FO: Sleep Shorts for Sewists

Wow, folks, it has been a minute. To be honest, I've had pictures of things ready to post for over a month but with all the new changes on Blogger, I couldn't ever figure out how to alter the html so I just gave up and didn't post :/ I've found it now, so we are back in business. Anyway, this post is actually about 3 items I made back in May. I know! Craziness. But here we go:

Back in May, I decided I needed some sleep shorts. With the boyfriend coming over on the weekends, I felt I needed some socially acceptable pajamas (socially acceptable meaning not a huge t-shirt with holes and stains all over it like I usually wear). I have a stupidly large stash of quilting cottons for someone who doesn't make quilts, and in my head I've always justified buying them for pajamas and bags. Now I've finally one of those things! Hooray!

It started with this pair. I used the Margot Pajama Pants pattern from the book Love at First Stitch by Tilly Walnes of Tilly and the buttons. I love this book overall, but this pattern has proved extremely useful int he time I've owned it. I've used this pattern more than any other sewing pattern I believe, lol. Anyway, so I started with the Margot pattern, added pockets, changed it to an elastic waist, and shortened the hem to knee length, which I'll admit sounds like a lot of work but these were all super simple changes to make.

The big thing that put me off making these for so long - I had to trace a smaller size of the pattern. It's silly that I put it off because of this because A) I trace all my patterns and B) this is probably the easiest pattern ever to trace. It seriously has 2 pieces. But at the end of May, I buckled down out of necessity since it was getting warmer and I only had pj pants and knew I would sweat to death all summer. I was able to use the pocket I had made for my previous pairs of this pattern. For the length change, I just held up the pattern to my body and marked a bit below the knee. Easy.

Also, how cute is this fabric?! When I saw it in the sale one time at The Sewing Studio, I had to have it. Sadly they only had about 2 yards left, which wouldn't be enough for a dress (my other go-to use for cute quilting cottons). This is called Sewing Studio and it was designed by Cynthia Frenette for Robert Kaufman. I just love the pattern piece design. Very appropriate.

After making the first pair, I decided to go for it with a second on a different fabric with no set purpose that I've had for a while. This was another sale bin find and it was only about 2 yards. It's called Birch Farm Barn Owls by Joel Dewberry. I always love his fabrics but I can never figure out what to make with them, lol. For this pair I tried to line up the owl design across the front and I'm pretty happy with the results of that endeavor I have to say.

Pockets again. Gotta have pockets. Even though they really do increase the bulk in my widest area :/ But convenience wins out, especially for house wear, amiright?

It's so funny - these are both quilting cottons, both cut and sewn exactly the same one night to another, but this pair is just a smidge tighter around the hips and it makes the pockets bulge out more. Weird.

Interestingly enough, I had this thrifted t-shirt I grabbed a while back that happens to match these shorts fantastically! Now I have a pajama set, lol.

I did do one fancy thing with these - I always have a hard time telling the back from the front on this pattern, so I grabbed a roll of woven ribbon I had on hand and made little tags for the back waistband :) 

So yay for pjs! I've worn these all summer long and they are cute and comfy :) So while this isn't the most involved project, it has proven super useful so I'm really glad I sewed these up.

Summary:
Fabric: 2 yards Sewing Studio by Cynthia Frenette for Robert Kaufman fabrics quilting cotton - $6.75

               2 yards Birch Farm Barn Owls by Joel Dewberry quilting cotton - $6.75
Pattern: Margot PJ Pants from Love and First Stitch by Tilly Walnes
Notions: white thread - $0.50
Time: 3 hours and 2 hours
Total Cost: $14 for both