Craft Blog

Top 4 guidelines to making great pajama pants.

Those comfortable, appealing, relaxing, cute, fun, and enjoyable pajama pants that everyone wears and that you have to spend a fortune on at the store are actually pretty easy to make.  All it really requires to make easy pajama pants is an easy and simple pattern, some material that is soft, comfortable, and good-looking, and a sewing machine.  Or at least a friend with a sewing machine.

Of all of our clothes, pajamas are perhaps the most enjoyable.  Comfortable pajamas can transform an entire evening, fix a completely stressful day, or make a day actually fun.  If you’re feeling ill, depressed, stressed out, or just want to be comfortable, then pajama pants are an absolute must. 

It is a piece of cake to find an easy pajama pattern at any fabric store around.  They are all basically the same, though some are less well designed and less well cut than others.  The basic information that you need to make easy pajama pants is a good pattern, good material, a lot of material (buy about 5 yards; more than you think that you need), and a little time.

Other than the requirements set forth by the pattern that you decide on, here are some other elements that go into good pajama pants. Use these basics to help you choose a pattern that has all the essential elements of easy and comfortable pajama pants.  If you find that you don’t like the pattern that you’ve chosen, you can adapt it to include these elements, as suits your personal taste.
Pajama pants should be baggy.

Comfortable pajama pants are great not because they are form fitting or they show off toned legs or a Jennifer Lopez-style rear end.  Pajama pants are our favorite clothing because they are a loose fitting respite from the cramping style that we have to wear to work.
Make sure that the pattern that you choose will create appropriately baggy pajama pants.  The bagginess depends on what you personally like, but they need to be roomy enough that you can really just relax.
Pajama pants should not have irritating side seams.

Perhaps you like pockets in your pajama pants.  I actually do prefer my pajama pants, along with all of my other pants, with pockets.  But many people prefer their pajama pants with no side pockets, but just like flat pockets on the rear end.
Side seams should only be used if you have side pockets on your pajama pants.  You can make your seams as smooth as possible, but you are still going to have serged seams with threads that will rub against your skin.  It might not be a big deal to you, but you still feel these side seams in your sleep. 

Chances are that you will not be able to find a pajama pant pattern without side seams.  How can you remedy this problem?  Take your pattern, and put both sides together, lining up the leg hems.  Draw in the waist part.  Decide how wide you want your legs to be.  Then determine the difference between your preferred width and the distance that the patterns give you.  Mark half that difference in from each side, and then redraw the side seams to taper to nothing at the crotch.
Make the backside roomier.

If you want more room in the backside of your pajama pants—admit it, it’s more comfortable that way—all that you have to do is make the crotch lower and longer.  However, keep the back inseam length the same.
Choose good fabric.

Even if you find the greatest pattern in the world, it might not be good material.  Choose fabric that will breathe.  This means go with light cotton, flannel, or silk.  Also look for flame-resistant fabric and thread for extra safety.

How can you know how much fabric you should buy for a pattern?  This is a great question to ask.  It is often difficult to know how much fabric you will really need for a sewing project, and too often we end up with too little—and then discover that it is impossible to find this now discontinued pattern and material. 

So here are some general guidelines to help you know how much fabric you should buy.  These guidelines apply whether you are buying for a specific project, or whether or have simply found a great fabric that you think that you really should have.  It’s always a good idea to have a considerable amount of fabric on hand.  Who knows when you can find that fabric again?  And maybe in a few months you will find the perfect outfit for that fabric you bought on the spur of the moment while visiting your in-laws.

Top 8 rules for purchasing fabric for your sewing projects.

1.  The first thing that you have to remember is that you always, always need to purchase more fabric.  You can never have enough fabric.  This isn’t necessarily for just one project, but every time you purchase any fabric at all.  Buy in quantity, as long as it is economical to do so.  You will never find this fabric again!
 
2.  Don’t pass up on any opportunity to shop for fabric.  If you need more fabric all the time, then you might as well go to the fabric store with your next door neighbor.  Who knows what you’ll find?

3.  Here are some basic rules and guidelines for purchasing inexpensive fabric.
If you find any fabric that is on sale for $1/yard and it’s tolerable, then you should purchase 3 yards of it.  If it’s $1/yard and all right, then buy 5 yards.  If it’s $1/yard and the social equivalent of someone you would give your phone number to, purchase 10 yards.  And if you love it, then buy 15 to 20 yards of the fabric.

