Finishing so I can start something else

I made another pair of shortie Carolyn PJs for myself. But this time I changed the collar to be a more straightforward sew. 

I don't love the fabric, which is a strangely flimsy cotton with this extremely large repeat. 

I obviously wouldn't wear it tucked in but I think the shorts are hilarious (random pattern "matching") and they would be covered up if I had laid them out differently. 

I redrafted the front to have a straight folded CF edge and copied the shape of a collar from a mens' shirt pattern I have been using for my husband's PJs, shortening it at CB so it fit into the adjusted neckline. 

The round collar and lapels of the Carolyn pattern, as drafted, were my least favourite part of this pattern. 

They were more complicated to sew than the shirt collar I now have, which works perfectly. 

Even though this is more or less a test sew, I used piping everywhere, including at the pocket edge in the shorts. 

Phew! With that out of the way (new summer PJs that I can't wear for months), I can turn to my next project.

I'm making the Dawn Jeans and I actually made a muslin to check fit! Haven't done that for years. 

Stay tuned.  

Everybody needs new PJs, right?

I usually make my husband a pair of tailored PJs at Christmas, but for some reason I was sleeping in disintegrating non-me-made flannelette PJs (winter) or t-shirts and shorts (summer). I have a couple of trips coming up this summer and needed to up my game. 

I decided to make the Carolyn Pajamas pattern from Closet Core. Enter this Egyptian themed and weirdly badly printed fabric, pure cotton, that I bought years ago at the Fabric Flea Market. I had always earmarked it for PJs because ... well, that print! It's so strange!

Now behold, my new shortie PJ set.

When I make tailored PJs, I do it right with contrast piping (striped shirting from stash) and matching prints, even where the print is pretty ridiculous. 

The shirt pocket (totally redundant and also almost completely impossible to find) is at left. This set also has piping up the front edges, around the collar, and on the cuffs of both the sleeves and the shorts. 

I made the Carolyns once before but didn't use the pants pattern. This time I printed off the shorts pattern. It's interesting that there is a separate set of pages for the shorts, they are not just a "cut here" line on the long pants. 

Looking at the dimensions of the pattern, I decided to size up. Who needs snug and low-rise PJ pants? Not I!

My hips put me in a size 10 so I cut a 12 for width and went up to the size 20 line at the waist. 

It is kind of silly to have pockets in PJ pants, but these do. 

I can't see them in this photo. Take it on faith.

One thing that bugged me about my previous Carolyns (pictured at left) is that the collar and facings don't behave unless you iron your PJs. Who irons PJs? Not me!

They were made from light weight flannelette with the contrast piping and facings in quilting cotton. I interfaced everything (as per pattern) with an extra layer of the cotton. 

For this pair, because this cotton fabric is quite firm, I decided not to interface anything. The piping ensures the edges won't collapse. And I stitched the facings to the fronts, through all layers, so they will never flip up or fold back. 

As in my other pair, I added a deep back neck facing to encase the neckline seam. 

I wasted a bit of time treating this print seriously and trying to figure out which Egyptian personages are featured. No luck. Maybe one of them is the god of sleep... 

Things I made recently - Carolyn PJs!

Every year I sew relatively elaborate PJs (shirt style, piped, contrast fabric, crazy prints) for my husband. Here are some I've made over the years.

But I'd not made a pair for myself - until now! In the week between Christmas and New Years I finally bought myself the Carolyn Pajamas pattern from Closet Case. I'm not sure why I waited so long. My PJ collection can now be completely renovated.

I made these from some miscellaneous soft flannelette that was a thrift store find, and a contrast fruity cotton print that was left over from another PJ project.

I only used the pattern for the shirt as I had a self-drafted PJ pant pattern on hand. Next time I'll do the full Carolyn.

What do I like about this pattern? 

Well, it has all those PJ bells and whistles - collar and lapels, cuffs and pockets, all piped edges! 

I like the rounded shape of the collar and lapel. 

I like the shirt-tail hem. 

The fit is good for PJs - not tight, but not exactly boxy either. 

Inside collar and back facing

For my taste, the collar lies a little flat at the back - there is not much of a stand as you can see in the photo of the inside collar and back facing. If I remember I will modify it to make it more upright before I make these again. I'll leave the curved edges so it will look the same at the front but sit higher at the back of my neck. 

I also added a back neck facing (stitched directly to the back) which I think is nicer as well as easier to make than the instructed method (pictured below).