I agree about drawstring pajamas being annoying! I've bought some before & put elastic in them & just sewed a little bit of the string back into the holes, sewed the holes shut & then retied the string - same look, but the ease of elastic!!
The headscarf looks lovely in that fabric, even if it was difficult to sew. (The Crafty Pinup has a little tutorial on making a similar headscarf where she also gives a couple of suggestions on how to style it, so you might be interested in that video.) I've made both of these items, too, and the scarf was definitely a great way to get back into sewing and to wake up all my old skills. I've also made the Delphine skirt and I would recommend shaping the waistline a bit if you have a well-definied waist. Have fun with it! Forgot to add: I have a pyjama pants pattern that directs you to sew two pieces of drawstring to a small length of elastic to secure the waist. That way, you can still have your drawstring but you don't have to undo it every time you want to take your pyjama pants off!
Thank you for the comment! I shall have to check out The Crafty Pinup video - I love seeing other people's makes for fabric inspiration. Brilliant tip about the pjs waist band - it would be great to have elastic but the nice look of the tie string as well!
I watched your "One Skirt Three Ways" I loved the fabric of that skirt so much that I bought some and it is wonderful thank you for sharing your fabric finds.
Good to know about the fold on the pattern. I just traced my pattern this past weekend so now I'll have to check that. Thanks for sharing your experience!!
Great makes love your PJ fabric. I agree with everyone else re the elastic I have made the Margos in a shorts length for my daughter and I just used elastic.
Really like your pj bottoms. I agree, I think an elastic waist is a much better idea. I have this book too and will eventually go through it, as you are, so am interested to see how your makes turn out 😊. If you watch Emily from pins & waxprints, she's just completed all patterns from the book too x
There are quite a few Vlogs on RUclips showing different ways of elastic insertion, and I think you'll find it pretty easy as I use various methods for the waists of skirts for my granddaughter, but of course you'll see adult skirts etc made with the same method. A fabric bow at the front will give the illusion of the drawstring and will look pretty. If you tape a piece onto your pattern to correct the angle which appears ti be missing you should solve your problem. Truthfully, your pyjama pants look great! I love your hairband, you suit it, now you can use scraps to match some of your outfits too! Can't wait to see your next Vlog.......
Thank you for your lovely comment! You are right - there are loads of tutorials for elastic so I will definitely give it a try for my next pair of pjs!
Lizzie maybe y making ties about 6 inches or so and attach them to the end of your elastic and that way you have the look as well as the convenience. Just a suggestion.
Also agree with this suggestion. Look at lladybird's blog as she does this. I find them far too wide as well. Compare to a pair you have & like to see how much to take them in.
You might want to line the Delphine skirt. Tilly has a great tutorial for this. After the Delphine I jumped to the Lilou dress but have included the Megan in my makenine so hope to make it soon. All great patterns and instructions. Enjoy!
Thank you for your comment - I'm not planning on lining the Delphine skirt this time because i am using extremely sturdy fabric that shouldn't cause any static issues. I definitely want to line any future ones I make though so I'll check out Tilly's tutorial!
I was using this book to help teach my daughter how to sew. I'm an advanced dressmaker but I thought this book would be great. We started on the head scarf and im utterly confused. It said 25.5" long x 6" wide to make the pattern. This was insanely small it won't even tie around my daughters head let alone have the nice excess for the bow that you have. Did i miss something? I went back and reread it multiple times because i was in utter shock when we were done. Kinda killed the enjoyment to see her work so hard and not get to enjoy it.
