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Today’s post is from Kelly of Cut Cut Sew.
For a while now I have been crushing on overalls, hard. But- it seems there is a lack of cute overall patterns out there…I have Kwik Sew 3897, which looks kind of boxy. And Named Patterns has the Bly Overalls that are cool but not really what I was looking for. So I thought I would try out the Pauline Alice Turia Dungarees. I splurged for the printed version of the pattern, which came in a super cute folder. The pattern itself is printed on nice heavy paper, and the booklet comes with instructions in English, Spanish and French!
I made them up in black silk noil from Fabric.com- this fabric looks and feels a lot like linen, but is very drapey and doesn’t wrinkle the way linen does. I machine wash them and the fabric handles it fine so far! I made a muslin in the size that most closely matched my measurements and they were pretty tight in the bum, so I went up a size for a more relaxed fit.
I thought the instructions were good, easy to understand and follow…however I feel like the methods used for finishing the various edges (mainly, clipping the curves, folding over once and topstitching) would give an end result that looks a little unprofessional. I opted to use bias strips to finish the back edges and front pocket openings, and for the front bib I interfaced the edges and folded over twice to enclose the raw edge. It’s not a huge issue, but just requires some thinking ahead if you want to give it a cleaner finish.
Instead of traditional overall buckles I added buttonholes to the straps, and used regular buttons on the bib. I saw this on a pair of ready to wear overalls and thought it looked cool 🙂 The pattern calls for a regular zipper on each side, but it was clear to me that I could get away with one so I used an invisible zipper on one side only.
The straps in the back are sewn on straight, and as a result kind of pull funny and don’t lay flat. It would have worked better if they were angled outward a bit, which would be an easy fix and I have to wonder why they weren’t drafted that way.
Size made- 38
My measurements: Bust 32″ Waist 27″ Hip 36″
All in all I think this is a cute, fun pattern- not exactly what I was looking for but a good first crack at sewing overalls.
Well done! You made some excellent choices as you sewed. Your instincts should almost always overrule the instructions.
Cute!! I love the silk noil and the buttons!
They look great. Thank you for the honest review and for including your measurements. Argh to that clipping curves and just topstitching it all down. 🙁 It is a cute pattern with potential.
Absolutely adorable. I very much appreciated your informative review, and agree with all of your amendments to the pattern. You have inspired me to give this one a go, and to use the same fabric, as well. Thank you for the inspiration.
Those came out really cute!!! they look great!
These might be my favorite version of this pattern I’ve seen yet! I love the silk noil and can imagine they feel great to wear, and I love the button tab too. I also really appreciate your thoughts on the pattern – I think a lot of the things you’ve pointed out are things that make me hesitate on this pattern. I want to love it, but just haven’t pulled the trigger yet!
Great review and I am the same, I try and respect the designer’s drafting on my initial make of a pattern but actually I should trust my instincts more. The fabric is a lovely choice
I had a lot of the same thoughts about this pattern – I really need to take pictures of it already! I love this on you though – that fabric looks SO luxurious!!