Many parents send their kids to bed with a story – what about sending them to bed in a story?
Blogger Dana Willard of the sewing and design website MADE shares how she got in on the popular trend of literature-themed clothing.
A few months ago I participated in the lovely series Once Upon a Thread, over at No Big Dill. Ever since creating Put Me In the Zoo outfits for my kids, I was itching to do it again and couldn’t wait to sew something up! Among some really cool literature-based clothing by other designers, I shared Goodnight Moon jammies for Owen.
To help Celebrate the BOY today, I’ll show you how I made them. Then we’ll share a goodnight story. Let’s get started before this munchkin falls asleep….
For my project, I chose a book that my kids are currently into. Lucy loved it when she was three and now Owen has latched on to it. Goodnight Moon is simple and sweet and feels like a lullaby. Without thinking about it, I find myself lowering the volume of my voice as the words and rhythm go on. By the end, I’m almost whispering “goodnight”….in hopes that my own child has fallen asleep. While that’s not usually the case, the book soothes us both.
I adore the interior design throughout the book-bold primary colors with touches of antique decor. I’m also a girl who loves her stripes. So it was no surprise that I’d zero in on the curtains above and decide to make this. One pair of striped jammies for my little bunny:
They’re made from men’s XL t-shirts-with the gold fabric as the base and the green stripes sewn on top. I found the shirts at Old Navy Clearance. The long sleeves of the gold shirts were perfect, since the existing sleeve cuff could be used for the for pant leg cuffs and the new shirt sleeve cuffs (I purchased two gold shirts).
* I used a pair of Owen’s worn out pjs and cut them up for pattern pieces. If you don’t want to cut things apart, turn them inside out and trace to create new pattern pieces (following the Make Your Own Pattern tutorial).
* I cut out a front and back for the shirt, using the existing hem of the shirt for my new hem.
* I used the long gold sleeves from the shirt to cut new shirt sleeves, using the existing sleeve cuffs as my new sleeve cuffs (last photo below).
* I also used the long gold sleeves to cut out two pant legs, using the existing cuffs of the shirt for the new cuffs of the pants.
* When cutting out the new legs, I actually cut the sleeve fabric and the old pj legs open at the inseam and laid them flat, since the legs pieces are different in the front and back.
* I extended the length a bit on the legs, to accommodate my growing boy.
* I also cut out the back bum piece.
Now for the decorating.
* I used a green T-shirt to cut 1 1/2 inch-wide strips of fabric.
* I used the existing collar of the green shirt to sew a new collar on the front and back pieces of the new jammies.
* Then I evenly spread the green strips across the shirt front and back and pinned them in place.
* Make sure you line the stripes up evenly on the front and back of the shirt before sewing them in place, so that they match up at the seams and look nice.
* Use a zigzag stitch to sew them down on the front and back shirt pieces. A zigzag allows the stripes to stretch as the shirt stretches.
* Do the same for the pant legs and bum piece (I chose to make the bum stripes off-set with the leg stripes for a creative look. See above red-framed photo)
* Then retrace the sewing steps of the old pjs and sew the new ones together:
– sew the bum piece to the legs, sew the inseam of the legs
– create a waistband and string elastic through (or simply sew elastic to the outside of the pjs)
– sew the shirt at the side seams and add the sleeves.
Voila! A new pair of striped jammies! And just in-time for our 7pm bedtime routine.
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