teaching sewing confidence, tip by tip

Tuesday 22 March 2016

Midnight Snacking


There's two things my daughter Flicky loves, really loves - red Solo cups and Skittles.  
My friend Karen Moore Haynes knows she loves the solo cups and text me as soon as she saw this flannel for sale in Joannes.  I text straight back "oh yes please, get me 3 yards".

This is the flannel, above, after I pre-washed with a colour catcher.  I always pre-wash flannel, it shrinks so much you need to shrink it first and then you can make items to the correct size.  There's some pink bleeding into the white from the red cups but I was expecting it to be worse so I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

Imagine how delighted I was when shortly after getting hold of the red Solo cup flannel I spotted this Skittle fabric at Pins & Needles on Manhattan's Upper East Side - and another 3 yards was snapped up for a new project.


And the project - two pairs of PJ bottoms for Flicky, of course.


I have a favourite pattern, tried and tested - Sew Easy Pajama Pants by Cindy Taylor Oates.


I've shared these PJs with you previously, you can read more about them here.


Let's take a look at the waist detail and my label.


I make the pattern exactly as printed but I extend the leg length by 1.5" as Flicky is 5' 7" tall and likes PJ bottoms hanging around her feet and not part way up her ankle or leg.  I added even more length to the Skittles legs as you can see in the pic below but shortened them after the pic was taken to match the length of the Solo cup pair.  Note has been made of the preferred measurement ready for next time!


If there's any doubt about whether or not Flicky appreciated her new PJ bottoms, the photo evidence is fairly positive.



Have you ever made PJ bottoms?  Did you use novelty fabric?  Would you make them again?  Let us know in the comments.



Clicking on an image will take you to a new page of crafty goodness :)
 

Click to follow me on



Related Posts:


Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only, no payment or commission is received on click-throughs to links shared.

Linky Parties This post may be linked to some great Linky Parties, always a great source of inspiration too.  If you click through to my 'Fave Linky Parties'  page you can see where I like to share my work.

22 comments:

  1. Very very cool. I have the old version of that pattern and use it heaps. Love the material

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the material and the PJ bottoms. I just ordered the book! Super excited to make PJ bottoms! Thank you for the inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oooh how exciting, did you make any PJs yet? I hope you like the pattern as much as I do :D - Chris

      Delete
  3. I love making pj pants. such a quick and satisfying finish

    ReplyDelete
  4. I use that same pattern all the time. The first ones I made in flannel for me and my daughter. The flannel shrank so much the first pair I made I had to add a contrasting cuff. Now I've made the shorts for the granddaughter, too. It's so fun, so easy, and everybody loves getting them. Whenever I find cute fabric (love the skittles) I buy enough for pj pants.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't it a great pattern?! I'm the same way buying the fabric - "2-1/2 yards please"! :D - Chris

      Delete
  5. Great idea. Think this will be something I do to put in my pajama bags at Christmas time Blogged here http://quiltquest.blogspot.com/2015/12/a-finish-at-least-for-now-pajama-bag.html and Inspiration blogged here = http://quiltquest.blogspot.com/2015/12/throwback-thursday-giving-credit.html . Now that I have the bags it will be more fun if I make the pajamas at least sometimes too! Thank you for sharing this.
    I tried to put in the links before but it just went back to your blog instead of the posts I wanted...!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your pyjama bags from your Mum are wonderful June and I love that you've made new bags too, you definitely need to make pyjama bottoms to go in them now!!! :D - Chris

      Delete
  6. Fun pajama bottoms! She looks thrilled. Good one mom!

    ReplyDelete
  7. So cool! I think my husband would love a pair made out of M&M's. Is there fabric like that?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I haven't seen any M&Ms fabric personally but a quick Google Search revealed there's lots of it out there, you could be sewing up pjs for your husband in no time! ;D - Chris

      Delete
  8. These are so fun! Thanks for the link to the pattern and for the tip on pre-washing flannel ... I didn't realise it shrunk so much!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've always made my oldest lad PJ bottoms as he is 6'2" with a 36" inside leg so they are impossible to buy affordably. I've always just laid the old ones on top of the fabric and made them that way but to be honest the fit isn't that great! He is just happy they are not ankle flappers but now I'm thinking I should invest in a pattern.
    He would never go for novelty prints, it has to be plain grey or navy, but my daughter would love these fun prints - so would I!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I haven't used this pattern for the men in my life Julia, I'm not sure that the shape would work for them. It works brilliantly for females though I don't think it would be a comfortable fit for females larger than a US 10/UK14 no matter what the pattern says. I started out making the XS for my daughter but we've progressed to the M - don't get me wrong, the XS fit her but going up to the M has proved more comfy for lounging around and sleeping in. I think the pattern would work for a teenage male or super skinny male maybe. Let me know if you'd like to know more on the sizes :D - Chris

      Delete
  10. Okay, those are adorable! I haven't made them since my kids were little but it would be so easy to start back up. Too cute!

    ReplyDelete
  11. The novelty prints are a great idea for pajama pants. I love the AMH pair.

    ReplyDelete
  12. How fun those are. Hanging out in flannel pj bottoms is sooooo comfortable too! Great fabric finds.

    ReplyDelete
  13. They were definitely a hit Chris :)I made a pair of PJ bottoms for my youngest son for his birthday a couple of years ago. I used moose print flannel and he was thrilled to bits with them just like Flicky.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know I need to make some for the men in my life too Fiona, they're very neglected on the sewing front - mind you Flicky hogs everything before it even leaves the sewing machine bed! This pattern wouldn't work for them size/shapewise though so I think I'll have to cut my own pattern from an existing pair. Oh no, I can sense the Christmas 'to do' list growing as I type, something for the 'Ho, Ho', Ho and On We Sew' link up! :D - Chris

      Delete
  14. These are really cute! Love the pattern on the fabric it's so fun and whimsical. I had an old shirt that had a fun fabric on it and I remember wearing that thing till it was threadbare. I can see this is going to happen to these pjs!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You've got it Mary - Flicky's home again next week and I suspect those pjs might already need replacing!!! :D - Chris

      Delete

I love to hear from everyone, thank you for taking the time to read my blog and share your thoughts. Please leave a message to let me know you visited, it's a great way to get to know you all better too :)

Chris Dodsley


Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.