As I mentioned before, I am trying to catch up on blogging some past makes that never made it to the blog. My goal is to blog every make so I have details of what fabric I used, what alterations I tried, how they fit, how they sewed up, and so on. Also I love looking back at past makes, it';s like a time capsule for me. Unfortunately prior to 2019 I didn’t keep detailed notes on my makes. I have to resort to what snippets I can find on my spreadsheets and what info I can gather from my pattern traces. I used to write a lot on those thankfully. I have always been a pattern tracer. I use a lot of Burda and Ottobre so it made sense to me. I trace EVERY pattern because I make lots of alterations and I change sizes a lot and sometimes Miss K wants the same pattern. It doesn’t matter if its McCalls, Simplicity, Kwik sew, Jalie, Ottobre, Burda, or any Indie pattern online. I print pdfs withmy copy shop printer so I trace then too. A couple years ago
I made a great blog post on Pattern Tracing paper; what works best in terms of use, price, and accessibility. I am STILL using the same pattern tracing paper and love it. It works amazing for me and its cheap. If you are interested in that post it is
on my old blog here and the info is all 100% still relevant.
And now back to the pajama pants. Some of these are far back as 2016 and I just had life get in the way and didn’t make time to post them. I love some of them and STILL wear them to this day. They deserve a spot on the blog for sure. So here are a handful of some older and more recent pajama pants makes. (most pictures are from way back when the pajamas were made).
Let’s start backwards and move forward.
Jalie 2686 Classic Pajama Pants
previous makes:
sheep pair and candy pair for Miss K in 2016
Sewn: Feb 24th, 2016
Fabric used: 2.5 yards Pink Beige Floral Flannel 44W, purchased Feb 2016 for $4.95/yard from fashionfabricsclub. Total: $12.38 for the pants
I wear these ALL THE TIME. I love them. They have popped up in my Me Made May feed a few times. They are so comfortable and just a classic pajama pant.
From my pattern paper, I used a size Y for the front piece and for the back piece I used Y for the waist and graded to a size AA for the hip downward. I remember experimenting with this back in 2016 because my backside was larger than my frontside and pants seemed to fit better with the smaller front piece and larger back piece. I don’t do this method much anymore – I find I just alter things similarly, lol. I also scooped the butt curve 1/2”.
Thoughts: Well, I made these 6 years ago and I still wear them often so I would say they are a hit. I would make another pair in a heartbeat.
Miss K Fleece Pj Pants
Sewn: July 24, 2016
Fabric used: 2 yards Blizzard Fleece Fabric- Blue And Gray Argyle, purchased Oct 2014 from Joanns for $4/yard. so $8 total for pj pants.
Miss K cut and sewed these fleece pants up herself. She was so proud at the time. She wore them often. The problem is they are a complete mystery as to what pattern she used. It could have been Kwik sew 3604, or Simplicity 2046, or even Jalie 2686. I honestly have no idea. She did a great job and needed no help. Even though I have no information on them I wanted them on the blog because she made them all her own.
Jalie 3243 – green flamingos
previous makes:
Sept 2013 blue linen pants for me,
4 pairs for Miss K in 2013,
pink flannel in 2014 for Miss K,
more pink flannel trees in 2014 for Miss K, and
pink plaid in 2015 for Miss K. I’ve used this pattern quite a few times I guess!
Every now and then I get fiercely determined to get my pants fitting exactly right. These two pair of shorts are a product of that. I was testing crotch curve fitting on all three of these.
Dec 11, 2018 – flannel green flamingos. they needed more butt and thigh room in the end. I still have these, but they sit in a “too small” bin. they are an inch high waist in front and low in back. but the pockets are so nice on these! Some day I will conquer this pattern. From my paper pattern I used a size V for the waist and Z for the hip downwards. I lowered the front waist 3/4” at CF, I added 1/2” to the front crotch curve at inner thigh, the back piece I used a size V at waist to BB from hips downward. I scooped the butt curve 1/2” and added 2” to the hem length.
Fabric: Flannel Flamingo Kisses Aqua, 44W, purchased from Fabric.com in May 2016 for $4.89/yard. used 1.5 yards so $7.34 total for shorts.
Jalie 3243 brown stripe
Dec 18, 2018 – Brown stripe. So I went back to the drawing board on these and did a ton of alterations and it really didn’t seem to help at all. These shorts turned out fitting worse than the flamingos and I just scrapped them. I also put the back pockets in too high. this was 70cent fabric so no real waste -thanks Hancock's, I miss you. From my pattern paper I used a size Z for the waist and BB from hip down. I did a lot of weird alterations on this pair. I moved teh front waist in 1/2” from Z, added 1/2” to the front crotch curve tapering to 1/8” added at inner thigh and another 1/8” to the outer thigh at hem. I added 2” to the hem length. 28.5” in waist elastic @1” wide. For the back piece I used a straight size BB and then took in 3/4” on both sides of waist. I added 1/4” to the outer hip tapering again to 1/8” added at inner thigh and another 1/8” to the outer thigh at hem. I also scooped the butt curve 1/2”. All these weird additions and subtractions didn’t make the shorts fit any better at all. Sometimes simple is better than complicated.
