Bunny pyjamas – Simplicity 9329

I always thought life was too short to make a quilt or sew pyjamas, and here I am, guilty of doing both. This grey bunny print flannelette just called to me. You know how it is.

I sewed these up at the Fabric Hoarders retreat a few weeks ago, and took them to Japan. These photos are on the phone, in a hotel room. Lucky pyjamas getting to go overseas!

The pattern is Simplicity 9329. I only had the XS-M version, so sized up. Flannelette is pretty narrow and pyjamas use a lot – these used five metres.

(For my own records: I sized the trousers up to the shape I guessed a L would be. Added 5cm depth to the rise, lengthened the legs by 3cm. For the top, cut the M pattern piece with an extra 1cm at the waist and 2cm at the hips, and lengthened the sleeves 4cm)

I pattern matched the front, using Maryanne’s technique. Pretty proud of how it looks:

They have a drawstring waist and some flat piping around the pocket, which didn’t quite work out but I’m too lazy to unpick it.

I’ve totally changed my mind about handmade pyjamas. They’re such a luxury item,  because they’re so personal. Making pyjamas for yourself is like being your own friend. Mine have french seams along the sides and flat-felled seams around the sleeves, and I did those things just for me.

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a-slippin’ and a-slidin’ (and a-hidin’)

I’m a convert to slips. They’re highly functional but also make me feel like a grown up lady. I made these using some rayon from Spotlight, and the free Vera Venus bias slip pattern. It only goes up to a size 39″bust/41″hip, so I had to grade up, but it worked well. The rayon is perfect: sturdy, no special washing needed, but still light. And, since it’s a natural fibre, it breathes well and doesn’t get stinky.

For the top front edge, you can add lace or finish with a decorative stitch; the pattern suggests a shell stitch. For a laugh, here’s the black one I did by hand, compared to the white one I did by machine (using a blind hem stitch).

Oh dear. Remind me not to take up embroidery.

And, just for the record, some fun PJ pants made out of Spotlight flannelette, and a basic self-drafted pattern. Judging by the selvedge, the print seems to have been made by a student at RMIT.

Can you see the animals hiding badly? Aren’t they gorgeous?

(These have been worn a bit already; sorry about that! I love them.)

Christmas in October

If you are related to me, click this link and go look at something else.

If you’re not, I want to show you my Christmas sewing. This is outrageously organised, by my standards.

A couple of years ago I heard of a lovely tradition, involving new pjyamas on Christmas Eve. That way you get to wake up on Christmas morning in nice new clean PJs, all ready for opening presents and gorging yourself on rum balls.  The last two Christmases, I’ve bought myself new PJs, and this year I decided to extend it to the folks I’ll be spending the day with.

So after a quick visit to the most addictive fabric website I know, Hawthorne Threads, and some serious guesstimation about people’s waist circumference, we were in business. I used Simplicity 9958, and cut the men’s medium for all of them (even the ones for my sister).  Based on past experience, I lowered the waistline by an inch for the fellas, as they’re a bit old-fashioned otherwise. I left it as is for my sister’s pair (as I like a bit of butt-coverage, myself).

And here are the results! It was a typically windy-Wellington day, and I had to take a lot of photos before I got one with them all visible.

VWs for the guy with a 70s panel van.

Aeroplanes for our adrenaline junkie.

Cute lab animals for our science nerd.

Doggies for our dog lover.

Monkeys and dinosaurs because… well, just because.

And people, flat-felled seams! Where have you been all my life? Easy and strong and good going round curves… I will be using them a lot more from now on.