FO: Diamond Dogs PJ Pants

The first piece of fabric I used from my New Year's Day shopping excursions (which I promise to blog about soon) happened to be sadly well timed. I saw this French bulldog with David Bowie lightning bolt flannel at Joann's and I literally had to have it simply because it existed. I mean, seriously? How could I NOT get this stuff? Add in the fact that it was super on sale, and I grabbed enough to make a pair of pj pants. It was cool outside, plus I had to make another pair of pj pants as a gift (also to be blogged soon) so I decided to make these first to try out the changes I wanted to make on the next pair. Little did I know that the inspiration for the design would be no longer only a week or so after I made these :(

I call these my Diamond Dogs pj pants. Any other real David Bowie fans out there? (and by real fans I mean more than just "Oh, I liked one of his songs, that's sad" type of fans.) As a former drama nerd in high school, David Bowie was an integral part of my listening experience. I was proud to have him in French bulldog form emblazoned on my new pants ;)

I used the Margot PJ Pants pattern from Love at First Stitch by Tilly Walnes for these. I've made this pattern once before, and it's really as easy of a project as you can get. This time around I did make a few changes though. As evidenced above, I added side seam pockets :) These were a request for the gift I was making, so I added them to my own pair to check the placement. I used a generic pocket piece (technically from Simplicity 2444), and I just put my original pair of these pants on (my camera ones) and pinned the pattern piece where I thought it should be - easy. I also made these about 1" longer than the pattern designates, but then I wound up making a deeper hem that used up all that length. Guess I should've just left it alone, lol.

The other change was one I made on my first pair as well - to make these elastic waist instead of a tie. I just prefer the elastic on pjs pants since it's less to futz with than a tie. I also decided to overcast the seam allowances just for added security (the book tells you to use a zig zag stitch, it was just a personal preference). I love how neat these are inside too :) They're so comfy! Confession - I did have one little mishap that I forgot to take a photo of. I was trimming the seam allowance down around the pockets, and I got a little too involved at the thickest section around the pockets and accidentally snipped into my pants below a pocket. It was a small hole at the seam, and these are pj pants with a busy print - no need to fuss. I added little bits of fusible interfacing to the back, then zig zag stitched over the hole back and forth to seal it up. You can see it if I point it out, but no one else will ever notice that little line :) Crisis averted!

So there you have it - my homage that was made before it was "in memory of", but now aptly will always serve as such. I've basically lived in these pants while I'm at home the past few weeks as we've had actual cold weather in Florida. I seriously love these pants and I'm glad they were so fortuitously timed. David Bowie is comforting me once again as only he can :)

Summary:
Fabric: 2 7/8 yards of David Bowie Style French Bulldog Flannel from Joann's - $6.50
Pattern: Margot PJ Pants from Love at First Stitch by Tilly Walnes plus pocket piece from Simplicity 2444
Notions: 1" wide elastic - $1.00, thread - stash
Hours: 2
Total Cost: $7.50