The Parnter overalls - guest blogger

I am delighted to share some pretty exciting news with you. Sarting from today, I will welcome paid guest bloggers on my journal !

My intention has always been to design patterns for a variety of bodies, with different fabrics, but it’s difficult for me as a one-person company to coordinate and pay more than two models, and sew multiple prototypes for each pattern launch. I know how important it is to see different versions of a pattern for my customers so I've decided to welcome paid guest bloggers for each pattern launch !

Today we welcome Atia (@thebrightblooms) for the Partner overalls.

Hi I’m Atia and I’m so pleased to share my Ready to Sew Partner overalls on this guest blog post. I hadn’t made any overalls until a couple of years ago but now I love wearing them and think they are fun to wear as well as practical! I was really intrigued by the construction of these overalls with the gathered waist and big pockets. 

Pattern and sizing

I printed the A0 version of the pattern and made a toile before cutting my fabric. This was really useful for making changes to the fit as I realised I needed more room in the hip area than I had thought as I wanted them a bit looser. I made a size 38 and graded to a size 42 on the hips for a roomier fit on the hips and legs. For my version, I made a simple change to the pattern by straightening the curve in the pocket pieces. For this I simply drew a straight line from the bottom to the top of the pocket and facing pieces on the curved side. I also reduced the length by 0.5” at the crotch and 2” at the leg. Other than this I followed the instructions as written. 

Fabric and Notions

I used a beautiful dark navy stretch corduroy from Sew Me Sunshine for my project, having made some dungarees and jeans in the past I definitely prefer a bit of stretch for comfort! I deliberately chose a matching thread for the topstitching for subtle detailing. This did make it a bit quicker as I didn’t need to change my topstitching thread. I used a beautiful floral print Liberty cotton poplin for the lining. One thing to be aware of is that a contrast lining can show on the edge of the pockets so a matching fabric would be less obvious, but I really love how this looks on the yoke! 

The instructions

The instructions were very straightforward to follow, I really enjoyed the construction of the legs and pockets, and the neat finish of the yoke. The fabric pieces all matched up really well and I enjoyed the topstitching. I did encounter a bit of difficulty attaching the eyelets as the pattern instructions say this should be done after the yoke and legs are attached. I used the Prym Vario pliers and because the fabric is quite thick it was hard to get all the fabric through the pliers. In the end I undid a bit of stitching where the yoke joins the legs and attached the eyelets through the gap. If I make the overalls again I would probably attach the eyelets before attaching the yoke to the legs. It would also be helpful to have instructions for attaching the buckles but these might differ according to the manufacturer.

Overall thoughts

I really love the finished overalls, they are so comfortable to wear and the waist eyelets make it easy to adjust the fit. The colour is very versatile as well so I’m sure I will get a lot of wear out of these. I wore them for our beach trip and found the pockets really useful and secure as they are so deep and roomy. I think these would be great in a hardwearing twill for gardening as well!