92 lines
6.4 KiB
Plaintext
92 lines
6.4 KiB
Plaintext
<figure>
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<img src="https://f000.backblazeb2.com/file/bsag-blog-imgs/carolyn%5Fflannel%5Fpj.jpeg"/>
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</figure>
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<p>I like to have a sewing project to tackle when I’m on holiday, so this has been
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a chance for me to tackle a long-planned project: making a pair of <a href="https://store.closetcorepatterns.com/collections/sewing-patterns-all/products/carolyn-pajama-sewing-pattern">Carolyn
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pyjamas</a> from cotton flannel.</p>
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<p>I’ve made the pattern twice before: a pair of <a href="https://www.rousette.org.uk/archives/carolyn-pyjamas/">blue linen pyjamas</a> with the shorts
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version of the pyjama pants, and an un-blogged pair made from a cotton batik
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fabric I bought in Indonesia while I was there for a conference. Both are great
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and have been frequently worn, but are more for summer wear than winter. I
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wanted to make a really cozy winter pair from cotton flannel. In a flurry of
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pre-Christmas panic/planning, I ordered several metres of a grey flannel fabric
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and some brighter cotton to make piping so that I would have it for the
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Christmas break.</p>
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<p>I love this pattern, but always forget a) how much fabric it takes to make a
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pair of pyjamas (even with a short-sleeved top rather than a long-sleeved one),
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and b) how much time it takes. I hadn’t made the version with the optional
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piping before, so that meant making my own bias tape and then my own piping and
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applying it. I’m not complaining — after all, I wanted a project to get my
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teeth into, but I would be omitting the whole truth if I didn’t admit that there
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were a couple of times when it seemed like a lot of work for something to wear
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in bed. It was an absorbing process though, and I love the end result.</p>
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<p>As I said, I have made this pattern twice before, so I’m pretty familiar with
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it. For this version, I made only a few small tweaks. First, I made the next
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size up for both the top and bottom part of the pattern. I found with the
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previous long trousers version that they are drafted with less ease than is
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usual for pyjamas. I think if you planned to wear them primarily as lounge wear
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around the house rather than in bed, the slimmer fit would be fine, but since I
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wanted to wear them in bed, and I hate feeling constricted while
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sleeping, I decided to go the next size up from the ‘correct’ size for my
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measurements. One great thing about making your own pyjamas is that you can make
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the top and bottom different sizes, which I typically need, avoiding a situation
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in which you have a well-fitting pair of trousers and a top that swamps you.</p>
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<figure>
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<img src="https://f000.backblazeb2.com/file/bsag-blog-imgs/carolyn%5Fflannel%5Fpj%5Finside.jpeg"/>
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</figure>
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<p>The second main change was using the piping and altering some construction
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details because of the nature of the fabric. I bought the flannel online
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since I couldn’t get to a fabric shop in person, and it turned out to be
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heavier weight than I had anticipated. It is beautifully soft but the body of
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the fabric meant that double-turning hems (for example) wasn’t going to work
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well. I also had to aggressively trim back seam allowances to remove bulk on the
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collar particularly. However, the flannel also didn’t fray much, so I could get
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away with finishing seam allowances with pinking shears rather than overlocking
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them, which might have added more bulk. The pattern calls for the free edges of
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the collar facing to be double turned and stitched to finish them, but since I
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had plenty of bias tape left over from making my piping, I used the tape to edge
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the facings, and also finish the single-turned hem. This looked very neat, and
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adds another pop of colour to the inside of the jacket.</p>
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<p>When I planned the pyjamas, I wanted to go for a fairly neutral and plain main
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fabric. Plaid flannel pyjamas would be fantastic, but matching the pattern would
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take even more fabric and planning of the cutting out for an already
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fabric-hungry pattern. Since I do like a bit of colour, I went to town on the
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fabric for the piping, and got a quilting cotton in warm orange tones to
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contrast with the mid-grey, and some matching orange buttons. Given that I was
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having to do all my fabric and haberdashery shopping online, this worked out
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really well. You may not believe this, but it was only when I was about half way
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through sewing it that I realised that the colour combination was somewhat
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familiar. I had just recreated the colour scheme of this blog! Well, that’s
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another benefit of making your own clothes: your pyjamas can match your website
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theme.</p>
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<figure>
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<img src="https://f000.backblazeb2.com/file/bsag-blog-imgs/carolyn%5Fflannel%5Fpj%5Fdetail.jpeg"/>
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</figure>
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<p>I was a bit anxious about attaching the piping, but it went quite smoothly in
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the end, even on the collar, which has some tricky parts to match up. In some
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ways, it makes the cuffs on the sleeves and trouser legs easier to attach,
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because once you have sewn the piping to the leg or sleeve, you can feel the
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ridge of it, which guides where you need to place the stitching to attach the
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cuff and then sew it down. I really like the end result and it makes it hold its
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shape a bit better too.</p>
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<p>I have worn the pyjamas for the past few days (hence the wrinkles in the fabric
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in the photos, sorry about that<sup id="fnref:1"><a href="#fn:1" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">1</a></sup>), and they are incredibly cosy and
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comfortable. I’m glad I went for short sleeves rather than long on the top
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though, as it means I can hang my arms out from under the covers to cool myself
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down if I get a bit hot in the night. The construction process was fun, and the
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flannel was lovely to work with. The more I sew, the more I realise that the
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tactile quality of the fabric and how well it sews plays a large part in how
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enjoyable the sewing process is. Fabric that feels nice in your hands and
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presses well is a joy to work with (as well as to wear in the end product) and
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enhances the whole experience for me. It’s also something that is difficult to
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explain, and even harder to assess when buying online, so I certainly got lucky
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this time! Roll on the days when I can visit a fabric shop again and fondle
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fabrics in person before buying.</p>
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<section class="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes">
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<hr>
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<ol>
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<li id="fn:1" role="doc-endnote">
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<p>And sorry for the terrible photos, but the light is very poor today. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-backref" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p>
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</li>
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</ol>
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</section> |