I decided it would be easier to make another pair of overalls than it would be to try and explain what I meant from the first pair I made. Besides I wanted to make this a tutorial or tips or tricks kind of post today. I hope you enjoy it. You can apply the principles I talk about to any overalls for any doll.
I thought I might as well make something that coordinated with the pair of overalls I had already made…I might even put them all together in the same auction… now won’t THAT be fun???
Let’s start by showing that Simplicity pattern again… This is the one I made the first pair from…
…and this is how they turned out…
Pretty cute, but there were things I thought could be tweaked…
Here are the pattern pieces… you can see in white the additions I made and the straps I decided to cut on the bias so they follow the curve of the Little Darling’s shoulders better.
I cut off the bottom corners of the bib piece to get rid of that little ripple just above the waistband on the first pair.
I tried using the bib just as it was, but when I held it up to Lian, I could see it really needed to be wider…it was just too narrow of a bib for her body.
I added a little bit to each side of the bib and the pattern piece now looked like this..
I tried again and this was much better… the straps will go over her shoulders in the right place…
Here’s a TIP for getting the edge of the strap to the very edge of the bib… pin it in place and stitch it where you “think” it should go and then hold it up to the light to see if you have the stitching right along the edge where the straps are. Make sure you pull them out of the way when you are stitching up the side of the bib. If you need to adjust it, it’s easy to see which way it needs to go.
Baste your pocket or patch in place and then (TIP)take a picture of it if possible. It’s much easier to see if it’s straight than eyeballing it. (Trust me… I’ve had experience with this… even today! :o)
The waistband gets added to the bottom edge of the bib just as the pattern says… (I added about 3/8’s of an inch to each end of the waistband, but it was still some short. So add a little more…
Sew the front seam of the shorts together (but not all the way through to the crotch…) I’ll tell you why in a minute… Stitch a fake fly front for your zipper.
TIP for getting the “fake” pockets even… Take the shorts front and fold them over with right sides together so the sides are even. Change the needle in your sewing machine to a JEANS needle if you have one… and unthread it. Stitch through both layers of fabric at the same time in the shape of the pocket stitching… this will leave tiny holes in your fabric just enough for you to see…
Both sides should have the holes showing slightly…
TIP.… Put a piece of paper underneath the stitching and stitch over the holes on both sides… your fake pockets will be even and look wonderful. I used a stretch stitch so they would show up just a little more than regular stitching.
Okay, now I hope I can explain this to you. It makes ALL the difference in the way the shorts/overalls fit. Most doll patterns tell you to sew the 2 fronts together and the back together… so you have something that looks like this…
But here is a way that makes the shorts/overalls fit much better. You can stitch down the front seam of the overalls but not all the way to the crotch… On the back you can stitch from the opening just a few stitches, but leave it open to the crotch.
You’ll want to stitch the leg seams together on both legs… like this…
Maybe you can see what I mean… The idea of this is shorts/pants fit MUCH better when the seam in the crotch goes from belly button through the crotch to the tail bone… INSTEAD of sewing the center front seam to the bottom of that seam and from the bottom of the opening in the back to the bottom of the back pieces and then sewing from the bottom of the leg through the crotch and down the other leg…
Here are both leg seams stitched…
Then with one leg tucked inside the other, stitch carefully through the crotch starting where you stopped on the front and back pieces.
If you don’t get this, I might have to do another tutorial just on this… it makes your pant legs hang evenly and much nicer.
Okay, now that we are through that, let’s move on…
It’s time to work on the back of the overalls…this picture shows you how short the waistband still was even though I added that extra little bit.
I matched up the waistband and sewed on the snap for just the waist first…My picture looks a little funny, but this is the way I attach my straps. I usually don’t mark where the pattern says to put it… I find it’s easier to see where the straps go when I have it fitted on my doll. I put a pin horizonal when I get the strap laid in the right place… level with the top of the waistband. Then I take 2 pins and gently insert them in the direction of the way the strap is laying… Do this for each side.
Carefully push your pins to the ball end to keep them from falling out and you can begin sewing your snaps in place…
Sew one to each end of the straps where it needs to go…and then on the inside of the shorts where they need to go…
Snap the straps first when putting it on your doll, then the waist snap last.
It should look like this…
I added some white buttons for this pair…
So here are a few comparison pics…
I made the little green Camp shirt for this set, but it’s a bit big so I reduced my pattern and will try again tomorrow on that…
If you have any questions or are totally confused, just let me know and I’ll to explain things better…
Hope you enjoyed this…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a wonderful tutorial, Jeanne! Thanks so much.
I do need to get over to Joann’s or Hobby Lobby and pick up that pattern.
I see what you mean about the bib–although it’s not a bad look–the narrower version, I mean–it looks like it would be more comfy with the wider bib and straps set a bit further apart.
It’s funny, when I make slacks for myself, I always sew the outseams (and any pockets first, of course) and the inseams, and then I turn one leg right side out and insert it into the other leg before sewing the crotch seam. That’s the method we were taught in the original Stretch & Sew pull-on pants pattern (from about 1969), and I have always found it an easy way to construct pants. And, yes, they do hang better that way!!
