Silly Winter PJ's

I finished some flannel pajamas for No. 1. I was very pleased with both the workmanship and the finished product. However, No. 1 was less than enthusiastic about them -- I even had to bribe him to try the top on. I wasn't even able to get a good picture with him in it. I think it's because he's more into Transformers and Thundercats right now, and sock monkeys probably appear to be uninteresting to him. Oh well, I had the fabric long ago and only now have gotten around to making the PJ's.

I used Butterick 4647 but modified it a little. http://www.butterick.com/item/B4647.htm?search=4647&page=1. First, I added red modified piping. I was so proud of myself over the piping. I cut one-inch bias strips, folded them in half and used them instead of regular piping. I had seen this on one of No. 1's Gap pajamas from last winter. I think it works better than regular piping because there is none of the bulk.


Second, I made a back facing. I have a very difficult time with patterns where the instructions have you fold over the balk portion of the collar instead of using a facing. You can see a close-up here, where I also added my label.

Third, although a pair of pajamas do not warrant the detail, I used more bias strips to finish the edges of the front and back facing. I'm sure there's a name for it, but the technique I used was to fold the bias strip in half, sew it to the right side of the fabric, and then fold it out and iron. Very nice look. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of this detail, but I was actually pretty pleased with the effect. It was good practice.


Finally, here's a picture of my Amy Butler Sophia bag that I mentioned a while back. http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/products/patterns_display.php?id=35. I have yet to use it. For some reason, I am a bit ambivalent about how it turned out, given how long it took me to complete the project.