Tutorial: Creating Straight-Legged Astoria Overalls

Guest blogger: Rachel Lafigliola

As soon as I saw the Little Lizard King Astoria Overalls I knew they were (almost) exactly what I had been searching for for over a year! I looked high and low for some vintage looking overalls for my 6 year old son who has been asking me to do a “Gone Fishing” photo shoot since last summer.

The only thing I needed to do was make the pant legs straight instead of flared. The pattern for the pants includes curves to create a flared look at the bottom

This was actually a very easy modification! Let me show you how I did it. First print off your pattern pieces basically using the sizing instructions given. One suggestion is I would make sure you have at least an extra inch for the inseam length you will see why in a minute.

The construction of these is exactly the same as described in the Astoria Overalls tutorial. The only difference is you will need to make a few easy alterations to the pattern pieces for the pant legs.

First on both the back and front pant leg piece use a straightedge to draw a straight line perpendicular (90 degree angle) to the hem to just below the crotch curve.

Next on the outside seam draw another line perpendicular to the hem where the start of the pattern piece curves inward to eliminate that curve.

This is what the back leg pattern piece will look like when you are finished. My new cut lines are in shown in green. These are size 4 hip and size 5 length (size 2 lines are also shown but not necessary for this modification). The front piece will look similar to the back piece shown.

Follow all pattern instructions using these new pant leg pieces. After you sew the pants’ side seams you will trim some of the bottom hem from the front to match the hem of the back for each leg. When the curves are eliminated the length of the front piece is slightly longer than the back piece. This is why I suggested to make sure to include about an inch extra of length for the inseam.

Now since you have a straight leg, the hem can be adjusted to fit easily. Also you can use the pattern instructions for the shorts’ cuffs to create a cuff on the pant legs. That is what I did for my version.

Here are some of my photos from our “Gone Fishing” photo shoot!! My boys who are 6 and 3 had so much fun exploring the creek, climbing rocks, getting dirty, pretending to fish and just being adventurous little boys.

I can’t wait to see what you come up with. Be sure to share your creations on the Little Lizard King Facebook Group.