Master Sewing and Design Certification Program

Pages

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Thrifty Thursday/Pajama Pants for the Street

Just to set things straight from the beginning, I do NOT wear my pajama pants outside of the house. Okay, okay, truth be told, I have gone out to the garbage can in my pajama pants. And now that I'm thinking about it, I have thrown on a jacket and taken Gracie out for a quick trip in the back alley, but I promise you, that's it!!!

A couple of years ago, I shared this free pajama pant pattern from Martha Stewart. Since them I have made piles. I love the pattern and the pants are super comfortable to sleep in. I've made them in both cotton and flannel.


You never know where you'll find inspiration. A few days ago, I was out for a morning walk and I encountered 2 ladies who were walking with strollers. Since they were taking up the width of the sidewalk, I had to slow down. As I slowed my pace, I noticed the pants that one of the ladies was wearing. They were so, so cute. By now, they had made room for me, and as I passed I said, "I love your pants," and got a closer look. 

As I went on my way, I realized that what had been done was really quite simple. It was just a straight pant leg that had been gathered on the side. Hey, I can do that!

That evening as I pulled on my pajama pants, the thought occurred to me that I could just gather the side of the pant and have the exact same look. Her pants were just an elastic waist pant, so I thought the pajama pant pattern might work well.

I was actually rather pleased with the outcome.


Please excuse the crummy selfy. I rather like the side drape.


To make the casing, prior to sewing the side seams together, I serged the seams, sewed them together, and then pressed the seam open.  The hem was sewn in prior to sewing the side seam. So, I sewed the crotch seam together and then did a stitched hem before sewing the side seam.


I had some rattail cording that would work, and since this was just going to be a wearable muslin, I didn't cover the cord. Below you can see that I stitched in a casing. I left the top end of the casing open until I had threaded the cord through. Once the cord was through the casing, I them stitched it across the top, catching the cord in the stitching.


Once the cord was secured, I then pulled it up and tied it. The nice thing is that if I would like, I can untie the cord and wear the pants as plain straight leg pants.


One final little note. I save all of my left over ribbons and sew just a bit at the center back of my pants, or pajama pants, whatever the case may be :) Makes it easy to always know where the back is. 

  
If you decide to give the shirred leg a try, be sure to use a fabric with drape...rayon, poly, silk. 

Go take a walk. Inspiration just might be on the sidewalk!

14 comments:

  1. The gathered leg is such a nice top. I need a great PJ pant pattern.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And even better when it can be used as a regular pant pattern too!

      Delete
  2. Love that idea about using leftover ribbon as a back tab.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a lovely story about your inspiration. Gorgeous trousers and that is such a nice detail. They look fab. Xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks 😊 Wore them all day yesterday and loved how they just seemed to float around the leg.

      Delete
  4. What a wonderful idea! And I love your idea of putting in the bit of ribbon at the back waist. That would work so much better than my little "X" that I make with thread - particularly on my knit pencil skirts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And depending upon the ribbon, it can be sweet to look at as well 😊 I used the heart ribbon on some little dresses I did to send to Texas. So it not only looks sweet, but reminds me of the project.

      Delete
  5. The gathered side on your pants is very cute! Maybe it's because I just came home from the beach, but this detail would look lovely on linen pants.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're right, a soft linen for summer would be perfect!

      Delete
  6. Love the colour and drape of the leg

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a great hack! And thanks for the tip about the ribbon in the back -- I have a pair of me-made pyjama pants and I always have to have a very close look to figure out which is the front and which is the back.
    Lori from frivolousatlast.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Such a simple little thing!!!, but it makes life just a little simpler 😊

      Delete