Happy New Year - with PJs!

Hello 2014! I've been meaning to be a bit more active on the blogging front, so what better way to start the new year than with a new post? And for the record, these were 99.9% finished until this morning. All I had left to do was add a couple of inches to the waistband elastic to make them more comfy, and therefor actually wearable.

Current temperature: -11C, windchill -18C. I blame any awkward posing on the weather.

I did have a pajama pattern in my stash (M5592. Unblogged, sorry. They have very odd proportions), but I decided to spring for McCalls M6659. It's a great pattern, with loads of options. It includes a robe, two distinct styles of tops and pants, and decent instructions for inserting cuff piping. It's a keeper.

Now for the saga of the fabric. I bought what I had thought was a twin sheet set, swept away by the fun eyeglass print, but when I finally got around to opening the package fully, I discovered that there was only a fitted sheet and pillowcase!!! If I'd planned to use them as sheets, they would have been sent right back to the store, but I decided to see how far I could make this one sheet stretch. 

I unpicked the sheet, elastic and all, to preserve as much fabric as possible (two episodes of Downton Abbey). Then I decided to save space by not making the separate piped cuff for the pants, so I simply pinned the cuff pattern piece to the hem of the pant piece, overlapping to eliminate the seam allowances. When it came to the shirt sleeves, I didn't have enough length anywhere to use the same trick, which is why the sleeves have the piped cuff. Design features on the fly! Of course, that was before I realized how long this pattern is - I'm 5'7, and the sleeves and pant legs are both on the long side. The sleeves could almost be finished at the piping line!

Other than my fabric saving, I made the straight size 16, one size up than usual, because I prefer roomy pjs. And I left out the darts in the back of the shirt - again, roomy, and also better with this big print.

Pink accents! I used pink thread for the buttonholes, too, you can see it if you look very closely...

The piping is from my stash, I don't quite remember what it was to be for originally, but it came in handy here.

Sadly there is one more issue with this fabric. Even though I carefully tested a couple of different iron on interfacings, the collar is already bubbling underneath the black glasses. The white fabric shrank a bit (yes, I did pre-wash), but the black did not. But if it has to happen, I suppose it's best if it's something one doesn't intend to wear out in the world.

I hope everyone is having a relaxing New Years Day, perhaps even in their own pajamas!