I’m wearing a new … thing. Is it a dress? Dungarees? An overall…? we used to call these pinafores. Or a pinny. I think it’s pretty cute anyway 🙂
I used to dress my children in corduroy dungarees when they were little, and LOVED seeing them toddle around in them, how sweet they used to look! So maybe I’m a little nostalgic. And maybe it could be argued that pinnies are a funny choice for a woman of my age, that they’re more suited to a younger set; but whatever… I’m just just inexplicably into them right now; I don’t always follow a trend but this one I really liked and I just wanted one. Nowadays I’m just into wearing what I want to, and am caring less and less if it’s what I’m supposed to be wearing. It’s kinda freeing, to be honest.
I’m trying to remember when the pinafore first crept sneakily into my head and buried itself comfortably there … was it in Japan? or Melbourne? just the general collective subconscious? most likely the last one… can’t remember, but the idea got wedged in somewhere and at some point I started to fantasise about my perfect pinnie. I could picture it exactly; velvet or velveteen, and deep purple-y/burgundy/red wine colour. The only problem was that Spotlight had a wine-coloured corduroy, but not velveteen, and I had my heart set on velveteen… not to worry! I bought the cherry-red velveteen with plans to dye it. I also bought my copper-coloured buckles and jean buttons from Spotlight.
the original colour, before dyeing…
Now patterns, patterns… There re actually precious few pinafore patterns out there. I ended up using the pauline alice turia dungarees pattern, I’d seen and liked Sue’s turia dungarees, especially the cute trapezoid pocket with flap on the bib, and thought I could alter the pattern to be a dress pretty easily, although I ended up altering every single pattern piece! with one exception; that front bib pocket, that attracted me in the first place!
For inspiration; I really liked this pink pinny, and this denim one too… though I preferred the pink one. . I printed out and taped the bodice bits to the shorts bits, and cut them as one piece, like in the following picture… you can see in the picture I’ve allowed plenty of room around the pattern pieces for custom-fitting, and I basically draped and pinned it directly on myself to get the final version! It doesn’t even fit either of my dummies!
The front is cut on the fold as one piece, with a wider bodice and a straightish A-line skirt. The expanse of fabric on the front is nicely cut up by those three patch pockets. The back I cut with a similarly shaped A-line skirt, and to have a centre back seam, which I overlocked and then felled to one side; it would have been easy to cut the back on the fold as one piece too, but because I was not having any pockets on the back, I thought it needed the centre seam for some visual interest.
I cut my hip pockets to be about 2cm deeper and wider than the pattern pieces, because I wanted them to be more visually weighty than they appeared on the pattern illustration… and positioned them on the dress in an optimum position for me, which is lower than on the patten.
I also ended up cutting my shoulder straps narrower than the pattern, so as to fit into the buckles that I’d bought from Spotlight. The pattern is not intended to be lined, however because I knew I’d be wearing it with tights all winter I decided to fully line it… the bodice, shoulder straps, and all the pockets are all lined with white/purple striped linen from Tessutis in Melbourne, leftover from a shirt I made for Craig a few years ago. For the skirt part I unearthed a navy blue polyacetate lining fabric from my stash. I only had a very small piece of this, and by complete sheer luck it was exactly the right size and depth for my lining.
lining; the bodice and skirt are attached together at waist level and cut in the same A-line shape as the pinafore.
pocket lining
I used black thread throughout, and deep chocolate overlocking thread… resulting in a mishmash of cherry red velveteen, white/purple lining, blue skirt lining, and black and chocolate threads .. sounds like a bizarro dog’s breakfast of a dress, yes? Yep!
before dyeing
BUT I knew it’d be alright once it was dyed. And you know what? I’M SO THRILLED WITH IT! I used both iDye in Brown and some Blue, and TOOK THE PLUNGE! eeeeek!!! Dyeing is always a little terrifying, but yeah, I couldn’t be happier with the result, the colour is perfect and EXACTLY what I wanted. I’ve already worn this two days in the week since I finished it!
Details:
Pinafore; some wild ad-libbing upon the pauline alice Turia dungaree pattern
Tshirt; Closet Case patterns Nettie bodysuit, paprika stretch, details here
Scarf; raspberry cotton jersey, detail here
Navy cardigan; the Miette, a free pattern by Andi Satterlund, all yarn details here
Orange arm warmers; made from an old moth-eaten jumper, details here
location; Eagle Bay, in south western Australia
above is how I wore it – in the rain! – on the weekend, and below is how I’m wearing it today… it looks a little more vibrant in the blazing sun!
with self-drafted striped Tshirt, details here, and
my scarlet Miette cardigan, all yarn details here
Love, love! I recognize that garment as a jumper! Am so tempted to make one for this fall! Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful creations!
thank you Carolyn! 🙂
Your pinny is absolutely darling! I can see myself wearing this styled with boots when my winter comes. As a matter of fact I’m pinning it to my winter wish list. Thanks for the inspiration Carolyn.
thanks Faye! I highly recommend the pinny; so comfy and fun, and I think it’s pretty cute too 🙂
This pinny is so cute, and you have nailed it with the perfect colour! Velveteen! I love everything about it and it suits you very well!
