Eeeeeee!!!! I am SUPER excited to be a part of the Jocole February Love Blog Tour for two reasons: 1. Jocole is one of my favorite women's pattern designers and 2. I have really really wanted to make myself some pajamas, like, for years. Jocole patterns are a great base for pajamas because most, if not all, of the patterns can be made in knit. Knit is a super comfy fabric with plenty of stretch without needing zippers and buttons to get a close fit. You can see the full list of women's patterns by Jocole here.
I know it's February and effectively cold pretty much everywhere in the country, except south Florida. However, I happen to live in north Florida and it's warm enough most days to justify making a tank and shorts pajama set, plus we just turn on the heat. I used the Ladies Shoreline Knit Tank pattern for the top and modified the Ladies Wide Leg Yoga Pants for the bottom. My dot fabric is from EuroGirls Boutique and the solid is from my local Jo-ann Fabrics store.
Adjustments & Modifications:
I happen to be short, petite and have a disproportionate bust so I made a few adjustments to get the fit and style that I wanted. When making the tank I basically needed an XS top portion and small bottom portion, but made a small and then took the sides in a little and cut, tied and stitched the straps together for shorter straps and a little visual interest. Why didn't I just cut my straps to fit what I needed? Because I made a few incorrect assumptions when sewing the pattern and sewed the sides together when I should not have and then one of my straps ended up twisted, ha! I love fixes that I can play off in the name of upping the "cuteness" factor. I also shortened the tank by about 4" and used my scraps to make a matching headband using this tutorial. How cute is it that the original post had the SAME colored headband?!
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| Not flattering to have someone photograph you while pretending to drink from a mug, but you get the picture. |
For the shorts, I used the "lengthen and shorten" line on the pattern to shorten them before sewing them together and then once I had them sewn with the waistband I cut a little more to suit my tastes. In the original pattern the shorts come out bermuda length, but these are pajama shorts so I went for "college girl" length for comfortable lounging. My favorite part about these shorts is the contrasting yoga waistband. I didn't want a lot of bulk at my waist when napping so I actually cut my original piece to a height in-between the regular and yoga band size. I, also, added about 6" to the width around my waist because I didn't want the band to squeeze me in anyway. Think loose and comfy here. One of the things that I love about knit is that hemming is optional because it doesn't fray and I opted out on both the shorts and the tank. You call it lazy, I call it economical sewing for pajamas. Just sayin.
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| My photographer had me cracking up with his "direction". Not pictured. |
I was soooo please with how this set turned out that after the photos I "tested" my pajamas by eating a huge plate of food and then taking a nap. No pictures of the eating or napping, sorry. I am not a champion sewer of knit, but I hope that I sparked an interest in sewing more with knits or making your own pjs. I would love to see if you do!
You can check out all of the previous stops on the tour below. Do you have a favorite?
Feb 8- Larissa from Connected By a Thread
Feb 9- Tibeca from Sewing by Ti
Feb 10- Robin from My Little Lady & Gentleman
Feb 11- Patricia from Sew Far North
Feb 12- Linda from Sew Happily Ever After
Feb 15- Larissa from Connected by a Thread and Essence from Amazing Adventures of Bubba and Bug
Feb 16- Amy from Wally and Grace
Feb 17- Melissa fron Rebel & Malice and Sharon from Sweetpea & Pumpkins
Feb 18- Ula from Lulu & Celeste