I finally bit the bullet and made my first piece of clothing: PJ bottoms. I know this is not rocket science, but it is a leap for me. First off, they are 3D. I do not normally do well with things that have more dimensions than a quilt top. Second, they use a paper pattern, which I have never followed before. But when I saw Judith's post last week I had to just dive in and give them a try.
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| Using IKEA fabric...just in case I make a massive mistake! |
I bought a pattern for these PJ bottoms while I was in the US over Christmas, and used this handy dandy method to trace the pattern onto tissue paper allowing me to create templates in two sizes - pink paper for my pants and blue paper for my other half's pants. I love a good color code.
I bought this particular pattern for one reason and one reason only: they were drawstring pants. I hate elastic PJ bottoms. Do you see this nice, happy family on the cover?
Do you see that they LOVE their drawstring pants? Sorted. I dove in.
As I was following the pattern instructions and sewing away, I just couldn't imagine how the instructions lead to a drawstring top. I couldn't see it coming together. But, sometimes that's how it is with me and 3D projects. Only when I have it right side out and flipped so the top is on the top it becomes clear. It DID say on the back cover that you would need a length of elastic and a length of twill for the tie, so I was confident it would all work out just fine. ... I was waiting for the light bulb moment.
And FINALLY. I see this:
Accompanied by this:
WHAT!?!? A fake draw string?!?! Are they serious? I carry on and put in the elastic waist and they fit himself reasonably well.
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| Stinky night time indoor lamp light photo. Sorry, guys! |
Luckily enough he'd rather have a bit of elastic than a drawstring so all is well that ends well. At least I know now how to put them together, how to scale the pattern to fit me and how to modify it to add in a proper drawstring. I guess it's like cooking, you have to follow the recipe the first time to be able to modify it to taste the second time.
I'm glad I gave them a try, I'm delighted he's happy with his new pants and I think it's great to have a go-to pattern for a quick make (perhaps for a gift?) so all is well that ends well.
20 comments:
Oh they look fab- I'm dressmaking at the moment too, do you think we have been subliminally influenced by the great british sewing bee?
You did great!
They look really great. I too am feeling the urge to get sewing some clothes at the moment but I purely down to the fact that I'm completely hooked on the Great British Sewing Bee.
Oh they look fantastic! Well done on a 3D make! Love the fabric too :-))
Well done you!! They look nice and roomie - a good job!
Superb! So right about first time round, now to make a pair for you out of some gorgeous fabric.
Lovely. It is totally easy to change that elastic to a drawstring, if you want me to send you instructions let me know.
they look like they fit really well
I love the fabric! Matching the pattern with the phones :)
I did the easy way and my girl chose PJs for me when shopping!
Your PJ pants turned out so well - they look so comfy too!
This made me laugh, sorry. I started out sewing clothing, then 60 years later I started quilting! Good for you for giving it a try. I always say, "If you can read, you can sew".
Woohoo! You did it! You did it! I'm so proud of you! And they look great too! Now that you've done one pair, the next ones will be wee buns! Jxo
Great job! I just remembered I did make one in home economic class a long time ago. I just cant remember what it looked like...
well done you, and superbly modelled
Lol they look great! What a great idea to make his first so you could work out any problems and then yours will be perfect! 😉
Aw, they're sper cute, despite the post modern drawstring! Well done!
Loving the new jammie bottoms!
Congrats on your first 3d project! They're great x
What a nice project! That's interesting about the elastic. I would think that you could go either way-drawstring or elastic-and it would work out great.
Great job and thanks for the motivation. I just bought a server so I can make my daughter twirly skirts. And I also bought the same pattern and fabrics 5 years ago. Its still in the shopping bag. I, too, am scared of 3d items.
Looks Great.
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