4.  Don’t purchase any fabric that is not 45” or 60”.  You should also purchase no less than four yards of the stuff, unless it meets any of the criteria in the above rule.  If you are purchasing fabric with a pattern, anything that has a print along the border, anything with stripes, or essentially anything that is not a solid color, you should purchase five yards.

You should always follow this basic rule.  Figuring out exactly how much you need for a particular pattern, then purchasing only that much fabric, will end you up in serious trouble when you accidentally mess up one of the pieces and discover that the fabric is no longer manufactured.

5.  If you find any fabric that you immediately love, then you should buy it immediately and buy a significant amount of it.  Chances are that everyone else will also love the fabric, so it will sell out quite quickly.

6.  If you happen upon very expensive fabric that is less than 40” wide or that is so pricey that you can’t buy more than 2 yards, still purchase it, but not to use for clothing.  You can frame it, you can make a table runner out of it, etc., but not clothing.

7.  When you look at your store of fabric, you should have a basic ratio of prints to solids that is 10:1.  Why?  Because finding a solid is not really particularly difficult.  Finding a great print is.

8.  Whenever you travel, make time to go fabric shopping.  This is particularly important if you are traveling overseas.  You will never find these fabrics again; take advantage of your trip.

Your trusty sewing machine suddenly isn’t being quite as trusty any longer.  What do you do when the presser foot just isn’t making the needle go, when your stitches are a disaster, when the needle freezes, and when your machine just is refusing to do what it needs to?

You have a number of different options when it comes to getting your sewing machine repaired.

The first option that you have for sewing machine repair is to look in your local yellow pages.  There you will be able to find a number of local sewing machine repair stores.  You can also call up the dealer from whom you purchased the machine, or any local dealer, and ask for recommendations for sewing machine repair stores.

However, a lot of the time the problem with your sewing machine is actually something that you can take care of yourself.  Self repair is a great way to get to know your machine.  Many problems can be easily fixed with a simple adjustment of the needle, a lever, or a turn of the wheel.

Here are some tips to help you repair your own sewing machines, as long as the problem isn’t too serious.  Here are some typical problems, and some general answers and suggestions that will help you repair your own machine.  Don’t forget to consult your owner’s manual!  It will have more specific information that relates to your particular machine.

Tension problems
 
A cardinal rule of using sewing machines is that every time you start using a material of a different weight you need to test stitch on a scrap of fabric.  The upper tension of your machine needs to be set to each different fabric that you’re using, so that you’re not using the same tension on heavy wool and fine silk.

Here’s how you can test your upper tension.  Take a smallish scrap of the fabric you will be using.  Fold it.  Then stitch a line on the bias.  Make sure that you are using different colored threads in your bobbin and your upper thread spool.  Then take the bias line of stitching between your thumb and your index finger.  Pull with a quick force with hands about three inches apart until just one thread breaks.
 
If the broken thread is the color of the upper thread, then your upper tension is too tight.  If the bobbin thread breaks, then the upper tension is too loose.  If they break together, then your tension is balanced.

Bobbin problems

If you have problems with your lower thread breaking, it’s probably because your bobbin is not properly wound.

Here are some basic bobbin rules:
Start with an empty bobbin every time.
 Don’t over wind the bobbin.  Otherwise it will be too hard to get it into the bobbin case.  If your machine has an automatic shut off, don’t override it.  Otherwise, be careful not to over fill.
When winding, make sure that you wind it evenly across with level layers.
Don’t mix different sizes of thread on the upper spool and in the bobbin, unless you’re doing some special type of sewing.  Doing so will end up with stitching problems.

Needle problems

It sounds so obvious, but one of the biggest needle problems is simply that the needle is put in backwards.  Even if you’ve been sewing for the last 25 years, double check every single time that you put the needle in.  If you are skipping stitches or not picking up the bottom thread, it’s probably because the needle is backwards.

For more information and guides on self repair, check www.sewmachinerepair.com.

Have you been thinking about and wanting to do your own sewing project?  For many of us, however much we want to make our own clothes for whatever reason, the thing that holds us back more than anything is intimidation.  How on earth does one figure out a sewing pattern?  It seems that it would be easier to figure out hieroglyphics than making sense of sewing patterns.

Following a sewing pattern really actually isn’t very difficult or confusing at all.  They are made with the consumer in mind.  Once you get the hang of the way sewing patterns work, you will quickly become more comfortable with them.  However, if you are a beginning sewer, then you will want to start with easy patterns.  Don’t try to make your wedding dress if you haven’t even made a pair of pajama pants!  Work your way up to more and more complicated patterns.