thanks SaSa! I love velveteen, and I think the lushness of it “adults” the pinny up a bit 🙂
I am totally crushing on your new pinafore! Love!!! The velveteen zoomed me right back to those 1970s teen years when velvet blazers and such were all the rage….. Perfect! 🙂
thanks Lisa! I’m enjoying mine so much, I highly recommend one for winter! 🙂
It’s perfect! I’m glad you stayed true to your velveteen inspiration; it is so lush and cozy for cooler weather.
thanks so much Masha! I’m so happy with it 🙂
I remember wearing pinafores as a youngster! Yours is fantastic and I love that you dyed it to your liking. Fabulous job (as always).
thanks Tomasa! hehe, I’m notorious for dyeing stuff at the drop of a hat, if the colour is not right, it’s generally an easy fix
I’d say pinny, or maybe overalls – or does that term just apply to the ones with pant legs? Either way, fabulous make. That velveteen is really lush!
thanks Siobhan! yeah, I reckon overalls applies to the ones with legs, that’s a really cute look but not one for me, I’m all about the skirts/dresses! And velveteen is so nice and comfy in winter 🙂
I love it! And the color and fabric are just right! I put it on my wishlist
thank you Jolanda! 🙂
Im with you on the wear what you like sentiment. I remember wearing overalls as a teen, the last time they were trendy and like you dressed my toddlers in them (I still have the pattern). I really like that wine red colour it is so cozy looking.
thank you Andrea! I actually had a pair of overalls as a teen too… they were red and I wore them with a navy blue Tshirt, white sandshoes, high pigtails and star-shaped sequins glued to my cheekbones CRIIIIINGE!!
Wonderful!
And I love your backdrops. They remind me of my home state and holidays – Dunsborough, Eagle Bay, Bunker Bay. Oh joy!
thank you Anthea! These are all my very favourite places of all! I’m so glad the pictures bring you happy memories 🙂
Sooo, I’ve learned a new word, thanks! 🙂 Your pinafore looks awesome and makes me want one too. The dye looks great, I hope someday I will get to the point where the dye turns out as I wanted it! Well, I guess I need to practice more!
thank you so much Katharina! It’s a little scary dyeing something, particularly something you’ve only just made! but I was pretty sure it was going to be alright 🙂
I love it !! It’s so funny !
thank you Liochka!
I love the dye! It came out perfect. Your jumper looks amazing. I support the idea of wearing what you want – it really is freeing.
thank you Olivia! and yes, it is… getting dressed can be lots of fun, I love playing with my closet 🙂
WOW Caroline that was a serious plan coming together I must say! Beautiful too 🙂 My very first garment make was in 1972 and it was almost exactly like this -not so fancy – no pockets (that I can recall) but an overall that was a jumper (Simplicity pattern but I can’t recall the #) made of a wide whale, purple corduroy. It was a mini of course being 1972 and I wore it with black tights and a black turtle neck. Everyone asked me where I bought it they loved it so much! That was my “hook”. Seeing all these jumpers appearing over the ether has been such a delightful nostalgic experience for me 🙂
thank you Kathleen! wow your pinafore sounds gorgeous, and very trendy for today too… it’s a pity you don’t have it any more. Maybe you could make a new one?! 🙂
The seaside photos invite a whole world of speculation. Where is she? What’s going on? So beautiful and dreamy. And the dyeing, wow, that came out spectacularly. It’s a process that scares me but the way you mixed your colours makes me think it’s just another art process, which seems more approachable. Love this outfit!
thank you so much Melanie! yes, I like your thought processes… approaching the concept and construction of your clothes can be thought of just like making artwork. I love it when a plan comes out just how I hoped 🙂
The colour is amazing but what really makes it sing is pairing it with that red top. What a stunning combo!
thanks Catherine! 🙂
I love your pinafore. It’s a gorgeous colour and I don’t think you need to worry about the age thing – wear what you want, I’m with you there.
I’m thinking of making an ankle length one from locally grown & woven wool tweed. I have the fabric…
thank you Norma! Wow, an ankle length one… that sounds pretty amazing. I say, go for it!
Your pinny is wonderful! You are brave – dyeing a newly-made garment. But then – you do have quite a bit of experience with that.
thank you Irene! Yes, it did feel a bit brave, but I was pretty sure it would turn out ok 🙂
Just amazing. I love your pinafore, beautyful colour. In 1972 we wore overall in brown velvet and black thiner material.
I think I would love to make one in blue/white cowboy/jeans material.
thank you so much Kirsten! Mmm, I think one in jeans material would be pretty lovely, I hope you do make one! 🙂 xx
Terrific pinny! Great work with the dye!
thank you Sarah! xx 🙂
This is beautiful in velveteen. Plus, I love how you dyed it your dream color and were successful!
thank you so much! I love velveteen in winter, it so comfy and warm too 🙂
Very cute! Pinafores are definetly in the comfy kidult realm! 🙂 And I think the colour works!
thank you very much! hehe, kidult, that’s an awesome word. I think maybe it describes me all too well! 🙂 xx
I love it, need to think about sewing something similar. Best regards from Basel Anita