I made overalls and I think they're pretty adorable!
The Burnside Bibs pattern is the latest from Peggy at Sew House Seven. I was lucky enough to be a tester for these lovelies, which Peggy describes as "not your traditional work overalls."
Read all about the Burnside Bibs and check out the different versions (both the samples and the testers) in a variety of fabrics in Peggy's introductory blog post.
Read all about the Burnside Bibs and check out the different versions (both the samples and the testers) in a variety of fabrics in Peggy's introductory blog post.
I'll be honest; although I was looking forward to testing a pattern for Peggy, whose work I love, I was a little bit apprehensive about making overalls. I wasn't sure if the style was for me; I was concerned that it could be juvenile and potentially funny looking on a curvy gal like me.
I should have trusted in Peggy, though! These overalls are quite elegant!! I adore the wide legs, the cinched paper-bag style waist, the narrow straps, the sleek hip pockets... nothing juvenile about these overalls.
Here are the details: the pattern has wide legs, a front waistband, curved front patch pockets, and narrow, cross-back straps that transition to narrower ties that thread through back waist belt loops forming back waist gathers.
You can play around with the straps/waist ties (tie in front, tie in back, cross over or not), although I found my preference was to cross, them, loop them through the belt loops at the back, wrap them around my waist, and then tie them in the front. I find that helps define a waist the best.
The Burnside Bibs pattern also has has several mix-and-match options, depending on your preference. There is the choice of two front bib options, a scooped neck or my choice, the traditional straight front.
There are optional back patch pockets, and the choice of full length or cropped legs.
You can also choose between a version with a more fitted pant that has back waist darts and an invisible side zipper, or the version I made, which has a looser, gathered back pant that slips on over your hips and has no closures.
For reference, these are a straight size 16, which worked well for me. They're fitted in the right places, but also forgiving because of the wide legs and paper bag-style waist.
For my fabric, I went with medium weight charcoal grey linen and I did double topstitching all over with black thread for a hint of contrast (that you can really only see in real life). I feel like this fabric is perfect for the Burnside Bibs. Peggy suggests that you can dress the overalls up, too, with your fabric choice - tencel or something more flowy and formal could elevate these babies to casual evening wear.
I really, really like these overalls! They are incredibly comfortable and quite chic, methinks.
Here I paired them with a Cashmerette Concord t-shirt, which I haven't blogged yet, but you can read about my other Concord here. I'm curious to see how others style their Burnside Bibs... any thoughts on that?
Bonus: a blurry photo of my jumping in my overalls. I know it's not as on the nose as jumping in a jumpsuit (here and here), but it just felt right at the time:
