The tale of the second pair of PJs...

Here we go folks, I said on Tuesday in my Tale of Two PJs post that I'd made another pair of pyjamas...and here they are. I'm smiling in the photo but...I just don't like them. There, I've said it. 

For this pair of pjs I used the Closet Case Carolyn pattern for both the top and trousers. I used a 100% cotton poplin bought from Edinburgh Fabrics and prewashed before cutting out. I love the green! I also bought pre-made satin bias binding so I could add flat piping. The five buttons were chosen from my button tin. 

Where do I start with this? Maybe the trousers as I sewed them up first. I've already made the shorts previously so I knew the body part fitted well size-wise. I'd already added a good few inches to the rise and didn't alter that for the trousers. I added quite a few inches to the trouser legs #sewingtall. I added the bottom bands from the pattern and added flat piping too. But...I don't like how thick the band is (I didn't alter this, they're cut as per the pattern). 

I absolutely love the pockets, though! The waistband is cut separately and sewn on. I don't like having a wide piece of elastic in a wide waistband like this so sewed two channels and added narrower elastic in each channel. I wish I'd made the waistband 50% narrower and used one length narrower elastic but this is just a personal preference.

But the worst crime of all is that they are too short. Just half an inch too short. But enough to be flappy...*shudder*. This is the stuff of nightmares for me. This was my fault as I trimmed too much off the leg length before sewing on the bands. Nobody else to blame here!

Now, moving on to the top. I hate the collar. It's just too wide and sits too high up my neck (I have a long neck). I like how the two piece undercollar is cut on the bias. I also have to say that I absolutely, totally and utterly HATED (yes I know I'm shouting) the instructions for sewing the collar and front facings on to the body. I think it is overly-complicated, has too many little steps in it and there are far easier methods out there. 

I added a 1" FBA to the front just to make sure there would be enough room. That worked well and there is a small dart. The front and back body of the top fits well and I really like the shirt tail curved hem shaping. The flat piping is a little wide for my liking but that's probably because there isn't any piping cord inside the take up the slack. I have to say, the piping does meet perfectly at the inner corners of the collar. 

By this point in the pyjama sewing journey I was fed up and just wanted to finish the damned things! I cut out but didn't bother sewing the sleeve bands. The buttonholes went in ok and I sewed the buttons on. Gave it a final press and tried it on.

Oh dear! That's when I found out the trousers were too short and the collar wants to sit it's own way. Taking these photos, I noticed that the sleeves each have a huge vertical wrinkle. Have you got any idea why? I haven't. I sewed the sleeves on flat as instructed by the pattern and also because that's how I do them, if I can. I matched all the notches and the dot at the sleeve top and shoulder seam. So why the big wrinkles? And what's going on with the top button and lower collar? Nothing I do makes it sit properly. 

I wanted to bin them there and then. But I decided to see if they would grow on me after a few wears. They haven't. I went back to my favourite pyjamas sewn using Kwik Sew 2811 last night and the green pair are lying on the bedroom floor ready to start their probably quite quick journey to the bin. I will remove the buttons first though!  

New old pyjamas and the next Big Project

Yes it's been a while since I last posted anything on this blog. I've just been so busy over the last couple of months that there's only been a little time left for sewing and I'd rather get on with sewing than photographing! However, there is a bit of a queue of finished projects to blog about so I thought I'd just get on with taking some dodgy photos and making a start on the backlog. You've been warned!

These are a pair of summer pyjamas I made quite a few months ago and I love them! I've worn them throughout the summer and I'm almost putting them away for the winter but we're having a lovely mild, mellow autumn so I'm wearing them as I'm writing this post.

The fabric is a lovely 100% printed cotton bought from John Lewis. It was in their spring sale and cost £7 a metre, I think I bought 3 metres or maybe 3.5metres. I prewashed the fabric before cutting out and made the usual adjustments of adding length to legs and sleeves. I didn't have enough fabric to lengthen the body or to match the 'stripes' of the pattern but so be it.

