Overalls.  Hmmmmm.  Will I or won’t I?  Maybe I should.  After all,  I hadn’t anticipated how much I would love my Helen’s Closet York pinafores – maybe the Helen’s Closet Yanta Overalls would be another surprise hit!  They have similar ‘cocoon’ shaping.  Okay, give them a go!

Well what do you know! They’re okay after all!

From the pattern website: The Yanta Overalls are laid-back, artist-style overalls with a comfortable fit through the waist, hips, and legs. These overalls have classic features like a v-shaped back and a pointed chest pocket. The Yanta straps are secured using buttons. Make your Yanta Overalls cropped pants or summery shorts. Both views have front and back patch pockets. Yanta is comfortable, modern, and fun to sew! Recommended Fabrics: Medium to heavy weight woven fabrics such as cotton twill, denim (up to 10oz), linen, corduroy, and canvas. Crisp lightweight fabrics such as cotton and lightweight linen can also be used for warm-weather overalls. Use more drapey fabrics such as Tencel twill, wool crepe, or linen/viscose slub if you want to experiment with a softer, less structured look.

Obviously I chose the long version.  Did I shorten the legs?  I think I did, but after the fact.  I chose to use a mid-weight tweedy wool from Super Cheap Fabrics rather than one of the recommended fabrics, and think that it still worked quite nicely.  I somehow forgot to use the front pockets on the front and instead put them on the back (and didn’t use the back pocket pattern pieces at all)!  Given my fabric choice I think that leaving the two front pockets off is okay.

I lined the yokes with a coordinating quilting cotton, and found a couple of large wooden buttons in stash that worked nicely to secure the straps. I didn’t bother with the size seam invisible zip, as I was pretty sure that my waist to hip ratio wouldn’t require it. I was correct.

The instructions were terrific; easy to understand and beautifully illustrated. I really do feel that Helen has perfected her pattern writing style. She does her thing so well! I’m still not sure about overalls on me, though. I feel that I look a bit like my dad, or like I should be chewing on a piece of hay. But I don’t want to get stuck in a style rut!

By the way, the long sleeved tee that I’m wearing underneath is the one I was talking about a couple of blog posts ago – my merino Plantain/Concord mashup. Combined with the wool overalls, this is a very cosy winter outfit. I am planning to give the Yanta overalls another go though, but in something lighter weight; maybe a textured cotton or linen for more transitional wear, with the legs rolled up to 3/4 length and all the pockets.  Maybe I’ll cut that out this afternoon!