Pajamas

This Christmas while Jordan was here, I noticed that her Number 1 Son (and my Number 1 Grandson) had grown out of his pjs. So... I decided to make a few sets for his birthday on Sunday.

I bought a pattern on sale at Joann Fabric and Craft (we are nerds and like to say the whole name when we refer to this store!) for one dollar. Since I only paid one dollar, I decided to throw caution in the wind and cut the multi-sized pattern to the size that I needed. Usually I fold and trace and do all sorts of things to preserve all the sizes on a pattern. I just decided if I wanted to make another size I would just buy another pattern. This was a huge step for me! Does anyone else do that?

So, I made three sets of pjs. Two had purchased shirts that I embellished, and one had I made both the top and bottom.

Set one is consists of camouflage flannel pants and a purchased olive green shirt with sewn in sleeves. Easy peezy lemon squeezy!

Set two is black (or maybe dark blue) polar bear bottoms with a purchased gray T-shirt. Grandson is a hot boy, so short sleeves will be fine for him. I appliqued polar bears from the flannel on the shirt.

I cut out some polar bears, then used a small piece of fusible webbing to hold the applique in place. Then I tucked in the edges and basted on the piece by hand.

Next I ironed  interface on the insde of the shirt behind the appliques and satin stitched around the bears on the front.

Set three has made me question my fabric choice a little. Even though I know it is paw prints, sometimes it looks a little floral. Oh well! I followed the pattern for the shirt, then cut out a strip of the cream flannel and inserted a paw print strip. I finished off the neck and sleeves with ribbing. If you haven't tried ribbing yet, you should!

Finally, I sewed some labels I made with my sewing machine. This will help Hayden tell back from front and stablize the elastic.

Now don't worry, I am not the kind of grandma who just sends pajamas. I got him some underwear, too.
Just kidding! I know he will love the toys we sent, too.
Happy birthday my sweet boy!

PJ Party

I didn't make a lot of my gifts like my girls did, but I did make lots of pj pants for the grandkids. There was so much fun flannel on sale, I just got overexcited!
Here is what I made:

That's right, 14 pairs of pants. I also  embroidered some T-shirts to wear with them for the older children.

Here's how they looked:

The red and green frogs were for Christmas Eve.

I have a tried and true pattern I have used for 6 years, but this year I bought a bigger size. Alas, it was not as easy as my old one. So... I taped the front and back leg pattern pieces together and got a pattern that looked something like this:

Overlap the seam allowances.

You have fewer seams and pieces this way, and the pants sew up very quickly. Cut two of the pattern, then sew each leg seam up to the crotch seam. (Finish the seam edges now, if desired.) Turn one leg right side out and tuck it inside the other leg. Right sides will be together. Sew the crotch seam and voila: the pants are formed! Ready for waist band and hemming!