CUSTOM OVERALLS

With the joy of our first Grandchild on the way, I've been doing lots of sewing lately!  It's been a minute since I've sewn baby/toddler/kid's clothes, so I dug deep in my commercial pattern drawers and found some classic patterns.  I've also been creating some of my own patterns, so that I can also grade them into other sizes.

I have to give credit to my husband on this project, since he was the one who asked if I wanted his old jeans to use to make something for the baby.   He got my wheels spinning and what happened next was really fun!

What I chose with the first pair of his jeans was to create a pair of overalls.  I didn't have any pattern pieces for this project.  I was actually "engineering" it as I went along.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

 You can see from these pictures, my husband definitely gets his money's worth from his jeans.  Not only are they completely worn through, but because he's lost weight, they were just hanging on him.    It was definitely time for some new pair in a smaller size.            

      

How I tackled the project was to first determine the elements I knew that I wanted to be a part of the overalls.  For instance, the waistband, belt loops, pockets, brand labels.   I totally ripped the jeans apart, setting those items aside.  I then, "opened up" the inseam so that I had a flat layer of denim to work with.               

                                                                          

I took the "change pocket" and brand label and used them on the bib that I had created from one of the pant legs.  I constructed my own waistband from his, and re-attached the belt loops where I wanted them, after I sewed the bib to the waistband.     

I knew I wanted to use one of his back pockets, and it only seemed right to use it on the back.  I removed the "relaxed fit" label from the inside of the jeans and re-sewed it to the back pocket.                                                                                                           

Finally, I created side pockets, using my husband's jeans as a point of reference.  These are "working pockets" with actual pocket bags on the inside.    In order to make it easier for diaper changes, I added snap tape to the inseams.  

Using some size charts I found online, these should be a12 month size....Obviously, every baby is different, so periodic checks as they grow will be the true indicator as to when they might be able to actually wear them.    

My husband had five pair of jeans he was going to "toss".....so as you can imagine, I've tackled a few more projects that I'll be sharing and still have more denim to work with.  You can probably see that these overalls were constructed from a different pair of jeans that weren't quite as faded as the picture I took.  

 

I'm so looking forward to seeing my Grandbaby in these....and, these are gender neutral, so if there should be more babies in the future....well, you get the idea.