We’re making pyjama pants!  Because pyjama pants are easy to make.  And awesome!  And mine are yellow with polka dots and pink gumboots.  So basically, awesome! This is part II of how to make pyjama pants: Part I is  here. In Part I  I showed the first half of the process of making pyjama pants: checking the pattern for alterations, laying out the fabric and pattern, cutting, and doing the basic assembly. In this post I’ll  cover all the rest of the steps: adjusting your waist, making the waistband and inserting your elastic, and hemming. Adjusting the waist level So, we started with a fully assembled, but unfinished, pair of pyjama pants.  Now it’s time to put them on.  Check the inside of the pants for the Fs & Bs that you marked after cutting out, to make sure you put them on the right way ’round. Pull them up until they are at a comfortable level between your legs, and turn down the top of the pants until the fold is where you would …

In my Absolute Beginners Sewing class we make drawstring bags, cushion covers with zips, and pyjama pants. Pyjama pants are an awesome beginners project because they are easy to make, are made from easy to work with fabrics, and everyone uses them – or at least knows someone who will (which is quite an important consideration in picking a class project!). Beyond the ‘they work for everyone’ factor, I really like them as an intro to garment making, because they have just enough techniques to be interesting, without getting overwhelming, and they have just enough opportunities to work on fit, without getting bogged down in fit. Also, even an absolute beginner can make a pair of pyjamas from start to finish in 5 hours or less. Results! This is the process for pyjama pant making I like to teach to beginner sewers, because it (as mentioned) covers enough techniques, without cramming in too many, allows us to think about fit and alterations, and the process of assembling a garment, is quick, and almost fool-proof. It …

In my last post, I showed you my super-quick and easy and slightly ersatz ‘Dazzle’ inspired bathers  (click here to learn about Dazzle and see period examples of Dazzle swimwear).  Here is how I made them, in case you want your own Dazzle swimwear or patchwork leggings. It’s not quite historically accurate, but it is fun and easy. As my base, I used the Cake Espresso leggings pattern – I know it works, and I’ve got the fit personalised to be just right. I cut out the legs in my white fabric, because it would be the least likely to show under the playsuit. Then I used a rotary cutter and a ruler to cut each leg into a different pattern of random shapes: Then I went through, and decided which shapes I would have in each colour, and used the original (white) pieces as patterns to re-cut them in black or striped fabric: Since this is a trial pair, I didn’t think too much about how the placement would fit on my body in …