I added purchased bias binding as flat piping on the pocket, leg and sleeve bands and around the collar. As you can see from the top photo one side of the collar is more successful than the other. It's good to share the things that didn't quite work out as planned! Everyone makes mistakes. And despite these mistakes still I love these pyjamas! So much so that the piping is beginning to fray a little as they've been washed and worn so much. Well, they didn't cost me much. I think the buttons were given to me earlier this year by my mum when she gave me a big bag of buttons she's collected over the years. Ah yes, I used my usual pattern, Kwik Sew 2811.

Now, on to the Big Project I'm working on at the moment and which is taking up my sewing time. Bit of a story first! I went to London in mid-October for a conference and took a day off to see the sights...well, to trawl the fabric shops along Berwick Street in Soho. There are some lovely fabric shops there, some with eye-watering prices too. I desperately need jackets so I was (mostly) focusing on outerwear fabrics and looking for something I haven't been able to get in the fabric shops of Edinburgh or Glasgow. Well, I found it in the Berwick Street Cloth Shop! It's a loud orange/red colour waterproof fabric (I tested it when I got home). It was eye-wateringly expensive at £35 a metre. That price was excluding VAT at 20%. I swithered and tried to find something else but after persuading myself that as I have no jackets this is actually less than the cost of all the jackets I haven't bought (do you see what I did there?) - I just went for it and handed over my credit card. Then I went to another shop in Berwick Street and bought...more fabric (not as good quality, thickness, heft etc. as the loud orangey-red one, of course, but cheaper at £16 a metre) for another jacket.

I've cut into the expensive orangey-red fabric already and used the Waffle Patterns Tosti jacket which I made in the summer here, and have completed the lining which I quilted with some polyester wadding and satin lining fabric. I'm not making a winter jacket, just something for the very difficult transition period so I may finish it and not wear it till the spring. We'll see. Anyone tried making a waterproof or transition jacket?

Another Jalie cocoon cardigan and some bamboo pjs

Hi everyone and how are you all getting on this weekend? Sewing up a storm, I hope! I've decided to continue dealing with the blogging post backlog by telling you about something interesting followed by a plain, everyday basic. So here we are!

First off is the exciting thing, another Jalie Cocoon cardigan I've made before here. For this one I removed the length I'd added in the grey one and added another inch or so to the sleeve length. It's a good pattern and I will very likely use it again.

I like the grey version but I like this burgundy one more, I think because of the colour. I just love burgundy. Or wine. Or merlot...whatever you like to call it! It's a John Kaldor Isabella fabric. It has 20% wool, and then something like 85% viscose and the rest is lycra. Or thereabouts. Not cheap fabric at about £18 per metre and I bought 2 metres, I think, but it's worth it for the quality of the garment at the finish. It's standing up very well to what has been already quite a lot of wear!

The sleeves and the neck edging is finished by bands. Now, the only thing about this pattern is the band at the neck. I don't know if it's me, my shape, but it was gaping terribly with excess fabric at the back of the neck. It was perfect everywhere else so I know I haven't over-stretched it elsewhere.

So, I decided to add two darts which correspond to the shoulder seams so the look like they're intentional darts. Just two darts solved the problem, you might be able to see them in the photo.

So, that's the great burgundy cardigan and now onto the plain, bamboo pyjama trousers. I need a pair of these to replace similar RTW ones I threw out last year, they were worn out. These will be worn with one of last year's Vintage Pattern Pledge garments, my nightshirt.

The fabric is bamboo with a small percentage of lycra. The fabric feels lovely but the black colour seems a little less dense black than I would want. I used Kwik Sew 2811 pyjama trousers. I added two channels and put two pieces of elastic at the waist instead of the one channel indicated by the pattern. They've turned out very well and I'm pleased with them.

So that's probably enough for one blog post. I want to put all the things I make on my blog so it also means the less interesting basics have to be posted too. I love looking at what other people make on their blogs and hearing about any problems they've had so hopefully you'll enjoy the basics too. Have a great week, everyone!

