Belatedly loving the Burnside Bibs in Telio Silky Noil

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. 

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!

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?

Where's the Hoedown: Closet Case Jenny Overalls in Black Linen

When Closet Case Patterns release the Jenny Overalls, I bought it immediately-- for the trousers, not the overalls. I figured that I had been wanted to try the high waisted pant trend, and Closet Case's version was likely to be a good fit for my body.

I had absolutely no intention of ever making the overalls. I have never owned a pair of overalls. I have never even considered owning overalls. Overalls are for painters and kids.



Then Heather posted her overalls, and all of her lovely testers started showing off theirs, and suddenly overalls are IT. I was especially moved by A Colorful Canvas's musings-- she had similar concerns about the juvenile nature of overalls.

I thought a bit about making a removable bib, but actually, I think I'd fit the pants differently as pants than as overalls. Without the bib, there is a need for the pants to fit tighter to stay up on their own (at least on my body shape), but with the bib and straps, the fit can be a touch more relaxed.

I made a straight size 16. Or I think I did... it's possible I graded down for the hips. Looking back at the size chart, should have graded down for the bib, perhaps two sizes, but alas that didn't occur to me. It's fine, but in retrospect I think it is probably higher and wider on me than it should be. 

I did make a muslin before cutting my fabric. The fit was super! I was expecting to have to fix gaping in the back and the crotch curve, like I do on most pants, but there was nothing that needed changing that I could see. However, seeing the overalls on my body in thrift store not-quite-white mystery poly fabric made me second guess the entire project, and I spent a couple days talking myself back into cutting my real fabric. 

My fabric is my favorite 7.1 oz linen from Fabrics-store.com. I love this weight for pants, it holds up reasonably well and is soft to wear.

I used Heather's tutorial for the button sides. I tried to extend the sides to accommodate the buttonholes as suggested, but it turns out you'd really have to extend not only the sides, but also all of the pocket pieces, and I didn't properly anticipate that. So the buttonholes extend past the facings, but as Heather says in her tutorial, that isn't really a big deal since the pocket fabric provides plenty of support for the buttonholes.

I used cheap jeans buttons that I bought on Amazon. I generally try to avoid cheap hardware, but I had a hard time finding the shiny silver finish in a set of buttons that hit the price/quality mark for me. I was super careful installing the buttons since the soft metal deformed easily and I only had the exact number I needed! I was worried they'd just come off, but so far so good.

I also added belt loops. Since my weight fluctuates and I was making these a bit on the loose side, I thought it might be a good idea to have the option to wear a belt. Also, on this kind of garment I think the belt loops are a nice detail.

And the verdict is... I LOVE these. I want to live in them. The fit is surprisingly flattering and comfortable. I also love playing with pairing them with the more fitted and feminine tops that I haven't worn for years, as well as my favorite collared shirts. I really want to try them with an off the shoulder tee and a peasant blouse-- of course I own neither of these items, so I'd have to sew them!

I haven't taken them off since I finished them! I probably need another pair. I haven't been much into patterns lately, but something about these makes me want them in a large floral print. Alternatively, stripes, or perhaps indigo linen.

Further renditions will have to wait though... halloween sewing is about to invade my sewing space!

So, what do you think about the appropriateness of overalls at work? My husband's response when I wore these for the first time was, "Where's the hoedown?" I was hoping linen with shiny hardware would elevate them from weekend wear. Of course, a nice blazer would solve the issue, but also sort of hides them. What do you think, are those of us that want to wear overalls to work delusional?