I have been stalking this make on Instagram for a while. I loved the cool casual look they embody and from the moment I saw them I knew I was going to make a pair for myself.
Falling in love with this design was the easy part. Finding the perfect fabric was the hardest. I don’t know about anybody else but I am very good at second guessing my fabric choices. I can spend hours searching the internet looking for options and just when I think I find the perfect fabrication doubt starts creeping in. Am I sure it’s the right colour, will have the right drape, what will the colour actually look like in reality and will it be the correct weight. The list of doubts keep flooding in.
Unlike buying clothes from traditional retail outlets, making your own clothes requires a leap of faith. Once you choose your fabric and pattern, you just have to cross your fingers and hope the end product works out to be a wearable item. You don’t have the liberty of trying it on and not purchasing if it doesn’t look good or is not quite what you imaged it to be. Once the investment is made in fabric and pattern you are stuck with the end product. I think this is why I put so much pressure on myself to make the right decision.
I remember growing up in a household where the majority of our clothes where home made. My mother was a beautiful sewer. I would beg for store brought purchases and my Mum’s standard reply was “I can make it for half the price”. If only that where true theses days. It would relieve some of the pressure of making the perfect fabric and pattern choice. These days a home sewn wardrobe is not a cheaper alternative but it is definitely a more satisfying way of dressing.
Back to my Burnside Bibs. I opted for the downloadable PDF pattern and printed onto AO size at my local printer. I took a leap of faith with this pattern given its oversized nature and didn’t make a toile. After reading the sizing and finished measurement of this pattern I was also able to figure out I am a true fit to Sew House 7 sizing.
I am super savvy with my pattern lays and was able to cut the size 8 of Option B full length out using 2.5mts of fabric. My fabric selection was 56” 57% linen 43% cotton Heritage Check from The Fabric Store (looks like it is almost out of stock). I have to be honest, I doubted my fabric choice once my package arrived but now that my garment is complete I love my fabric choice.
Sewing my Burnside Bibs was a pleasurable task as the patterns where well notched and the sewing instructions where easy to understand. And thankfully when I finished sewing them they fit me perfectly. I did reduce the width of the hem turn to keep the length I wanted and when I make them again I will add 4cm length so I can finish with a nicer hem.
My other obsession at the moment is the woven labels by Kylie And The Machine to finish off my home made pieces. They are so damn cute! I was so hasty at sewing the label into my Burnside Bibs that I sewed it to the front instead of the back. Now every time I go to the loo when I wear this piece I am reminded that not only is my version of the Burnside Bibs one of a kind but I too am one of a kind!
Published by