consider it, if she were here today. She was known for mixing cultures and time periods in her dress... traditional huipil blouses with contemporary flowing skirts, colonial earrings and revolutionary rebozos. These overalls combine traditional workwear with contemporary fabric designs, and mixes utilitarian with the trendy in the form of a bare-shoulder top. 

The fabric is a Frida Kahlo tribute print by Alexander Henry called Frida's Garden, in cotton canvas. I was a little worried that it would be stiff for a garment, but it washed up soft and supple. My original idea was to make overalls in a dark floral, which I thought would be help make overalls evening-out appropriate and be an excellent entry for #sewfrosting. However, when I came across this Frida print I flat out fell in love. I came across it on Fabric.com, and the picture and description was for the black Frida's Garden in cotton canvas... but when it arrived, it was the cream background. Since the print was even more lovely in person, I uncharacteristically ignored this blatant breach of fabric ordering etiquette and just went with it. 

Oops, my backstrap is twisted! Didn't notice this until I uploaded my photos!

Do I think Frida would approve of this melange of her painting symbolism? Well, that's hard to say. But having painted herself into much of her oeuvre, we know she isn't shy about her imagery. The designer has filled her garden with the monkeys and parrots she famously painted portraits with, in addition to lush vegetation, ripe fruit, snakes, and eyes and arms on canvases. As well as a few of her most famous quotes:

Pies para qué las quiero, si tengo alas pa' volar.

Feet, what do I have need of you for when I have wings to fly?

Tengo ganas a vivir. Ya comencé a pintar.

I desire to live. I already have begun to paint.

I wasn't quite sure what to do with the pattern on the legs, so I mostly let chance decide. I'm not quite in love with the off-set twinning happening in the front, but oh well. I did carefully choose what would be on the pockets though. Frida with monkey on the front left with the "...fly" quote, and Friday with parrot on the right back pocket. 

The pattern is, of course, the Jenny Overalls by Closet Case Patterns. I seem to have difficulty making a pattern just once- you can see my black linen overalls here. The fit of the size 16 was nearly perfect last time, so I mostly stuck with that. The only change I made was to grade the bib from a size 16 at the waist to a size 14 at the top, since the bib on my linen overalls seems to provide a bit more coverage than the pattern pics call for. 

But the biggest change is... the bib is removable. Ta-da....!

I thought these would look cute as pants. Mia (@sewnorth) has a tutorial on Instagram. I didn't follow this to the letter. She added an extra layer to her waistband for the buttonholes... but my canvas was quite thick, so I just made the buttonholes on the inner waistband without alteration. 

Thinking about it now... wouldn't these buttonholes be better horizontal? I didn't really think about it... Mia made hers vertical, and I just followed along. However, with a horizontal buttonhole there would be less worry about the size of the buttonhole fitting on the waistband, and possibly more security against the vertical stress on the bib. Next time! 

The buttons on the front bib are about 1/2 inch, four of them, mostly because that's what I had on hand in my recycled button stash.

I also totally freak'in forgot to add extra to the bottom of the bib when cutting it out. So I added a button band at the bottom.

I did the button sides again (Closet Case Patterns has a tutorial) and realized that I could use the top button as an anchor for the sides of the bib. It is just a little tight to fit the extra thickness on the button, but very doable since jeans buttons have a good shank (is that the right word?). 

The double buttonhole on the inside of the waistband is from me not realizing I could reuse the waistband button. The horizontal buttonhole is the one that I use. 

These jeans buttons came from Wawak. They are really nice quality, and very reasonably priced, as long as you are ordering enough to get free shipping. 

The straps each have one big button in the back (1 inch?)

The overall hardware is from Amazon. I'm not sure what really nice overall hardware feels like, but this feels a little less than workforce quality, but it does the job.

This version came out a little bit tighter than my linen overalls. This is actually a good thing, since the pants need to be a bit tighter to stay up. This is probably in part because the cotton canvas has much less give than a linen fabric... but I think it is also because I was a bit more precise sewing these, for whatever reason. I'm pretty firmly in the stretch pants camp... so we'll have to see whether I find these comfortable for daily wear. 

The top I'm wearing with the pants is a Liesl Classic Shirt in tencel twill, made about a year ago. 

The top I'm wearing with the overalls is brand new, made to wear with my growing overall collection- the Closet Case Nettie. The original pattern is for a bodysuit and a dress, but I just cut it off at a hip length and then did Heather's tutorial to make it off the shoulder. The fabric is a rayon jersey from the stash. It was a super quick sew!

So what do you think, should I take these overalls dancing?