My toddler is starting to walk, and every morning he slips all over the hardwood floors. Surely, this is no way to learn! On a whim, I decided to remove the feet from his flannel pajamas and stitch the cuffs so they wouldn't fray. Spring is here now and he could use the ventilation, anyway.

Step 1: Remove the Feet.

I lined up the inner and outer seam of the foot, then took a nice pair of sharp scissors and cut straight across just above the elastic band. Be careful of the bottom of the zipper, which may have an extra piece of fabric hiding inside and near your cut line. The Carter's brand pajamas have a zipper that may come too low to follow these instructions exactly, but I was working with Joe Boxer brand pajamas here.

Step 2: Set Up Your Machine.

In this case, I was using a Pfaff 6122 adn following the setup instructions for the open overlock stitch. This looked like the stitch we have on flannel throws, so I thought it would work well here, too. The setup included using program "K", the "stretch" setting for stitch length, "5>" for stitch width, 3-5 for the thread tension (I used 5, mostly), and use of the top feeder. The top feeder really helped pull the material through. I also used the #3 foot, which has an edge guide that helps in lining up the needle with the outside edge of the fabric. The idea is to let the needle pass over the edge of the fabric, not through the edge.

Step 3: Stitch.

Moving slowly at first, I started at one of the seams and just helped keep the pajamas from becoming twisted as the stitch came full circle. I usually had the pedal to the metal, but with the footswitch in the "low speed" selection. It's important to watch the needle and keep it aimed at just going over the edge of the material, and the #3 foot assists with this.