Made by Jots Mum: Finish and Pattern Review

Monday, January 14, 2013

Finish and Pattern Review

I have for some time been looking for a good overalls pattern for CT. I found and tried one from a book a few months ago and I was very unimpressed.

When my wonderful sister got me a gift voucher for Patterns Only for Christmas I decided to invest in a good pattern. I ended up buying the Little Explorer pattern from Make It Perfect. I know these patterns are good as I have made multiple versions of their Versatile Wrap Skirt (in fact it is my favourite go to pattern for a new skirt).

I was very excited when it arrived but had guest staying so had to put it aside. Anyway I saw it yesterday and decided that it was time to search the stash for the right fabric for it. I found a blue/grey drill and some dots which I believe is Remix by Anne Kelle.

I love this pattern. It took me about 3 1/2 hours from tracing the pattern to the button holes but I am sure it wont take that long next time. I actually read all the instructions this time. I did have one moment of confusion where there is a misprint in the cutting instructions but I worked it out quite quickly. There was also one unpicking moment but that was more due to being distracted by the kids when trying to sew in the elastic than anything else.

Things I love about this pattern:

The very cute appliqué
The technique for adding the elastic
The elastic waist means no gaping which annoys me immensely in normal overalls.
The clear instructions. I did have to read a couple of steps through twice, more likely due to the sleep deprivation CT is putting us through that the clarity of the instructions.

There is only one thing I didn't like and that was the appliqué on the pocket. I found there wasn't really enough room for it and when I top stitched I went through the turtles head. Minor issue and CT is certainly not going to notice. I will just enlarge the pockets by 1/2 inch next time to make room.

I made one set of extra buttonholes in the strap as there is no way CT is big enough yet for the buttonholes to be on the end of the straps. This means that we will double up the straps until he is tall enough for the change.

I also managed to put the pockets on the wrong sides, another minor issue that CT won't care about but it looks a little funny having the turtles bum on the front rather than his face.

I made the size 1 and it is a good size for CT. It looks a bit small on him in the picture but that is because he is wearing a particularly fat cloth nappy. When we changed the nappy it looked great.