I recently went to buy some pyjamas but was surprised at how expensive a cheaply made pair was. So I decided to make my own. Now, I am only a learner when it comes to sewing, but thanks to tips from my mum and what I learnt from a sewing course at the Worker's Education Associaton (WEA) I can now make clothes good enough to wear in public. I bought a Simplicity pattern that not only will make pj's for me but also for my husband and son. I thought that was good value. I picked some material I liked and, ta-daaa, here are my pj's. For the same money that I could have bought one pair of pj's from a department store, I bought a pattern that I can re-use and enough material for two pairs of pj's.
One piece of advice that I remembered only after I tried the pj's on after sewing was that I should have pinned the pieces together and tried it on for size before sewing. Even though I took my measurements before commencing and used the size recommended on the pattern, when I tried it on it was too big. I had to unpick it and start again. For some of the pieces in the top I had to cut new pieces out altogether.
I wore these for the first time last night and they pass the sleep test with flying colours! As for the scraps of material left over, I will be using them in my vegie patch to make ties for tomato plants, etc. Cotton material can also go in the compost bin.
