Movie Night Pajamas IV and V

As I've mentioned, the Movie Night Pajamas by Sew a Little Seam, a free pattern!, is my absolutely favourite pajama pattern. I had already made two of these for myself and one for Gaby and I knew I wanted more of these. Last week, while fabric hunting, I came upon a 2.5 m precut piece of viscose knit, which looked perfect for a pajama set with its deep dark blue and purple colors and yellow moon-like circles. Fitting two full size pairs of pajamas into a piece of fabric 2.5 m at 1.4 m width was a bit tricky and I had to play quite a lot of pattern tetris, but I was successful in the end, without having to resort to compromises.

The original pattern comes with two necklines - crew neck and scoop neck with or without plackets. So far I've always made my pajama tops with plackets - probably the most difficult and time consuming feature of the pajamas. Although the plackets are operational, I never unbutton them, but I consider them essential for the esthetics of the pajamas, otherwise the set would look to me like a simple T-shirt with a pair of leggins (which it basically is :).

From experience I found that the scoop neck is a bit too low for my taste and the crew neck is a little too high, so my Goldilocks neckline is somewhere in between the original two necklines. I made both of the pajama sets identical, with the middle ground neckline and a placket, the only difference is the color of the buttons (yellow for Gaby) and the length of the pieces - full size for Gaby and 2-3 cm shorter for myself.

I believe both of us have pajamas to last us the year:), but this last one is definitely my favourite!

Movie Night Pajamas III

I am very much a morning person and my most favourite and cherished part of the day is the time for my cup of coffee, a piece of cake and a book or, more often lately, daily Duolingo exercises. From spring to late autumn I drink my coffee on the small balcony, overlooking the green area behind our building, still in my pajamas. 

This year I found a free pajama pattern - the Movie Night Pajamas by Sew a Little Seams, which checks all the boxes for me. The upper part is practically a T-shirt and the bottoms are leggings - just as I like them. I already sewed one pair for Gaby and one for myself and yesterday I finished my second pair. I've been looking for a suitable knit fabric for the pajamas all summer long and in the end I gave up on the idea that I could have it all - a print I like and fabric texture and quality I want, so I decided to make a compromise with the print. The fabric I bought from a new for me fabric shop downtown is very soft and smooth cotton knit with lycra, simply divine to wear and I think I can live with the busy print.

Pattern: Movie Night Pajamas by Sew a Little Seam

Size: 0-2, shortened

Fabric: cotton knit with lycra

Time to make: 2 days

And because I don't want to lose the recipe of the cake I made last night, here it is:

Products:

• 2 average apples, peeled and grated
• 2 eggs
• 200 g sugar
• 120 g milk
• 60 g vegetable oil
• 200 g flour
• 15 baking powder
• 100 g dry fruits and raisins 
• 50 g walnuts
• cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg or other spices
  

Beat the eggs with the sugar. Add the milk and oil. Sift the flour with the baking powder and gradually add to the wet mixture. Fold in the dry fruits, cut into small pieces, the raisins and nuts and the grated apples. Add the spices, stir and pour into a baking form. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C until a test toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy with coffee or tea!

 

To Be Photographed

While my knitting mojo is in hiatus and March weather is soul searching its winter or spring essence (it's been snowing for four days now, after the +20C on Sunday), I'm in a sewing frenzy. Here's what has been finished recently, waiting to be photographed some day, maybe ...

One of my better makes, I think. This is my personal pattern, based on the freethe Easy Smock Top by lovesewingmag.co.uk. Last year I made this top for myself and it turned one of my favourites, and when I saw this delicate viscose knit in off white with navy blue hearts, I knew Gaby would love it. So this is for her (as most of the other items on the rack).

This viscose blouse was actually made last autumn, days before Gaby left for Prague, so it was never worn, photographed or, I believe, even tried. This is Burda 6840, style A. I copied the smallest size available 36 and reduced it to size 34 for Gaby, omitting the double button placket. I hope it will get some wear this spring and summer, as I find it really lovely.

