Marilla Walker Dungarees

Sorry I've been a bit quiet of late on here (my latest makes are on Instagram though). I've been sewing so have a bit of catching up to do on the blog.  A few weeks ago, I had a little 'sewcation' before my summer holiday to Margate , as I wanted to get some makes finished for my trip away. My  next few blog posts will probably be my three makes (plus I made a tee for my other half too) that I finished the week before my holiday, including these dungarees. I'm enjoying the dungaree revival but wanted a looser fit style than the recently released patterns. I've had my eye on the Marilla Walker Roberts Collection dungarees for a while now and so I added them to my list of makes for the week. I bought the pdf pattern so there was a lot of cutting and sticking before I could make them, but it was definitely worth it!



I didn't want to make the dungarees out of a heavy denim for summer, so I chose this fabulous Art Gallery Fabrics lightweight denim from Cloth and Candy. I'm not normally a floral type of person, but I love the way the flowers look painted on - it adds to the effect of them being overalls too! I've previously used the Art Gallery vice versa denim for a Kalle shirt so I knew it would be great quality and used my leftovers from the Kalle to line the inside of the bib and the pockets.

The pattern is fairly easy to follow. I think I sewed them up in a day. Some of the seams are faux felled seams (you also have the option to do proper flat felled seams) and the instructions are great at including sections for the different types of seams that you can use. It's hard to see because of the pattern on the fabric, but there are two pleats in the front waist which is a really nice feature. They also have a two snap side opening (which, for some reason, I managed to end up with on the wrong side. I changed it half way through, thinking I'd done it wrong and it turned out that I hadn't!) but, to be honest, they are big enough for me to get in and out of without the fastenings. I could have sized down, in hindsight, but I actually love the oversize fit. I'll probably just make this size again for my next pair. The looser fit is great for the hot weather that we've recently had in the UK too.



The only adjustment that I made was to shorten them in the leg as I'm only 5'2 and I was really playing pattern tetris with my pieces/fabric. I added two sets of snaps on each strap so that I could wear them lower or higher to suit. [I will let you into a secret: I actually ordered dungaree buckles for these before I'd read the instructions, so I'm wondering if I can do a future hack with a wider strap so I can use them!] I should add that the pattern has an option to make these as an overall with a bodice and short-sleeves, a dress version and a top, so it really is value for money. I'd quite like to make the short-sleeved version at some point too.

Overall verdict is that I absolutely love these. I'm already planing a work-friendly version that I could wear with a collared shirt underneath (maybe in black/navy/khaki for autumn/winter). I just need to decide on the fabric now.