Pyjamas pyjamas

Well the big day is getting ever closer and I think I'm sorted for Christmas and the holiday season. Even more so now I've made *drum roll* new pyjamas! Well, two pairs of them although they were made weeks apart. They were both made using Kwik Sew 2811 which has become my go-to-pattern for PJs. The first pair I made in October and I'm only just getting round to blogging them now. I have worn and washed them though. I bought the fabric, 100% brushed cotton, from John Lewis but can't remember how much it was a metre. Confession time. I just cut the pattern and literally threw these pyjamas through the sewing machine and overlocker. Apart from the fronts, absolutely no time was wasted agonising over pattern matching. And I didn't do any piping which saved a lot of time too.

I didn't bother with the sleeve cuffs and just added extra length at the cutting stage. I had 4 suitable buttons in my tartan button box, so that's what I used. Admittedly, it could probably do with 5 buttons but these 4 will do. The major thing I did wrong was sew the buttonholes on the wrong side! Ah well! As I said, it took me a surprisingly short amount of time to make these...

For all their flaws, I really like these. It was also a lesson in how much more time it takes to add the extra bits to PJs and I really did need this pair to be sewn up ASAP. So that's what I got!

The next pair also happened quite quickly too. Same pattern but I bought the 100% brushed cotton fabric in  the summer form Minerva fabrics. I cut them out on a Friday evening after work and sewed the major part of them up over the weekend. I took more care over these because I didn't need them in such a hurry. I added sleeve cuffs, flat piping and pattern matching. It was the first time I've tried flat piping and I think I've made it a bit wide. Anyway, have a look and see what you think.

Again, I found five (!) suitable buttons from the tartan button tin so used them. I even managed to sew the buttonholes on the correct side. I didn't add leg cuffs just because I couldn't be bothered. Construction-wise I overlocked as much as I could, using the sewing machine for more accurate sewing of the collar, pocket and anything with the flat piping.

So, that's my PJ wardrobe replenished for winter but you'll be seeing more versions in springtime. I love this pattern! I have altered the collar though. The pattern has a grown-on facing on the front pattern pieces but I cut this off along the fold line and added seam allowances. By doing this I can add piping all around the collar and down the seam where the facing joins the front piece. I've also rounded the facing edge to make piping easier. The blue/black checked pyjamas above are true to the original pattern. 

Fall Essentials Sew Along #FESA2015 - cosy pyjamas

At the end of last winter I threw out all 3 pairs of my winter pyjamas. They were done and I'd certainly got my money's worth out of them. So as August came to a close and the 5th annual Fall Essentials Sew Along was announced by Sarah at Rhinestones and Telephones, I knew what my first 'make' would be!

I found and bought some lovely brushed cotton from Minerva fabrics in Black Watch tartan and another checked fabric for a soon-to-be-started second pair of pyjamas.

I used Kwik Sew 2811 which I've used before here. I also used buttons from my button tin, which is very satisfying! I love piping in pyjamas so I had to do it for these and also I felt it would lighten up the tartan, which can be a bit dark. Anyway, I used No.1 piping cord and some green satin bias binding and used the piping foot on my sewing machine. It definitely takes longer to do piping but it's well worth the effort. I used the overlocker for as many of the inside seams as I could.

I cut the cuff sleeve cuffs on the bias, I love the contrast! I needed to add a good few inches onto the pyjamas as the pattern states the finished inside leg length is 29" which is way too short for me. I just  cut more cuffs on the bias to add the length, as you can see in the photo above. It just seemed to be a neat way to add the length I need using the bias cut cuffs I love. And of course it's another opportunity to add more satin piping!

The trousers are lovely and roomy and finished with a gathered elastic waistband. These are a real classic pair of PJs, there's nothing revolutionary about them but then again, I don't want them to be. They just have to be cosy and comfy.

One pair down, two more to go!