I recently discovered the Hey Day dungarees pattern by Made by Jack’s Mum and it is the pattern I had been waiting for. Loose, comfy and really wearable, with so many fabric options.
I made my first pair using a gorgeous linen viscose (sadly no longer in print) but when I looked at the instructions, while beginner friendly, I thought it would not give the best finish and would actually be harder to sew.
The pattern instructions call for you to turn over the top of the bib section, insert the loop tabs, turn them back on themselves and topstitch in place. It seemed to me that way would create an awful lot of bulk and you would potentially risk stretching out the underarm seams. I decided to make facing pieces for the front and back – similar to those on the Tilly and the Buttons Cleo pattern. That way, I could insert the loops and ties between the facing and the bib piece and it would create a neater finish with much less bulk to sew through.
So, here’s how I did it…
MAKING THE FACING PIECES
Trace around the top of the back pattern piece.
You only need to trace about 5 cms down from the top on the right hand side, and again from the underarm seam.
Create a shape that looks a little like this
Use a french curve or pattern master to help draft the shape, if you have one, otherwise, you can freehand it.
IMPORTANT: The main back piece has a 1cm seam allowance on the centre front but we will be cutting this on the fold, so remove 1cm from that edge (where I have marked a fold line).
CONSTRUCTION CHANGES
Other changes you will need to make:
Remove 3.5cm and 2.5cm respectively from the top of the dungaree front and back pieces. You can just remove this once you have already cut your fabric out, to preserve the pattern.
Remove 3.5cm in length from the front loop pieces. You can also remove 2.5 cm from the straps as well but I didn’t bother.
You will need to sew the facing pieces together at the side seams, and then finish the bottom edge (either by serging, zig-zagging or turning under a small hem).
Follow the main pattern instructions, until after the pockets are added. At that point, you will need to join the front and back pieces of the dungarees at the side seams.
Baste the loops to the front of the bib and the straps to the back of the bib at a 0.3cm seam allowance. Make sure these are both just over 2cm in from the side of the top edges.
Pin the facing piece in place RST over the main dungarees, ensuring you match the side seams and centre notches (if you made them – note – ALWAYS cut centre notches, it makes life so much easier!)
Once you have sewed the facing on to the dungarees, you will need to press it carefully in place, rolling the facing to the inside, before topstitching all the way around to secure it. You can also stitch in the ditch at the side seams to prevent the facing popping out.
Then you will need to stitch up the in seam and hem, and voila, you are done!
SEAM ALLOWANCES
You will need to use the following seam allowances:
- Top of bib (front and back) 1cm
- Sides of facing (where front and back facings join) 1cm
- Underarm seams of dungarees – 2cm
- All others, as normal
I made my second pair from this lovely new smokey grey viscose twill – it is so lovely and soft to wear. I lined them using some Liberty scraps. I’m going to make a new pair out of one of our lovely enzyme washed linens because I am obsessed with them!