And from the oldest to my latest make on the rack - finished only this morning. Last month I made the top of the Movie Night Pajamas, but I didn't have fabric for the bottoms. On Saturday, when I went on a tour around the fabric shops, I couldn't find a matching fabric for the bottoms, but I found the same fabric in another shop - so I bought another meter. I made the bottoms of the pajamas and from the scraps I managed to squeeze a small short sleeved tee, which could be worn as a summer top for the same bottoms (or, I suppose, as a short-sleeved tee). The pattern for the tee is one of my recent acquisitions - Burda 6820, view B.

And another Burda 6820, something for myself. This is a combination of the sleeves of view A, the body of view C and a henley button placket I designed myself, imitating Love Notion's  Breckenridge Henley. I had a fair amount of this cotton knit, which I had bought for a long-sleeved blouse for gaby, so my little henley top is a sort of a free extra.

For Gaby's long sleeved blouse I used again Burda 6820, view C, but I added a scoop neckline, button placket and sleeve tabs for rolled up sleeves - so basically turned the basic longsleeve into a more interesting pattern. I've ordered brass snaps plus instruments for installing them on Aliexpress and i plan to replicate this blouse with snaps some day.

And the last item, which took me quite a while to make, though it looks like a  fairly simple short skirt. The pattern is Burda 117 from 02 / 2017 and the fabric is gorgeous Chanel type wool boucle. I must have bought it some 25 or more years ago to make a Chanel jacket, I actually have a picture of the unfinished jacket on my blog from some 8 years ago. The pattern for the jacket was again a Burda, but the fit was disastrous. So I finally decided to disassemble the jacket and use the cut pieces to make a skirt. It is fully lined, with an invisible zipper and even some hong kong seam bindings, of which I am very proud. Can't wait to demonstrate it to you, as soon as the weather clears again.

So, that's all for now, I'm off to print a new pattern and cut into the fabric :)

Movie Night Pajamas

A few lounge wear items I made recently for Gaby - Love Notion's Leggin's size 14 and the top of Women's Movie Night Pajamas by Sew a Little Seam.

I had been eyeing this yellow butterfly bamboo knit for a while specifically with these pajamas in mind and when I finally decided that I like it enough  - it was gone, just about a meter left. I bought the remnant and made the top of the pajamas, but now I'll have to find a matching fabric for the bottom. 

I chose the crew neck with the placket style and long sleeves, but I don't think I'll be making more pajamas with buttons - so much work for nothing. Still, I wanted to experiment with the placket as I also bought a piece of fabric, intended for a t-shirt with a placket, so the practice on these pajamas was definitely useful.

Pattern: Movie Night Pajamas by Sew a Little Seam

Size: 0-2, shortened

Fabric: 100% bamboo knit

Time to make: 2 days

 

I had about 30-40 cm of fabric left, so I made a matching bikini.

Pattern: Acacia by Megan Nielsen

Size: 0 

Fabric: 100% bamboo knit

Time to make: 1 day

More January Sewing

I was very productive in January and I did a bit of selfless sewing too. I forgot to take a picture of the blouse I made for my mother and I already sent it away, but here are a few pics with notes on the other stuff I made.

Alex requested a new set of bedding and a new pair of pajamas and I was only happy to oblige. The new bedding is 100% cotton ranforce (high quality cotton bed linen fabric) - flat sheet with elastic, duvet cover and two pillow cases. The pajama set (the blue color on the first picture is the true color) is made out of cotton knit using the Movie Night Pajamas pattern by Sew a Little Seam.

Pattern: Movie Night Pajamas 

Size:  SM

Fabric: cotton knit, 1.9 m

Time to make: 2 days

I also made a pair of leggings for Gaby, using the free children's pattern by Love Notions. Although they are labeled for children, size 14 is actually pretty big and can easily fit a slim (xs or s) woman.

Pattern: Leggin's by Love Notion

Size: 14

Fabric: cotton with lycra

Time to make: 1 day 

And a few phone pictures from my stroll through our park yesterday - the weather warmed abruptly (10C according to the thermometer on the building across the street) and all the snow of the previous week turned the park into a bog. But it was so pleasantly warm and it smelled like spring. I can't wait for the winter to be over, I want some green already!