Dungarees and rompers are just the best, and a must in every kid's wardrobe in my humble opinion. In fact, why stop here? There should be space in everyone's wardrobe for some dungarees, too, whatever your age!

And they can work in all seasons. They are an easy option for spring and autumn, teamed with a long T-shirt underneath; in the summer, the cute shorts versions can be worn on their own. Although things can get a bit tricker in the winter, you could easily make it work using the right choice of fabrics.

My favourite fabric choices for winter toddler dungarees are sweatshirt knit, brushed French Terry, and quilted jerseys. And if you can make the dungarees fully lined, you will have an outfit that keeps your little one warm from shoulder (almost head!) to toe.

As soon as I saw the stripy quilted jersey, I knew that it would fit the bill for this winter's much needed dungarees. It's basically 2 layers of fabric with some polyester "stuffing" or wadding sandwiched in the middle, and is therefore a lovely and warm material. Unlike a lot of other quilted jerseys, this one doesn't have obvious stitching on the outer fabric (often in a diamond shape); instead, it has a great texture to it, and even my husband said to me "oh, this looks like seersucker". You know what? I couldn't have described it better myself, and I could not have felt prouder of him in knowing what seersucker is! I teamed it up with some denim look French Terry in my stash, and we have a versatile little pair of new dungarees!

I must confess, this isn't the first pair of winter dungarees that I've made. In fact, Freya has already had 3 pairs of winter dungarees from me over the last 2 winters, and I've even sewn a matching pair for one of her friends last year because these projects are so addictively satisfying. They've gone down a treat every time, and she always gets so many compliments wearing them. So I couldn't resist once again!

What's different this time? Shock horror, I had to find a new pattern! My tried and tested Dandelion Dungarees pattern from Poppy and Jazz (https://sewoverit.co.uk/product/dandelion-dungarees-pdf-sewing-pattern/) was for 0-24 months, which Freya has now outgrown. It was pretty difficult finding an alternative, as I had grown pretty fond of it over those 24 months!

Low and behold, I discovered the Overitalls by Made by Jack's Mum (https://madebyjacksmum.com/shop/over-it-alls/). This one has a huge size range, all the way to 12 years old, plus lots of options! The shape is a bit more straight up and down than the slight "bubble" shape of the Dandelion, but I wanted to give it a try.

One of the challenges that I have with MBJM patterns is that the sizing is a bit small for Freya (in comparison, Poppy and Jazz could've been tailor made for Freya). I cut a size 4T wide with 3T length for these, allowing for some growing room. I also swapped the cuffs for hemmed legs that can be turned over, which should also be a "grow-with-me" feature.

I'm set in my ways when it comes with constructing reversible dungarees. That can happen after you've made too many pairs! I sewed side seams and crotch first on both fabrics (except an opening for turning in one crotch), and then slided one pair inside the other. With right sides together, I sewed the neckline and arm seams, then bagged out the leg hems.

I completed the project by topstitching the neckline and leg hems with a triple stretch stitch using an overlocker cone. How did you manage that, I hear you ask? No, the cone wouldn't fit on the spool holder of my machine either. I had to get creative! Top secret -- I wound two bobbins with the cone in a cup on my table (wait, what?) on my sewing machine, and then used one as the top thread, and one in the bobbin.

I'm so proud of how it's turned out, and how it adds colour to the dungarees! Check out the photos showing off the details. I also think that the shape works quite well for Freya, but that's not to say that I would complain if Poppy and Jazz ever extended the sizing for the Dandelion 😉

Until next time,

Alice from Queen of Darts (www.queenofdarts.com)

#minervamaker #minervamake #sewingfortoddlers #reversibledungarees #mummymade #mbjmoveritalls #winterdungarees #sewingdungarees #sewingrompers #sewingquiltedjersey