Waves & Wild Heyday Dungarees

I've made 4 pairs of these dungarees now - they are such a simple, easy and quick make.

The loose fit means you dont need to worry too much about sizing, although this makes them a much more casual style than say, the Mila dungarees by TATB.

I can easily make a set in a morning, and the possibilities for styling are endless. I particularly enjoyed making a 3/4 length sequin pair and much prefer to wear all styles rolled up, so have added a leopard print cuff on a black pair, with leopard binding on the seams. Pattern matching tartan is not something i'd do again!

Although these work in lighter fabrics, i've preferred the drape and style of twill, and have gone as heavy as suedette.

One thing to watch out for is using eyelets - I have found the stress of the straps pulling has caused the eyelets to pull out of the fabric, so just use the fabric loop option.

I have seen some awesome versions of this pattern popping up on Instagram and they are a really similar style to my much-worn ready-to-wear dungarees. The pattern itself if very simple and would be a good project for a beginner sewist. The dungarees feature 5 pockets, loops to tie the extra long straps and a relaxed fit

I have made a few pairs of dungarees, but none are as comfy as my favourite ready-to-wear pair and I don’t reach for them in my wardrobe as much. So what is the missing ingredient? STRETCH CORDUROY! I’m annoyed it took me so long to realise this as it’s really obvious, but that little bit of stretch makes all the difference to wearability. I bought 2 metres of navy needlecord for this project from Sew Me Sunshine, which has 20% crosswise stretch and it is absolutely perfect!

Construction was easy and the instruction booklet is very clear and detailed. I decided to add a simple facing to the front and back bib to get a cleaner finish, so I went off-piste a bit with the recommended steps and just sewed in the order that seemed logical to me.

I made the size XS (my measurements are B33″/W27’/H37″) and I’m really pleased with the fit. I made a couple of basic adjustments to the pattern to get the look I was after and you can read more about the changes I made on my blog.

Of course the finishing touch was to add a label to the front pocket in the same style as my ready-to-wear dungarees. Mog got very involved in ‘helping’ with this project, so the obvious choice was a ‘contains cat hair’ label by Pink Coat Club!

back view

Cute and casual dungarees pattern. There are quite a few dungarees patterns on the market but the comfy, casual-ness of the Heyday Dungarees won me over. I like that it uses 4 big pattern pieces for the front and back (no waist seams) and that the dungarees can be pulled on without any need for side zips or buttons. I also love the shape of the bib at the back and the big, practical patch pockets.

For my dungarees I used a gorgeous navy stretch jumbo corduroy purchased online from Minerva Crafts last November. It shed fluff *everywhere* whilst I cut and sewed it, but that stopped once all the raw edges were sealed.

My measurements are B35", W27", H37" and I'm almost 5ft 8". After initially cutting size S, basting it together and discovering it was too big I went back and recut the pieces to size XS. I really should have just cut the XS in the first place as that's where my measurements fell but I guess I was being overly cautious.

I made the following alterations:

,created a back facing to hide where the straps joined as the suggested finish would have looked quite lumpy. (I referenced Pauline Alice's Turia Dungarees pattern for this as I've made them previously.)
,lined all the pockets with a cute floral cotton for a nice detail and clean finish
,added bias binding to the bib edges for a clean finish
,added 1/2" length to bib
,added 1" length to leg (I would have needed more had I wanted the turned up cuffs but I was happy without.)
,sewed a 1/4" seam allowance around crotch
,added more thigh space by moving the inside front leg seam out by 1/8". (Ideally I'd have liked more but that's all I could get.)
,scooped out the back crotch curve as it was hiking up my backside something chronic (possibly due to lack of front/inner thigh space?)
,tapered in the waist seam by 3/8" for the first 4" then blended back down for the remaining outside leg seam. The original waist was comically large. Anybody tall standing next to me could have got a birds eye view of my pants, haha!
,used traditional dungarees buckles as I wasn't a fan of the looped ties.

Overall, I flipping LOVE these dungarees and have worn them almost every week since finishing them 2 months ago. I already have plans for a second pair and hopefully I can improve the fit around the back crotch and inner thigh as I'm aware the fit on these isn't right.

Extra thoughts on the pattern:

,I personally feel it could benefit from bigger seam allowances (the pattern uses 3/8") just to help with fitting alterations.
,it could benefit from some notches since the pattern pieces are so large. It would make matching up seams easier and more precise.
,the finish for the straps and bib edges seem a bit bulky and unrefined, especially if using a thicker fabric. There's nothing wrong with them, but there are cleaner ways to do them.
,if you're taller than me and want the turned up trouser cuffs you'll need to add a good few inches to the leg length.