Thursday 11 October 2018

Burnside Bibs: Serving Land Army Realness


I've got so much love for dungarees and pinafores these days, I can't even tell you. I bought this pattern back in May whilst I was making the most of the generous Me-Made-May'18 celebration discount codes after coveting almost every pair I'd seen on Instagram.They finally got made at the tail end of the summer after I'd finally managed to answer the all important question of what fabric to buy. 

(image source: Sew House Seven)

Pattern:

In case you haven't come across the Burnside bibs pattern by Sew House Seven, lemme talk you through. Both versions include fabulous, large, curved, front pockets and clever straps/ties that narrow from the shoulder to the back and can be tied in a number of ways. There are two different bib shapes: scooped and straight across. Both versions feature a gathered back waist detail (great for bypassing a lot of trouser-fitting headaches), but version #1 is a little more fitted, with back darts and a concealed side zip to help you get in and out. There are optional patch back pockets and two leg lengths. 


Initially, I preferred the straight across bib shape, but had changed my mind by the time I had to cut the pattern pieces out. I was always going to go for the more fitted back waist option, as I wanted to reduce the likelihood of the back area looking like a gathered-up bin bag as much as possible. I hoped the addition of back pockets would help with that too. 


There was something that I found a bit off-putting about the back belt loops as well. I think the way the straps run through them and they gather up makes me think of curtains or something, so I decided to perform a small pattern hack to eliminate them. I made a channel from a rectangular strip of fabric and stitched that to the area where the belt loops should have been applied instead, and I'm much happier with the resultant look. 


Fabric:

After two recent successful firsts (1, sewing with and wearing linen and 2, embracing this colour green), I felt emboldened to choose this olive green cotton/linen mix from Fabric Godmother, which I never would have chosen before those two projects. The linen content gives it a lovely flow, and the cotton content means it doesn't wrinkle half as badly as regular linen probably would. It's quite a loose weave, so I was afraid of it fraying, but I just handled it carefully and there wasn't an issue. Plus, after making my Lander shorts and wearing them extensively during the summer, I was really surprised by how well this colour fits with the very limited colour palette that the rest of my wardrobe adheres to. Until recently I had been freely calling this colour 'khaki', but this week I received some schooling that khaki is actually this colour, and my shorts and burnside bibs are more accurately described as 'olive', or  'army green' perhaps. You live and learn.


Thoughts:

Truth be told, when I first put these bibs on after completion, I must admit to feeling disappointed. Even having chosen the 'fitted' option for the back waist, I feel that I haven't fully avoided the gathered-up bin bag look from the back. Also, the crotch depth is REALLY low. And this is coming from someone who needs to 'scoop out' the rise (i.e. lower the crotch point) of every trouser sewing pattern I'm ever going to encounter. And I think that the position of the back pockets is much too low, and that plus the unflattering gathering and low crotch are all combining to give me the appearance of a saggy bum. And lastly, although I'm now down with this colour, is this much of this colour in this style of garment just too Land Army re-enactment? Is 'Land Army reenactment' even a thing? (Fun fact: one of my nans worked in the Land Army during WW2.)

(image source: Women's Land Army Tribute)

On the other hand, I love the shape of the bib section and they are tremendously comfortable to wear, so wear them I most definitely will. I think that the angle that these pics have been taken at aren't showing them totally at their best, and when I wore them whilst helping out at the recent Fabric Godmother open day, I inspired two people to buy this pattern. 

Will I use this pattern again? I'm not sure. I'd be tempted to try again with a drastically raised crotch and some tweaking to reduce the fullness at the back. However, I *may* have accidentally just bought another dungaree pattern to play with in the meantime... 

If you have any ideas on how to approach reducing the fullness in the back whilst maintaining the balance between the front and back leg pieces, I'd be VERY grateful to read your thoughts. Thanks in advance...

9 comments:

Vancouver Barbara said...

They look great on you and, yes, that colour looks terrific with many other colours – particularly hot pinks. Personally, I love the soft, somewhat baggy look – they look SO comfortable.

Nichole said...

I like how your bibs turned out. The color is on trend and a neutral classic that won't go out of style. It would look great styled with a body con striped top. And I really like what you did with the elastic channel on the back to eliminate the belt loops. It gives the back a much smoother look. I think adjusting the crotch depth will eliminate most of what you don't like. I've also seen great versions that taper the trousers, which also eliminates fabric and creates a more sleek and slimmer silhouette.

KS_Sews (Dressmakingbacles) said...

I think they look REALLY good on you!! And the crotch depth will be easy to adjust next time. As someone who never ever seems to have enough room when I make jumpsuits, I'm excited to finally sew my Burnside Bibs...perhaps they'll work well for me!

I also like the channel you added in back. I had already decided I wasn't going to use the intended belt loops because I found them too wide on other versions. But I like this idea even more!

Anonymous said...

I think the colour and fabric are great but in my opinion they are just too big around the waist, hips and thighs. The excess fabric gets pulled to the back because of the waist gathers. Going down a size might help, but with this pair, can you try pinning out the side seams to take width out all the way down, then if necessary add a second waist dart at the back to improve the shaping there, leaving only a little extra width to be pulled in by the ties. Gathered linen is always going to be bulky.

Jo said...

I made the Marigold trousers from Tilly and experienced the same thing. I took so much out of the crotch, it seemed ridiculous but it was OK in the end. Te upside is they are very comfortable. I love that colour BTW. It suits you. Jo x
https://joeveryday19.blogspot.com/2018/10/oh-marigold-im-too-late.html

Anonymous said...

I think making a channel the full width of the back on the inside, perhaps with a thinner fabric,for elastic, and retaining two loops for the ties to pass through, would spread the gathers more evenly while maintaining the comfort and style. These do look good on you though and must be ideal for running around after small people.

MrsC (Maryanne) said...

I love them and think they look amazing on you1 So comfortable and stylish! You done good there :)

Zoe said...

Thanks everyone so much for your comments and ideas on how to alter them, or changes to make for future versions. I have decided to go down the route of unpicking the side seams and taking them in all the way down from waist to hem. This should have the effect of going down a size. Fingers crossed and thanks again

xxxx

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