Summer PJs

I bought the original One Yard Wonders as soon as it came out and regularly combed through the patterns for the ones that I wanted to make. However, until recently I had not made a single pattern. Earlier this year I made two versions of the yoga mat bag--one mostly as written (including the erroneous instruction for the base to be 16.5 inches in diameter) and one with a few changes (a pocket, placement of the strap). In planning my next projects I came across the 101 One Yard Wonders Sew Along at Pink Chalk Studios, which made me look at some of the patterns differently and offered insight into the projects. I liked the idea of the Perfect Fit Sleep Shorts paired with the Summer Nightie since I am more of a shorts sleeper than a nightie sleeper.

The instructions for drafting the shorts are fairly straight-forward, although I was not 100% sure what the rise was (the distance from the waist to the crotch seam--different on the front and the back) or if I was measuring it correctly. The resulting pattern is a little boxy, but it works. It would have worked better if I had paid more attention when laying out the pattern pieces as I ended up with two of the same front pieces instead of mirror images. This problem was compounded when I assumed I had cut the back piece incorrectly and corrected that piece by adding on the crotch piece. Then when I sewed my leg together I ended up with two of the same legs! To fix that problem I sewed the legs together with the crotch seam not aligned and adjusted to make the pieces even out. The result looks and fits fine, but it could be better. I sewed a little button on the front so I would know which side I intended to be the front.

Next time I will add a curve to the back pieces for a better fit and lower the waist as I typically don't wear my PJs at my natural waist.

Using a coordinating fabric I then made the Summer Nightie using fabric from the shorts as bias tape. This came out super cute and I didn't have too many problems following the directions for drafting the skirt of the nightie. A couple of words of advice:

• If you are going to wear this as a nightie, you might want to add a few inches to the bottom. You may not be able to do this with one yard so consider using coordinating fabrics or using a larger piece of fabric from your stash.
• The triangles for the top are pretty small. I am a B cup, maybe a B+, and I cut out the largest size. It works, but next time I might make the triangles a bit bigger. Size up! If you are bustier, you can easily trace the triangles larger.
• The casing instructions are fiddly. I would recommend either making the casing first, then sewing the triangles to the top or sizing the front down to fit your underbust size and shirring the back.

I plan on using the shorts pattern as a basis for making full-length PJ bottoms with the above adjustments. If I make the nightie again I might actually make it shorter to make it more of a top.