Burnside Bibs - How to Distress Denim Overalls?

Hello, everyone. I bleached and dyed these acid-wash blue overalls. You like the colour?

Grey dungaree overalls. From Burnside Bibs 

 I finally finished Burnside Bibs from Sew House Seven. I really really wanted to make the overalls. Summer in Japan is so humid and hot, so I wanted to make comfortable overalls. The overalls pattern have two front bib, and two pants options :#1 (side zipper opening) and #2 (pull the drawstring). I made #2 but I changed the design a little.

Can you see the difference in colour between the overalls and the Big Ruffle Dress? I made them using the same fabric. I love both colour but I wanted to wear the overalls for the summer, so I changed light blue.

Here’s the step-by-step on how to do it!

Instructions:

What You Need: Bleach, four clothes pins, pen (I used disposable chopsticks), handkerchief, small cushion (or towel), sandpaper (#240-400 and #1000), leaves of tea (or coffee).

Test: Soak scraps of leftover denim in water with bleach.

1. Mark the location of where you need to buff the overalls using tailor's chalk.
2. Buff at these areas using sandpaper. (Yellow: Sandpaper #240-400, Red: Sandpaper #800-1000)

3. Buff at the upper thigh and back of the knee using the chopstick and sandpaper.

4. Put a something hard in the back pocket and run the sandpaper on the denim above it.
5. Stuff a small cushion (or towel) under the butt, knee, and calf area, then rub gently with sandpaper.

6. Roll up the hem under the knees and hold in place with clothespins. The colour below the knee is darker than the upper area and looks more natural. Bleach your overalls in the bucket for a few hours.

7. After rinsing the overalls, dye them using tea (or coffee).

The brand new overalls now look like old ones. It took me a whole day to bleach and dye them. However, I used stuff in my house, so it didn't cost anything. If you want to distress your overalls or jeans, I strongly recommend choosing one size bigger (shrink a little).

I attached the belt loops using leather after bleaching the overalls. I really love the idea! Burnside Bibs only had the belt loops at the back, but I attached some belt loops at the front too. The reason is, without the extra belt loops it's too much of a hassle to find the strings in the bathroom, so they might get dropped in the toilet. Ha ha (I must confess that I've dropped my phone in the toilet 💀💀💀)

I made them using grey dungaree (Non bleach). I love them too! They are super comfortable and lovely. The rainy season will start soon in Tokyo. I used to dislike the season but I don't now, because I'm more afraid of summer heat than the rainy season. The weather forecast says we’re going to have a very hot summer.


Fabric: Burnside Bibs denim version 60" 2 1/4 yd, grey dungaree 45" 3 5/8 yd
Total Time Spent (not including cutting time) : 12 hours