Pyjama trousers for me this time

This is the first make of the year – sorry, it has taken a while to post anything. There isn’t much daylight at the moment so photo opportunities are very limited.

I had bought some lovely soft brushed cotton in a red and black tartan in Birmingham at Sew Brum in 2018. I immediately made some pyjama bottoms for Mr Steely. The plan had always been to made a pair for myself as well, but I put this off as I knew that cutting a second pair of PJ trousers from the remaining fabric would be tricky. I think I must have made some sort of narrow vs wide fabric width calculation-fail when I bought this, because I felt sure I’d bought enough fabric at the time.

So time for fabric tetris – I cut the four trouser pieces, but found them rather short (think Jodie Whittaker playing Doctor Who for the look), so I decided to add extra on the bottom with the fabric on the bias.

Shorter length trousers on Doctor Who

Yep, I know, let’s face it I made a mistake, but I’m a great believer in turning a mistake into a design feature! The waistband was a combination of smaller rectangles that just about made it round my girth!

So here we are….a pair of pyjama trousers, so I can match Mister Steely. Actually, the bias cut “design feature” is handy for telling the two pairs apart too.

My pyjamas – I really dig my cute slippers too.

I think I will add either a label or perhaps a small pocket on the front of the trousers, as I have to peer down at the crotch to figure out which way round to put them on. I realise it hasn’t ever been a problem with trousers before as there is usually a fly front so that I can tell which way round it all goes. But I’m not a great fan of putting labels in things as I usually find them irritating or scratchy.

My pyjamas lounging on the sofa

Pyjama Trousers Part 2 – Thin fabric problems

When I started sewing my pyjama bottoms, I got a problem with doing the zig-zag stitch on the leg lengths.

After a search on the internet I found this problem is called “tunnelling”. Basically, this is where the fabric is pulled together by the tension in the stitch. I suppose it is because my fabric is rather light. The “flimsy-fabric” alarm hadn’t been ringing though at the start of the project, as it isn’t what I usually expect with a woven cotton fabric. However, it happened and I didn’t like the look of it. At the back of my mind was the fantastic silk / cotton blend fabric upstairs, waiting for the day when I am experienced enough or brave enough to sew it.

My internet search also gave several suggestions for a fix:

1. Use a different stitch

All the suggestions here, aren’t possible on my ancient Singer. Is it time to face facts and get another machine?

2. Hang the stitch off the edge of the fabric

This sounds possible, but a bit fiddly.

3. Sew with tissue paper

I tried this and found that it was largely successful, until I pulled the tissue off the fabric and this pulled the thread enough for the “tunnel” to reappear. However, after I examined the lengths that had been done with this technique, there did seem to be some improvement.

4. Use a different technique

French seams may be the answer. I’ll definitely do this next time I use the fabric.

5. Don’t worry!

Yes, even though it may annoy me, perhaps I should just relax and live with it! After all, this is only visible on the inside.
There is a lesson for me in this – it’s all good learning. I really should check how a new fabric behaves on a scrap piece first, before I attempt the project.

Pyjama trousers Part 1 – Selecting Fabric

I received Stylish Sewing by Laura Wilhelm as a birthday present last year and beyond looking at the pictures hadn’t made anything in the book.
I decided I would have a go at the Women’s pyjamas shown on the front cover of the book. I would dearly love to be able to make some trousers or even jeans, but I thought I’d start out cautiously with some pyjama trousers first. I particularly like the embroidered flower feature which gives the project an interesting touch.

One of the best things about this book are the full-sized patterns. I found it reasonably easy to trace the pattern onto tracing paper.

I bought two fabrics for the project before Chrsitmas. I’m not sure they quite live up to the “Stylish” standards in Laura’s book. In fact they are probably a combination worthy of sitting alongside my other “Coco the clown” pyjamas. I didn’t want to resort to expensive designer fabric ranges, but I did have a really tricky time trying to find two fabrics that looked good together and ended up with a red polka dot fabric and a blue check with small red hearts.

Pyjama trouser fabrics

At this point I encountered a problem.  The project specifies 1.8m for size 8/10, but doesn’t seem to show the fabric width to which this applies. I suppose I could have worked out the fabric required from the size of my pattern pieces. However, being in a hurry to start the project I decided not to check and just went ahead and bought my 1.8 m. Even in the shop, I was thinking – “that’s way too much!”

When I started to cut out the pieces in the evening, of course, it was too much fabric. Then annoyingly, after much searching, I found at the back of the book, the width measurement for the fabric range. It was given as 115 cm, whereas my fabric was 145 cm. I think that there is an assumption that anyone using the book would use the fabrics in the book, which is a shame as us scrimping seamstresses, enjoy finding our fabrics at cheaper shops. Perhaps it would have been better if the fabric length suggestions had been calculated for both the standard widths and added in the book on the page with the project instructions. Never mind, I could make two sets of pyjama trousers, or more ambitiously, I could make a top to complete the look. Although perhaps wearing the two in combination would be migraine inducing for everyone else!