Dress the kids in our play-perfect
Kids will be cute as a button in Julika Landermann’s unisex design. Made with less than a metre, soft elastic at the back ensures a comfortable fit, and the straps can be individually tailored to your little one by positioning the buttonholes. The pattern is so simple, it can be adapted into shorts, pinafore or dungarees with a waistband, too – the options are limitless!
1 Download the pattern at sewmag.co.uk, then print out and follow the cutting guide. Fold or iron the waistband for the back piece in half lengthways. Pin it to the upper edge of the trousers and sew in place with a sewing machine or overlocker. Finish the bottom end of the lining as well.
2 Thread elastic through the waistband and secure it with short straight stitches, first on one side of the trousers, then continue threading it through and secure on the other side in the same way. With right sides together, sew the lining to the top of the front piece along the sides of the bib. Position the front piece of the trousers with the sewn-on lining in front of you.
Fold up the lining so that the ruffled back of the trousers can be placed on the front piece of the trousers, right sides together; the crotch seams should be flush. Fold the lining back down. Once everything has been securely pinned and the layers are neatly on top of each other, sew the two side seams and the crotch seam. Pay particular attention to the two places where the elastic is; you’ll need to give these places an additional seam, so that everything is secure.
4 Gently iron a strip of interlining on to each strap so that it covers half of the strap on the wrong side. This will help to make the straps firmer and strengthen the buttonholes. Iron or fold the two straps lengthways, with right sides together, and pin them. Stitch along the long side and one of the two short edges. Once finished, turn the straps right side out.
5 Pin the straps inside the top edge of the dungarees, which is still raw. This is where the open short edge of the straps with the right side out meets the unsewn top of the dungarees. Carefully, pin the two pieces of the dungarees with the straps and sew. You can also add an additional seam over the straps so that everything is secure. Turn the trousers right side out.
6 Try out the best position for the buttonholes directly on the child that you’re making the dungarees for. Work the buttonholes – you can have one or two on each strap so that the dungarees can grow wi
