//COTTON CAROLYN PAJAMAS

Firstly, can I just say I never imagined photographing myself in my pajamas and then posting said photos to the internet. But, then again, I’ve never had pajamas as snazzy as this. My prior sleeping attire consisted almost entirely of band tee shirts. So it was very exciting when Heather released her Carolyn Pajama pattern, and excellent timing as I’d just moved to Wellington, which has a decidedly colder climate than I’m used to, and requires warmer sleepwear.

Pattern

I love this pattern. I like the different options it gives, and it’s classic with a really nice shape to it. 

And then there’s the piping! Phwoar!

I chose to make the long sleeved top with shorts and I’m tempted to also make a matching pair of pants for when it gets colder.

I found the pattern to run a little on the small side, but to be fair I do have a peculiar pear-shaped body. I used the measurement chart and cut the top in a size 6 and initially cut out the shorts pattern in a size 8. I made the top up first and it fitted nicely across the shoulder but was a little tight across the hips so I narrowed the seam to 5mm from the waist to hem on the side seams. I then got a little nervous about using an 8 for the shorts so recut the pattern as a size 12. When I made these up they were a bit tight so I narrowed the seams as much as possible at the side, centre back, and crotch seams. They’re still a little more snug than I’d like but I’m pretty happy with the fit.

Other alterations I made were to lengthen the shorts by 1cm and I added piping to the pocket edge. I’m still tossing up about whether or not to add three buttons to the faux fly (read: I will when I can be bothered).

I toyed with shortening the cuffs as they cover most of my hands, but I’m glad I didn’t. They’ve got a cosy pajama vibe. However, if I was to make an outside-wear version I think I would shorten them.

Sewing

This was my first time working with piping and I’m really pleased with the results. I ended up making around six metres of piping, which involved a few fabric strips cut on the bias (not fun) and initially my stitching line was miles from the piping cord. Once I stitched it to the fabric however, it came out ok. There are a couple of places where it’s not totally pucker-free but it’s not really noticeable.

The topstitching around the piping looks pretty puckered and a bit shonky in these photos but I’m attributing that to that fact they’d just come out of the dryer when I took these photos and they may have shrunk slightly. I’ve since worn them and they’ve gone back to normal!

Fabric

The fabric is an almost-brushed cotton from the Fabric Store. I snapped it up when they had 50% off so I think it was down to $10 a metre. It’s lovely and warm and I love navy so it was ideal for my needs. I looked at white piping but in the end decided on pink. I got the piping fabric and cord from Spotlight. The fabric is a cheap poly satin but it keeps snagging on everything so next time I might go with a cotton for the piping.

Next time:

-          I will go up a size for the shorts and add 1cm onto the side seam of the top so the fit is spot on

-          Lengthen the shorts by a centimetre or two

-          Maybe raise the top buttonhole by an inch. I have no bust to speak of so the neckline's a little low for me (and yes, I should have checked this before sewing my buttonholes)

-          I considered monogramming my initials onto the pockets in pink after I made the top up. I decided against it though, because I thought it may look a bit cramped with the pocket being split into two parts. Next time I’ll omit the piping and maybe have it along the outside of the pocket instead to frame the monogramming.

-          When summer next rolls around - in approximately nine whole months - I’m definitely making a silk pair. Pale pink with navy piping? Printed crepe de chine? I’m getting excited already...

Wearability

I desperately need another pair already so I can stop wearing these so often! They’re lovely and warm and look too nice to just be wearing to bed. I’m certainly tempted by Heather’s suggestion to make a silk set for outside wear. Or I was thinking of making the collar point a bit more square to lessen to pajama connotations and making the top into a blouse. Either way, this project has made me realise I need more piping in my life! I am a little worried I’ll end up looking like an extra in a cowboy movie. I guess white with black piping is a good start? And omitting any fringing and yoke will certainly help! 

As a coincidence, a few days after I finished my pair, I stumbled across this set from NZ label Lonely Hearts. They are amazing but cost a small fortune ($415). Admittedly, I felt rather smug when I totalled mine at a mere $35 (yay for handmade stuff and the $$ saved). I may just keep a sneaky eye out for a similar floral print for the future though, it makes for quite a different look.