Hi Vena, of course - I used 'Royal 841mm x 20m 90gsm Sovereign Natural Tracing Paper' that I ordered from Amazon. It was the first time I used it and it worked really well. It's nice and sturdy so it will last well rather than getting crumpled and rip. I just used a biro pen and I have a pattern master/french curve type ruler which was useful. A normal straight ruler would have been fine too though! :)
I've just got myself all ready to sew the Margot pyjamas as my first beginner sewing project and had a little brain spasm because each leg is double sided on the pattern pieces. Any tricks on how to make sure you join them up correctly? I was going to use the tracing wheel on carbon paper like she suggests in her book but now I don't know how I'm going to do that if I have to flip the pattern piece over for the bottom half of the leg. I hope that made sense 🙈🙈 someone please help me lol
Jordana R I've nearly finished making these pjs. To trace pattern just trace the line at bottom of first page and line up with line on second page. The long arrow is supposed to point to top and bottom not in same direction. Hope that helps. Like Lizzie my waist band had some puckering. Perhaps if used cotton with a bit of elastane in it, it would have been OK. I'm a newbie too.
I finished my pj's last night! I abandoned using the carbon paper for the trousers and just traced the pattern out onto some baking paper I had in the kitchen. This is the first thing I've ever sewn and I'm so chuffed with how they came out! This book is amazing! Hope you're enjoying making yours!
Well done. I used baking paper too. I'm pretty sure you can get it extra wide so I'm going to look out for that as it works a treat. I've got to hem the legs of the PJs then I'm going to try the Delphine skirt.
Hi Jordan! I'm so sorry for such a delay in replying. I'm so glad you cracked it with making your PJs! I also traced the pattern. I didn't have any baking paper to hand but that's such a good shout. I bought a roll of tracing paper from Amazon. I now have several patterns that are printed over lapping/on multiple pages etc and my brain much prefers it when I have traced off all the individual pieces separately. How are you getting on with love at first stitch - have you finished anything else?
Thanks for your comments Anita - I'm glad I'm not the only one with the waistband puckering! I want to make another pair for my fiance and hopefully I can work out how to avoid it next time. Did you get on ok with your Delphine?
I agree about drawstring pajamas being annoying! I've bought some before & put elastic in them & just sewed a little bit of the string back into the holes, sewed the holes shut & then retied the string - same look, but the ease of elastic!!
Such a good idea to add the tie detail even when you use elastic - I will definitley try that!
The headscarf looks lovely in that fabric, even if it was difficult to sew. (The Crafty Pinup has a little tutorial on making a similar headscarf where she also gives a couple of suggestions on how to style it, so you might be interested in that video.) I've made both of these items, too, and the scarf was definitely a great way to get back into sewing and to wake up all my old skills. I've also made the Delphine skirt and I would recommend shaping the waistline a bit if you have a well-definied waist. Have fun with it!
Forgot to add: I have a pyjama pants pattern that directs you to sew two pieces of drawstring to a small length of elastic to secure the waist. That way, you can still have your drawstring but you don't have to undo it every time you want to take your pyjama pants off!
Thank you for the comment! I shall have to check out The Crafty Pinup video - I love seeing other people's makes for fabric inspiration. Brilliant tip about the pjs waist band - it would be great to have elastic but the nice look of the tie string as well!
I watched your "One Skirt Three Ways" I loved the fabric of that skirt so much that I bought some and it is wonderful thank you for sharing your fabric finds.
Good to know about the fold on the pattern. I just traced my pattern this past weekend so now I'll have to check that. Thanks for sharing your experience!!
Great review, I plan to get this book another one. everything you made looks great. looking forward to your makes.
thank you!
Great makes love your PJ fabric. I agree with everyone else re the elastic I have made the Margos in a shorts length for my daughter and I just used elastic.
Thank you! Yes elastic will definitley be better for next time.
Really like your pj bottoms. I agree, I think an elastic waist is a much better idea. I have this book too and will eventually go through it, as you are, so am interested to see how your makes turn out 😊. If you watch Emily from pins & waxprints, she's just completed all patterns from the book too x
Great shout with Pins & Waxprints! I hadn't come accross her channel before but she is great :)
There are quite a few Vlogs on RUclips showing different ways of elastic insertion, and I think you'll find it pretty easy as I use various methods for the waists of skirts for my granddaughter, but of course you'll see adult skirts etc made with the same method. A fabric bow at the front will give the illusion of the drawstring and will look pretty. If you tape a piece onto your pattern to correct the angle which appears ti be missing you should solve your problem. Truthfully, your pyjama pants look great! I love your hairband, you suit it, now you can use scraps to match some of your outfits too! Can't wait to see your next Vlog.......
