How do I take in overalls?

My body has changed a bunch in the past several months; I’ve lost over 40 pounds and it’s likely this trend will continue for a bit longer. It’s also likely that the weight is not coming back. Most of my clothes were already chosen or made by me with adjustability in mind, and others I have been able to make alterations to just fine.

But my overalls are defeating me.

They’re classic, railroad-striped, bajillion pockets-bearing overalls, and I am rather fond of them and don’t want to give them up. It’s the first pair I’ve found that fit my ridiculously long torso correctly! But I am swimming in them, width-wise. We’re talking roughly 3 inches/7.6 centimeters on each side of my body, which in overalls means that if you stand next to me you can look directly down the side and see my underwear. Now, the trees and the dogs don’t care about this, but other humans can be…invasively yucky…about women wearing such things in the grocery store.

How do I take them in without sacrificing pockets? I was thinking something like long fisheye darts down either side of the front and back, if I can avoid catching the front pockets, but that’s going to be a bit of a challenge with the thick fabric. Anyone got other ideas?

Shawn Foster wrote:How do I take them in without sacrificing pockets? I was thinking something like long fisheye darts down either side of the front and back, if I can avoid catching the front pockets, but that’s going to be a bit of a challenge with the thick fabric. Anyone got other ideas?

A good pair of well-fitting overalls is a treasure worth keeping updated for sure. I have an image of them in my mind, along with an image of you at the grocery store . Mind posting a photo of the overalls? I'm thinking side seams, but I'm guessing there is a reason you aren't starting there. A photo of the garment would help me visualize the options better.

If you went with fish eye darts, could the front pockets be unpicked from the waistband and sewn back in to the narrowed waistband after the fisheyes were taken in?

Susannah Price wrote: I have an image of them in my mind, along with an image of you at the grocery store . Mind posting a photo of the overalls? I'm thinking side seams, but I'm guessing there is a reason you aren't starting there.

If you went with fish eye darts, could the front pockets be unpicked from the waistband and sewn back in to the narrowed waistband after the fisheyes were taken in?

🫣 Trust me, no one wants that mental image of me!

Here’s the photo, with a rough approximation of where the HUGE front pockets are. You’ll immediately see why adjusting at the side seam is problematic. There’s additional pockets at the back, and most of them involve the side seams as well. Unpicking the pockets might work…that’s a good suggestion. Lots of work, but worth it to keep the pockets.

I think this denim is too thick to leave the darts as just a big tuck; the fold would be uncomfortable while I’m working. May need to open them, trim the excess, and then finish the raw edges to keep them from fraying (which would also be uncomfortable).

Now that you see the photo, let me know if you’ve other good thoughts!

The male perspective on this is thus: A wide leather belt with the tools of your trade attached. Things are shifting -- folks increasingly respect a can-do woman. As they should. My 2c.

BTW Congrats on making these healthy moves. Bravo! Well done!

I love large baggy clothes though I can see wanting to make the overall smaller.

Side seems would be a nightmare.  

Were you have those red lines would be where i would make some dart starting small at the top and getting bigger as the dart do down.

Or you could cinch the waist like these:



Here is the article that explains:

https://readytosew.fr/en/journal/how-to-cinch-the-waist-of-the-patsy-overalls-b106.html

Well a Permie needs proper fitting overalls !

I'm not a skilled sewer, but wonder whether any ideas could be gleaned from Jay's adjustable skirt thread? Is 3 inches too far to move the buttons' fastening further round the back for example?

I would keep the side opening and pockets and remove excess fabric in the middle of the legs (front and back) as well as the edges of the bib. It's big operation and can't be restored but that's what it looks like when you compare two patterns several sizes different.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:The male perspective on this is thus: A wide leather belt with the tools of your trade attached. Things are shifting -- folks increasingly respect a can-do woman. As they should.

I did try  just belting it; it does have belt loops, after all. The way it’s cut is different from men’s overalls, which tend to have the side buttons at or even slightly above the natural waist. Instead, the side buttons sit down at my low hip line. It’s the one thing about these that I don’t like at all, but since finding ones that fit in torso length and were otherwise designed for work and not looking like a Farmers Only ad…

Belting at my hips just means the belt attempts to travel to where my waist is, which then causes the crotch seam to crawl up into the confluence of my anatomy. Not comfy. Belting on top of the overalls at my waist, disregarding the belt loops, brings in the bib but not the pants…causing the too-big section to gap open and stay that way. (It also looks a bit ridiculous.) I could get on a whole diatribe about the way that women’s clothes are designed so as to prevent actual technical use, but I’ll save that for another thread. 🙃

However, a good tool belt is a thing of joy and wonder and I should probably make that happen for myself.

Nancy Reading wrote:Well a Permie needs proper fitting overalls !

I'm not a skilled sewer, but wonder whether any ideas could be gleaned from Jay's adjustable skirt thread? Is 3 inches too far to move the buttons' fastening further round the back for example?

I do love an adjustable skirt and have made several!
There’s a whole mess of pockets and a hammer loop on the back, and all of them are either integrated in the side seam or right next to it.

May Lotito wrote:I would keep the side opening and pockets and remove excess fabric in the middle of the legs (front and back) as well as the edges of the bib. It's big operation and can't be restored but that's what it looks like when you compare two patterns several sizes different.

This is probably the direction to go, thanks! The legs are also definitely an issue, but one that’s much easier to tackle than the middle of the torso. Of course, doing them at the same time would definitely make the alterations look more intentional—the stripes are going to make changes pretty visible. I’ll probably have to remove the bib pocket and put it back on after all the taking-in has occurred.

My Spousal Unit keeps giving me the “just buy new ones that fit” speech, but he has no idea how long it took me to find ones that fit lengthwise and have these glorious pockets and are made of actual 100% cotton rather than stretch denim!

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Here’s the photo, with a rough approximation of where the HUGE front pockets are. You’ll immediately see why adjusting at the side seam is problematic. There’s additional pockets at the back, and most of them involve the side seams as well. Unpicking the pockets might work…that’s a good suggestion. Lots of work, but worth it to keep the pockets.

I think this denim is too thick to leave the darts as just a big tuck; the fold would be uncomfortable while I’m working. May need to open them, trim the excess, and then finish the raw edges to keep them from fraying (which would also be uncomfortable).

Now that you see the photo, let me know if you’ve other good thoughts!

Ah yeah, I see what you mean about the side seams. I think your fish eye darts idea is great - and yeah, i would definitely trim them once sewn and top stitch down the seam allowances. You could fold them over or pink shear them, beforehand, so they would be soft on the skin. It does seem worth unpicking the top of the front pockets, right? They look incredibly handy. Then you can also take in the waistband to fit the taken in front - that is if it's a separate piece sewn over the top - if not, haha, yeah, a bulky dart indeed. They are a nice pair of overalls - that fabric looks like the perfect balance between comfortable and sturdy. Hope you show us all your finished alteration!

Susannah Price wrote: Hope you show us all your finished alteration!

It may take a bit—I’ve got to shoehorn this task in around a bunch of other things—but that’s my intention! Will need to pull out my sewing machine for this one, as hand stitching denim is not my favorite thing. First up will be pinning and marking, though, so I have a roadmap for what I’m dealing with.