Pattern image courtesy of Butterick Patterns |
The nighttime version
I chose some pretty grey cabbage rose print fabric from Mood got to work. I didn't make a muslin, but I *did* compare them to pajamas that I already owned as I was sewing them up. This ended up being a good thing, because the legs on the pajama bottoms are very long and needed to be shortened quite a bit (If you make these, measure those babies before sewing the cuffs on!).
I chose some pretty grey cabbage rose print fabric from Mood got to work. I didn't make a muslin, but I *did* compare them to pajamas that I already owned as I was sewing them up. This ended up being a good thing, because the legs on the pajama bottoms are very long and needed to be shortened quite a bit (If you make these, measure those babies before sewing the cuffs on!).
I finished my new pjs and wore them to my girls weekend and loved them sooo much- I wished that I could wear them all day long, especially the top! When I got home, I knew what my next project would be- a daywear version of the pajama top.
The daytime version
I used the same pattern to make the daywear version- the slouchy comfy look suits my lifestyle. I chose a lightweight silk for the body, and silk crepe for the piping... have you ever made bias cut flat silk piping? If you have not, count yourself lucky- it presented a multitude of time consuming issues from slipperiness to instability, and was difficult to get onto the top in a respectable manner.
I used the same pattern to make the daywear version- the slouchy comfy look suits my lifestyle. I chose a lightweight silk for the body, and silk crepe for the piping... have you ever made bias cut flat silk piping? If you have not, count yourself lucky- it presented a multitude of time consuming issues from slipperiness to instability, and was difficult to get onto the top in a respectable manner.
My process for the bias piping ended being as follows:
- Cut the strips on the bias, wider than you need them to be.
- Fold and press the strips in half, and then trim to your needed width
- Mark your seam line on the folded silk. You must use chalk for this, as a marker bleeds terribly and makes your seam line indistinguishable
- Baste bias strips in place by hand
- sew strips in place one one piece of fabric with sewing machine
- Place other fabric piece on top, pin very securely in place, flip over and sew on top of initial seam line
A few other notes about this project-
Instead of using traditional interfacing, I used flesh-toned silk crepe. I was convinced that if I used white or off-white interfacing it would be very obvious because the silk was very slightly sheer- although in hindsight I doubt that would be the case, it worked out fine and the interfacing is definitely not obvious.
I stabilized the button holes with tear-away stabilizer- even with two layers of silk and on elf silk crepe interfacing, I felt that they needed some support. It was my first time using tear-away stabilizer, and I am hooked!
Styling a pajama top for the daytime...
I see women on the internet and in magazines wearing full on pajama sets out in public; while I love this look, that isn't my life. I chose to style my pajama top with shorts, flip flops and a simple black fold-over clutch. The top is a little dressy, so I like to balance that out for every-day wear with some casual-ness. I think this would make a great out-to-dinner look with soft slouchy wide-leg pants as well.