Fabric: Brown Pinstripe Suiting, purchased May 2018 from fashionfabricsclub. It has slight stretch to it. 90% cotton, 10% polyester. I got it for only $2/yard and used maybe a yard –1.5 yards.
Jalie 3243 pink floral
April 7, 2019 – I came BACK to try again with this pattern and was into testing crotch curves at this point. these are slightly better than both pairs above but I still don’t wear them as they just don’t feel right - I'll admit, they do look and fit much better than the other 2 pairs above. From my paper pattern I used a size V for the waist grading to a BB for the hips. I used 28.5” in of elastic in the waist @ 1” wide. And I used a very modified crotch from my “crotch bowl” fitting. I learned a few things by fitting a crotch bowl. It was helpful, but I don’t think it is as useful as I wanted it to be. It did point out to me that I have a low hanging butt so a scoop is always needed.
Fabric: 1.25 yards Pink Beige Floral Flannel 44W, purchased Feb 2016 for $4.95/yard from fashionfabricsclub. Total: $6.19 for the shorts
Thoughts: I am bound and determined to get this darn pattern to fit me right. I love the pockets and the look of the pattern. I will revisit it again someday. I feel I have come a long way from 2018 and even 2019 fitting pants. So I am looking forward to trying new things to make these fit well.
Burda 11/2007 #122
previous makes:
Sept 2017 black stripe for Miss K,
Dec 2017 Red yoga for me, Dec 2017 purple stripe for me,
Dec 2019 red xmas pjs for Miss K, and
Aug 2020 my favorite pair of gray french terry pants for me.
Sewn April 1st, 2020
Fabric: Double Brushed Jersey Knit Fruit Widely Fruity Mint Fabric, 2 yards, purchased Feb 2020 from fabric.com for $3.12/yard so only $6.24 total for these lovely pj pants.
These were for Miss K and she loved them. this is probably her favorite pajama pant pattern. I have made her and I countless pairs over the years. I sewed up a size 42 for her, scooped the butt curve 1/4”, took 1/2” off the waist on both sides, tapered the legs in 1” on each side as she prefers straight leg. Then I took the waistband and divided it in half, she doessn’t like a yoga band. I put in elastic for her (29 in for future reference). I scooped the front crotch 1/4”. I also noted I took 1” out from crotch to knee – why? I am not entirely sure now.
Another Burda 11/2007 #122
Sewn: January 19, 2022
Fabric: Turquoise/White Tie-Dye Print Rayon/Lycra Jersey, purchased May 2017 for $4/yard from fabricmart fabrics. Its a very soft rayon jersey knit. I used probably 1.5 yards so $6 total for these pjs.
I made yet another pair of these for Miss K – I warned you they were her favorite pattern. This pair I used the same alterations because I had the pattern all ready to go. This was sewn after my craniotomy and I was struggling but wanted to make her something. She’s been begging for more pj pants for a long time. I got through them and she is happy so win-win.
Thoughts: It’s clear both K and I love this pattern. I will continue making it for a long time. Expect to see many more pairs.
5 out of 4 Pajama Pants
previous makes:
A pair for all 4 of us
sewn: January 1, 2021
Fabric: super soft and plush yellow polka dot flannel. This fabric is so nice. “Pineapple/White 100% Cotton Small Polka Dot Flannel - Robert Kaufman – 42W” purchased Sept 2017 for $2.92/yard in the FabricMart Precut Sale (please please have another one of those!!). 2.88 yards used so $8.40 total.
I used a size L with a M for the waist in Low rise. I was sewing up a purple pair just days before in an XL and they were comically huge on me so I had to scrap them and start new.
my measurements at that time were: 33 waist and 45 hip. The pattern says for women to size down on these since they are unisex, If you are a pear shaped woman with an ample bottom half I strongly suggest
ignoring the instructions and sew the size your hip corresponds to.
alterations: I do know I did a 1/2” knock knee alteration on these. I have found this makes ALL the difference in how my pants fit below the butt to the knee. This is by far my most ah-ha moment in pants fitting. I never thought I had knock knees but now, its all I can see. this alteration is gold. I talk about
the knock knee alteration and show the photo how to do it in the middle of this pj post here.
I scooped the butt curve an entire 1.5” and added 1.5” to the length of the pants too.
Thoughts: I find 5oo4 patterns just aren’t drafted well to my shape. Which is ok, not every company will draft to the same shape and no shape is standard. I do love these pj pants. I love how the pockets are put in. They don’t flop around when sewn. I have made these pants for everyone in the family and they all get worn often so they must be a hit with them.
Whew! Lots of pajama pants and shorts here. Some were hits (Jalie 2686, Burda 11/2007 #122, and 5oo4 pj pants); and some are just a work in progress still.
Thanks for reading! And Happy Sewing!
Kristin