Here are some easy steps for you to follow.  Following these steps will help you make a sewing project by following a sewing pattern.

Steps to following a sewing pattern successfully.

1:  Choose a pattern that you like that also fits your ability level.

2:  Determine your size.  This is not your ready-to-wear clothing size!  Measure yourself carefully, and compare your measurements to the chart on the pattern envelope.

3:  When you purchase your fabric, check the care instructions on the end of the bolt.  Before you can start sewing, you need to prewash your fabric according to these instructions.  Then iron the fabric.

4:  Decide which version of the pattern you want to make (most have several options pictured on the front of the pattern envelope).  Then look at the back of the pattern envelope or the pattern instruction sheet to see which pattern pieces you will need for your desired version.

5:  Go through the pattern pieces.  Separate them from all the other pieces. 

6: Put the other pieces away so that you won’t get confused.

7:  Look at the pattern instruction sheets.  They will tell you how you should lay out the pieces of the pattern.  Find the diagram for your particular version.  Look at the layout options that are given for the type and the width of fabric that you’ve chosen.

8:  Fold the fabric so that the right sides (the sides that will be showing when worn) are together.  Fold the fabric along a single lengthwise or crosswise thread (the diagram will show you how to do it).  You fold the fabric so that any markings that you have to make will be on the wrong side of the fabric.

9:  Find a large, flat surface.  Place the fabric on the surface, and line up all of the edges so that they are even.

10:  Look carefully at the layout diagram.  Look for any special symbols on the diagram.  Then refer to the instructions for explanations of each symbol.  Figuring these out beforehand will make it much easier to move through the pattern.  An example is shading on a pattern piece which means that you should lay out the piece with the printed side of the fabric facing downwards.

11:  Cut out the pattern pieces carefully.  Lay out the larger pieces of the pattern on the material first, and then pin them.  Then position the smaller pieces on the fabric.  This order will help you ensure that you have adequate room on your fabric.

12:  Pin pieces to the fabric along the fold before you move towards the cut end of the fabric.

13:  When you are laying out the pattern pieces, make sure that you pin them all as closely together as possible.  But do not overlap any of the printed cutting lines.

14:  Some pattern pieces will have a grain-line arrow.  Find the grain-line arrow on any piece that is not next to a fold in the fabric.  Turn the pattern piece so that the arrow is exactly parallel to the finished edge of the fabric, rather than the cut and raw edge.

15:  When you are pinning the pieces to the fabric, place the pins perpendicular to the edge of the pattern.  Pins should be placed approximately 6 inches apart.

16:  Always pin the pattern pieces with the pins inside the cutting line and also perpendicular to the cutting edge.
 
17:  Follow the directions included in the pattern for sewing the pieces together!

One of the most difficult things about creating your own clothes, after finding a pattern that you actually like, is figuring out your pattern size needs.  But the fit of the pattern is actually the number one component in how clothes look on you. 

Why does it seem so difficult to get the pattern sizing right?  The answer isn’t all that difficult, actually.  We are all accustomed to thinking about sizes in terms of the ready-to-wear clothes that you can buy at the mall.  The problem is that these sizes in no way correspond to the sizes and the fit that you find on the back of patterns.  So here’s step one when you are figuring out your pattern size needs:

1.  Think outside of the ready-wear sizing box.

Maybe when you go to the mall and pick out clothes, you’re a size 8.  Perhaps you know that you should head straight for size 10.  If you are really lucky, then maybe you stop at the size 4 rack.  Well, throw all of that out the window when it comes to patterns.  Before you get defensive, stop and think about it for a minute. 

How many times have you gone shopping, and even though you always pick out clothes that are the same size on the tag, some of them fit you well and some of them don’t?  Sizing standards are not standards, when it comes to ready-to-wear clothes.  Manufacturers basically decide what size of clothes they want to have whatever number.  This also makes shopping in other countries even more difficult.

So stop thinking about what size you pick out when you visit Old Navy, and turn over your pattern to the sizing guide on the back.

2.  Get out your tape measure.

There is a Standard Body Measurement chart printed on the patterns that you purchase.  But you don’t want to succumb to vanity here and simply guess at what your sizes are.  Besides, people change from year to year, both smaller and larger, in different areas of their bodies.

So pull out a tape measure, a piece of narrow elastic, a full length mirror, and someone who can help you out.