Thanks again for the excellent tutorial!
HI Charlotte,
I am late again today at getting to the comments. If you liked this tutorial, get ready for another one tomorrow. I hope no one minds! :o)
You’ll see my step by step tips tomorrow. Maybe everyone will get it with this one…
Thanks Charlotte,
Blessings, Jeanne
I think I understand Charlotte’s method but the doll version confuses me. They aren’t exactly the same. I’ll have to read it again and study the pictures later. Now it’s time for a bike ride.
Hi Julia,
Well, maybe tomorrow’s post will help you out! I hope so!
I hope you had a nice bike ride. Today would have been an okay day for a bike ride…earlier this morning…it was actually pretty nice around here!
Thanks so much!
Blessings ,Jeanne
I love step-by-step tutorials. The “pocket” tip was great. I’m going to use that any time I have to sew a fake pocket or fake fly. Even when I mark them it’s hard to get it right. Thanks. The outfits are really cute. I love both fabrics. I had a pattern once that did the crotch seam the way you did. They didn’t tell you why it was best to do it this way, but now I understand.
I had to remember you were taking a pattern for someone the size of a Wellie and using it for an LD. In human terms, the LDs are more fine-boned than the Wellies as well as shorter, so adjustments were definitely necessary. I’m a lazy sewer and don’t like making adjustments, but sometimes I have a pattern of one size that I would like to use for another size doll. Thankfully Pixie Faire does a lot of patterns in different size as does Farmcookies/Little Darling Duds on Etsy. But your tutorial was very helpful in removing some of the intimidation of doing this, so maybe I’ll give it a whirl when I can’t find the pattern in a smaller size. Unfortunately the one pattern on Pixie Faire I wish was smaller comes in an 18″ size and reducing that to a Wellie size would be a lot of work. Hopefully the pattern maker will eventually do it for me.
Our front is still not totally through. The air is drier but still hot in the morning. Unfortunately much of the rain has disappeared. Even the weather people don’t know where it went. Really need rain here.
HI Barbara,
Well, get ready for a step by step tutorial again… I hope you like it!
This Simplicity pattern says it’s for 14″ dolls, but I’m not sure it would work for the Wellie’s… It might be too small for them… If you get it you might make a trial run without finishing off any seams to see how it fits. I sold my Willa so I can’t tell you how it works for them.
Most of our day was pretty nice! My hubby was working in the garage and I helped him for a while and it wasn’t too bad in there. It was nice for a change.
Thanks Barbara,
Blessings, Jeanne
Barbara, if you can find any of the “old” (late 1990s, I think) Betsy McCall (by Robert Tonner) patterns from McCall’s, they fit LDs pretty well. I’ll try to remember to dig mine out (I think there were only two, but with several garments in each one) and see if I wrote some notes on them, and let them know, Perhaps I could take pictures of them, too, if Jeanne is interested in sharing that info, or at least give you the pattern numbers. The newer (R.T.) Betsys have bodies similar to LDs.
What a wonderful post! I have seen the pants leg sewing way before, but have never tried it. Old habits die hard. Never thought it might effect the look. I’m glad you widened the bib as I too thought it a bit narrow yesterday. Also, bias straps sound like such a good idea. I love how nicely you add extensions to your pattern pieces. And I love the love overalls. 🙂 The green dotted shirt will be perfect with them.
Thanks for sharing your creativity with us. Fab post. 🙂
HI Joy,
You’ll have to make sure you don’t miss tomorrow’s post!!! :o)
Every day I’m trying to get something new made… one of these days all the pieces will be ready for a listing! I can’t wait either!
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
Dear Jeanne, what a fun posting. I imagined a sign on the door of your sewing room that read “seamstress at work.” The Little Darlings looked like they enjoyed being your models. I can’t wait to see the finished ensemble.
Hi Dorothy,
Yes, the seamstress was at work most of the day in there! She got quite a bit accomplished!
Now there are THREE Little Darlings in the mix! :o)
Thanks Dorothy,
Blessings, Jeanne
Wow, I’m actually here early today. Thank you so much for the great tutorial. I’m going to mark this one in my email for whenever I might get around to making shoralls/overalls for my re-wigged Nellie doll when she time travels to the 1930’s. I love the lettuce edging on the little striped top. I remember little girls clothes with that- so cute.
Need to get down to our craft store and rummage through the patterns and fabric this week. It’s a Pat Catan’s and if you heard they are closing all over the country. It was nice having them these past three years because whatever you can buy at Michael’s or JoAnns for the most part you can get less expensively here. We had a JoAnns until maybe 15 years ago then it was a 40 minute drive to one. At least we still have the Walmart on the other end of town for some fabric and notions.
Can’t wait to see how you finish off these sweet sets.
HI Laura,
You got here early and I arrived late! You’ll have to mark tomorrow’s post too…it’s another tutorial.
Oh, I bet you are so sad to see this crafts/sewing store close… I’d probably cry! I hope you find some good bargains to add to your stash! :o)
Thanks Laura,
Blessings, Jeanne