Thank you for your lovely comment! You are right - there are loads of tutorials for elastic so I will definitely give it a try for my next pair of pjs!
The headband suits you! Make more :)
Thank you!
You are doing great!
Thank you!!
Lizzie maybe y making ties about 6 inches or so and attach them to the end of your elastic and that way you have the look as well as the convenience. Just a suggestion.
Brenda Douglas I love that idea
Excellent suggestion, Brenda Douglas!!
Also agree with this suggestion. Look at lladybird's blog as she does this. I find them far too wide as well. Compare to a pair you have & like to see how much to take them in.
brilliant suggestion! I will definitely try that next time. Thank you!
You might want to line the Delphine skirt. Tilly has a great tutorial for this. After the Delphine I jumped to the Lilou dress but have included the Megan in my makenine so hope to make it soon. All great patterns and instructions. Enjoy!
Thank you for your comment - I'm not planning on lining the Delphine skirt this time because i am using extremely sturdy fabric that shouldn't cause any static issues. I definitely want to line any future ones I make though so I'll check out Tilly's tutorial!
I was using this book to help teach my daughter how to sew. I'm an advanced dressmaker but I thought this book would be great. We started on the head scarf and im utterly confused. It said 25.5" long x 6" wide to make the pattern. This was insanely small it won't even tie around my daughters head let alone have the nice excess for the bow that you have. Did i miss something? I went back and reread it multiple times because i was in utter shock when we were done. Kinda killed the enjoyment to see her work so hard and not get to enjoy it.
Hi Lizzie. can I ask what you used to trace your pattern please?
Hi Vena, of course - I used 'Royal 841mm x 20m 90gsm Sovereign Natural Tracing Paper' that I ordered from Amazon. It was the first time I used it and it worked really well. It's nice and sturdy so it will last well rather than getting crumpled and rip. I just used a biro pen and I have a pattern master/french curve type ruler which was useful. A normal straight ruler would have been fine too though! :)
thanks for the reply. take care
I've just got myself all ready to sew the Margot pyjamas as my first beginner sewing project and had a little brain spasm because each leg is double sided on the pattern pieces. Any tricks on how to make sure you join them up correctly? I was going to use the tracing wheel on carbon paper like she suggests in her book but now I don't know how I'm going to do that if I have to flip the pattern piece over for the bottom half of the leg. I hope that made sense 🙈🙈 someone please help me lol
Jordana R I've nearly finished making these pjs. To trace pattern just trace the line at bottom of first page and line up with line on second page. The long arrow is supposed to point to top and bottom not in same direction. Hope that helps. Like Lizzie my waist band had some puckering. Perhaps if used cotton with a bit of elastane in it, it would have been OK. I'm a newbie too.
I finished my pj's last night! I abandoned using the carbon paper for the trousers and just traced the pattern out onto some baking paper I had in the kitchen. This is the first thing I've ever sewn and I'm so chuffed with how they came out! This book is amazing! Hope you're enjoying making yours!
Well done. I used baking paper too. I'm pretty sure you can get it extra wide so I'm going to look out for that as it works a treat. I've got to hem the legs of the PJs then I'm going to try the Delphine skirt.
Hi Jordan! I'm so sorry for such a delay in replying. I'm so glad you cracked it with making your PJs! I also traced the pattern. I didn't have any baking paper to hand but that's such a good shout. I bought a roll of tracing paper from Amazon. I now have several patterns that are printed over lapping/on multiple pages etc and my brain much prefers it when I have traced off all the individual pieces separately. How are you getting on with love at first stitch - have you finished anything else?
Thanks for your comments Anita - I'm glad I'm not the only one with the waistband puckering! I want to make another pair for my fiance and hopefully I can work out how to avoid it next time. Did you get on ok with your Delphine?
Where’s the tutorial?