Source

UPDATE: Lonely have done a navy set very similar to mine, they used cream piping though. In my opinion, their neckline looks a little too high.  (or am I secretly just envious)

Anyway, I guess this means that for once in my life I’m bang on trend?!

//LINEN TWO PIECE SET-ACULAR

Hi everyone!

May I present to you my VISUALLY LOUD TWO-PIECE.

I was totally enamoured with Sophie’s two piece outfits last year as well as all the fab ones she inspired. So here’s my addition to the Two-Piece Set-Acular club! Better late than never, right?!

Fabric

This fabric is amazing. It’s a thick-ish textured linen-cotton mix from the Fabric Store.  It’s incredibly comfortable to wear and just the right combination of soft and thick. The cotton content has more or less eliminated crinkles.

Then there’s the fabric’s  pattern - which can speak for itself (and in quite a loud voice!). My favourite twin-sets to come out of Sophie’s campaign were the patterned, bright ones. (I made another twin-set a few weeks ago from a plain navy linen but it’s just not as effective - it’s missing some ‘oomph’.) 

I got this particular linen about a month ago in some mail samples for another project, but it wasn’t right for that project. The idea of a twin set recently re-entered my consciousness and, hey presto, it was perfect.

In hindsight  - perfect twin-set fabric . Now all I want is this weight and texture in solid colours .

Pattern matching

I was wary of being swamped by the busy pattern, so from the outset decided to position my pattern symmetrically to add a focal point to the garments . I ensured that I cut each piece of the front and back of the shorts as a mirror image of the other front or back piece – that way when I sewed the pleat in the middle of the culottes it would match! However, had I been concentrating a bit more carefully I would have matched the side seams. I got distracted by the whole mirror image thing and didn’t realise that I could easily have cut the front and back identically so it matched at the sides as well! 

Ahh well, I guess pattern matching does that to you.

Pattern

The top pattern is Grainline Studio’s scout tee. I’ve made heaps of these and haven’t made any major adjustments to the pattern. For this I just cropped it and raised the neckline by 1cm.

The bottoms are a pair of culottes of my own pattern. It’s based on a culottes pattern in Winifred Aldrich’s book Metric Pattern Cutting which turns the skirt block into shorts and adds fullness to the front of the pattern - which is pleated to hide the short legs and make it look like a skirt. I’ve made this pattern a few times over summer and I’m quite fond of it. I’m not much of a shorts girl and culottes are a good compromise for me. I’m still quite unsure whether or not it’s a flattering shape for me but I’ve entered a culottes phase and there’s no turning back!

Sewing

This was lovely fabric to work with. I’ve made both the top and culottes before so whizzed through the sewing of them. I think all up it took me around a day of sewing to put together.

Yay vs nay

Yay

• The fabric! Say no more
• I think my pattern matching/making it symmetric worked well and draws the eye
• I can wear both pieces with other (plain) garments without it looking strange – I can either go full pattern or wear it by halves.

Nay

• There's been no real negatives in my wearing so far!

Wearability

This is a fun outfit to wear!

I lived in it for the first week after I made it, until I realised that the loud nature of the fabric made it pretty obvious to people the frequency I was wearing it! It’s super comfortable, and the fabric holds its shape nicely without being stiff. It is relatively warm given its thickness but it’s a nice fabric to have against the skin - yay for natural fibres!

It is a bit of a change for me to wear such a bold pattern, particularly a whole outfit of it, but I’m finding black and white a good place to start. I’ve just finished another twin-set - a pastel floral number - and I keep visualising what else I can turn into a twin-set from my stash.

Twin-set ideas

I delved deep into the world of twin-sets (and by that I mean Pintrest) when I was looking for ideas re pattern and shape, and here's some of my favourites:

How good is that Kirsten Dunst one?!?
Source: all from Pintrest

So many great ideas!
Source: all from Pintrest

More over on my Pintrest

I'm now scheming about all the different variations I could do - winter, summer, pastel, trimmed, tailored, a blazer - so I guess have the twin-set bug!