Put on some comfortable and well-fitting underclothes, along with a bra that fits you properly.

Start by tying the elastic around your waist and bend from side to side until it reaches your natural waist.  Now you’re ready to take the ten measurements that you need.

Start with your chest.  Measure under your arms, around your body, and above the fullest part of your bust.

Next, measure the bust.  Measure around the fullest part of the bust, keeping the tape straight across both the front and the back.

The waist is measured over the elastic that you have already tied around your waist.

Next, measure your hips by measuring around the fullest part of the hip.  If your thighs are wider than your hips, then measure around your thighs. Remember to check the type of pattern that you are using to see where they place the full hip on patterns.  For example, if you choose a Vogue or Butterick pattern, the distance between the waist and the full hip is 9” for Misses, and 7” for Misses’ Petite.

Now you are going to need help from a friend.  Measure your back waist length by lowering your head to find the bone at the base of your neck.  Measure from this point to the elastic.

Arm length is measured by going from the bone at the top of your arm (the hinge of your shoulder) to your elbow.  Add this to the distance from your elbow to your wrist.  Your arm length won’t affect your pattern size, unless you will need to make the arms longer or shorter than the pattern indicates.

To measure your height, you need to take off your shoes, and stand against a wall.  Use a ruler to mark the top of your head, and make a small mark on the wall.  Measure from this point to the floor.

Now you have your ten measurements that you need.  These are all the measurements that you will need to choose the right pattern size as indicated by the Standard Body Measurements sheet on the back of your pattern.  You should also know that most patterns use a B cup for the bust.  Make changes as needed.

A successful sewing project doesn’t just consist of buying the right fabric and the right pattern for your outfit that you want to make.  You also have to choose the right sewing thread, thread that will be right for your project and whatever kind of clothes you are making, and thread that is also right for the fabric that you are using.

There are a number of different factors that play into choosing the right thread for your sewing project.  Here are some general guidelines and tips that will help you choose the right thread, whether you’re sewing up some flannel pajamas, a wool coat, or a wedding or bridesmaid dress.  From patching to haute couture, the right thread can make or break your sewing project!

How to choose sewing thread in a few short tips and guidelines

Please note that there are many different types of thread used for different projects, like cross stitch, embroidery, quilting perhaps, and more.  This article deals primarily with thread used in sewing machine projects.

Make sure that the thread you choose for your project is similar in its fiber content to whatever fabric that you are using.

Look at the numbers. 

If there is a number on the thread, the higher it is the finer the thread is.  The average number is 50.  If there are letters instead, D means heavy thread and A means fine thread.

Cotton thread

Cotton thread in a medium thickness (50) can be purchased in any number of colors.  Cotton thread is often used for any sewing projects that make use of light weight and medium weight rayons, cottons, and linens.  Cotton thread also takes dye well, because it has gone through a finishing process and is now mercerized.  If you are using any knits or other stretchy fabrics, do not use cotton thread.  Cotton thread doesn’t give very much, and so it can’t keep up with the stretchiness of these fabrics.

Silk thread

Silk thread that is very fine (size A) is a good thread option if you are using fabric that is either silk or wool.  Silk is also a great thread option if you are basting.  This is because silk thread doesn’t leave any sorts of holes after the fabric has been ironed.  If you are sewing with any knit fabrics, silk is a great option because it is as elastic as the fabric is.  Silk also is a good option if you are tailoring clothes; silk thread is easy to manipulate and mold.

Nylon thread

Look for a size A nylon thread if you are using any light or medium weight synthetic fabrics.  Nylon thread, for example, is perfect if you are using nylon tricot.

Polyester thread

Polyester thread in a medium weight (around size 50) is great for almost any type of fabric that you use.  However, polyester thread is especially suitable for any woven synthetic fabric.  Polyester thread is also good for any knits or stretchy fabrics.

You can also purchase cotton-wrapped polyester.  This thread is great for knits, or any natural of synthetic or blended woven material.

Purchase a high quality thread.

No matter how tantalizing it is to buy thread from the bargain bin, it’s a bad idea.  Cheap thread will easy split.  This means that it will easily break and knot, and will also build up lint in your sewing machine.  If you can see frayed edges and roughness when you hold a thread up to the light, then skip it.

Choose thread one shade darker than your fabric.

Using a thread that is just one shade darker than the fabric will actually help it blend in even better.  If you are using a multi-colored print, then choose the dominant color.