Cleo Dungarees are here!

As a kid from the nineties I basically grew up in dungarees.  I was a stubborn kid at that, and knew what I liked, so at some point my mother had trouble getting me into anything but dungarees.
Even before dungarees made a fashion comeback, I had plans to make myself a pair to see how I’d like them as a grown up. Obviously I’m only getting to it now, which probably means the trend is on its retreat again (I’m always late to ANY party).

Judging by the amount of times I’ve seen this dress in my blog feed and instagram timeline, I’m probably the last person in the sewing community to make this dungaree dress. From the moment I saw these I wanted to make it, even though it diverges a bit from my usual style. I’ve been branching out a bit, trying new things. I notice I’m drawn to trying different silhouettes from my usual style, though I still like fit and flare.

 I can definitely see why this pattern has taken the sewing community by a storm. Not only is the dress itself a beauty, it’s a quick and easy projects as well. The sewing process was a dream and I breezed through it. I finished it in two sittings, where I usually have to take quite some time for projects. I usually sew in bouts, especially these days, when I just don’t have the time to spend a whole day behind the machine.

I picked a red corduroy fabric to make this in. I was a bit worried about how this would handle, especially reading a multitude of blogs strict warnings on mistakes to make while sewing ribbed fabrics. In the end a sturdy needle and a bit of bluff did the trick. I did all the top stitching in a matching colour, so it did not have to be extremely exact. I made the mini version, although there is a knee length version as well. Just as a heads up, the mini length is quite short. It wasn’t too short for me, but I’m quite short myself, so longer legged ladies might want to add a bit more length with this pattern. I’m not really used to wear mini length any more so I was a bit worried whether that would be an issue but I actually really like it with this style. The only hardware that this dress needs are the buckles on the straps, but they are the simplest thing ever. They are basically no-sew buttons, which you just push trough the fabric and tada.

This project has convinced me that I need more corduroy in my life. I mean I always like the fabric (again, born in the nineties) but now I want to fill my whole wardrobe with it!