Y'all know by now that I overalls are my fave. If there was any holding back, the quarantine did that in... why dress to please anyone but myself?
I've made a countless number of Closet Case Jenny Overalls (at least eight!) and a very well loved pair of Helen's Closet Yanta Overalls. With spring on my mind, if not yet in the weather (it snowed again this morning!) I was thinking about making a lighter weight, more jumpsuit-y pair of overalls. Enter the Burnside Bibs by Sew House Seven!
While I have long loved all of the gorgeous Burnside Bibs sewn by the many talented makers I follow, I've been skeptical of how much I would like the clever tie system that distinguishes the Burnside Bibs. Even in the more streamlined versions, it tends to produce gathers across the bum, which I don't care for on my own body. I also have a quiet dislike of dangly ties, which tend to end up in the most inconvenient places when utilizing the facilities in a rush. After careful consideration, I decided that both of these minor flaws could be avoided with a few minor changes.
This was my first ever Sew House 7 pattern, and any flaunt with a new pattern company is a bit risky. However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the large format files were made for printing on a 36 inches wide printer rather than the usual 50 inches or so. The printers I have access to are 44 inches wide, so this worked out well.
The instructions, for the most part, were very clear and a joy to follow. The only bit of confusion I encountered was in the changing seam allowances, and there was one point where I seriously could not figure out from the instructions what the seam allowance was. However I persevered in wildly guessing and it seemed to all work out fine in the end.
I didn't toile, I just sewed up my size via the measurements and made adjustments on the fly. I made the closer fitting view, with pleats in the back. I ended up raising the crotch half an inch and trimming an inch off the top of the bib, but other than that I made no changes. The invisible zipper went in without a hitch. The method of sewing the waistband and facing was very clever and left a very clean finish on the inside.
I left the front of the straps as intended to keep the clean lines of the front bib, but instead of long ties through belt loops in the back, I sewed buttonholes into the straps and buttons to the inside back of the waistband. This makes the straps somewhat adjustable without the use of ties or other hardware. I don't need to unbutton a strap to get the overalls in and out, so this works out very well.
To manage the extra ease that the pattern manages with the ties, I made side straps that cinch with d-rings. This generally works well, but it made slightly more awkward than it should be in that I was lazy and used the left over straps for the cinching, and I didn't have any D-rings smaller than 1 inch. Therefore the D-rings tend to twist annoying when you cinch them. I may at some point re-sew them with either smaller D-rings or wider straps, which would solve the problem.
My fabric is a very drapey linen-viscose noil by Telio. Since I was going for a lighter, more flowy jumpsuit look, I think this achieved that look and feel, although I think I'd also really enjoy the burnside bibs in a slightly beefier fabric, perhaps a light denim or heavy linen.
I'm wearing them here with a fushia linen Liesl Classic Shirt, but I'm going to be enjoying trying them out with all sorts of tops in my wardrobe, which is part of the fun of overalls! I definitely think there will be more Burnside Bibs in my sewing future, it was a quick and satisfying sew.
