This instructable shows you how to sew easy-to-make pajama bottoms in any size. I don't know if you have shopped for any pajamas lately but they are crazy expensive. At Land's End, they want $24.50 plus shipping for toddler-sized flannel pajama bottoms. When you see how easy it is to make PJs, the man behind the curtain is revealed and you see what a racket that is. These pants are for my son's "Fall Festival" day at school which banned costumes in favor of a pajama day.
I also make matching pajama bottoms for the family every Christmas because I am crazy and I like everyone to match in the Christmas morning pictures. I don't care if my hair is sticking up or my husband needs a shave but we all must match in the pictures like the Brady Bunch on Tour every Christmas morning. It is not possible to find matching pajamas in the four sizes we need so I buy enough awesomely cheesy Christmas flannel to outfit the whole gang. Then we get plain t-shirts in a complementary color so we can keep on, keep on, keep on dancing through Christmas day.
One small disclaimer:
If you're making kids' pj pants, these are technically supposed to be called lounge pants because they are made from regular woven cotton or flannel and worn by children. There are all kinds of laws addressing the safety of children's sleepwear and anything worn to bed by children is supposed to be snug-fitting in case of fire. That's why all those stretchy cotton PJ sets for kids are tight as an old lady's compression hose. They don't want to get sued if your child gets burnt in a fire. The looser PJ pants are made from fire-retardant material which never feels nice like cotton. So send your children to bed in these pants at your own risk.
I also make matching pajama bottoms for the family every Christmas because I am crazy and I like everyone to match in the Christmas morning pictures. I don't care if my hair is sticking up or my husband needs a shave but we all must match in the pictures like the Brady Bunch on Tour every Christmas morning. It is not possible to find matching pajamas in the four sizes we need so I buy enough awesomely cheesy Christmas flannel to outfit the whole gang. Then we get plain t-shirts in a complementary color so we can keep on, keep on, keep on dancing through Christmas day.
One small disclaimer:
If you're making kids' pj pants, these are technically supposed to be called lounge pants because they are made from regular woven cotton or flannel and worn by children. There are all kinds of laws addressing the safety of children's sleepwear and anything worn to bed by children is supposed to be snug-fitting in case of fire. That's why all those stretchy cotton PJ sets for kids are tight as an old lady's compression hose. They don't want to get sued if your child gets burnt in a fire. The looser PJ pants are made from fire-retardant material which never feels nice like cotton. So send your children to bed in these pants at your own risk.
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Signing UpStep 1: Gather Your Supplies
To make sure you get the right size, just make sure you have a pair of pants that fit the intended pajama wearer. If your pajama wearer is far away, then find out the right size and borrow some pants from someone who is that size or carry yourself down to the Salvation Army and part with a couple of your increasingly precious dollars for a busted-up pair you can use as a pattern. This is a DIY tutorial and I figure anyone smart enough to sew up some pajama pants is also smart enough to find some in the right size but you never know.
Fabric - woven cotton or flannel or jersey or whatever floats your boat. The exact amount you need will depend on how big the pants are and whether the print is directional or not. If you are an experienced sewer, you know what that means and you can skip the next bit or you can read it and think, "Well, duh." A directional print is one that has a right-side up. Like words or Christmas ornaments or something else that is meant to hang only one way. If you're making adult pants and using a directional fabric that's a standard 44" wide, you will need almost twice as much fabric because you can't save fabric by flipping the pattern around and cutting one leg upside down. If you don't buy extra fabric and move the pattern down along the same fold to cut the second leg, your husband's cheesy Christmas pajamas will be even more cheesy because the aforementioned Christmas ornaments will be hanging down properly on one leg and, in total defiance of gravity and common sense, hanging UP on the other leg. (Sorry, dear.) To use the smallest amount of fabric possible on your "lounge" pants, buy a cute print that looks the same turned any direction.
You'll also need thread to match, pins, paper to make the pattern, a pencil or pen, scissors, a safety pin, and enough elastic to go around the waist of the wearer plus about five inches. What kind of elastic isn't all that important but it should be about 1 / 2 inch wide.
Fabric - woven cotton or flannel or jersey or whatever floats your boat. The exact amount you need will depend on how big the pants are and whether the print is directional or not. If you are an experienced sewer, you know what that means and you can skip the next bit or you can read it and think, "Well, duh." A directional print is one that has a right-side up. Like words or Christmas ornaments or something else that is meant to hang only one way. If you're making adult pants and using a directional fabric that's a standard 44" wide, you will need almost twice as much fabric because you can't save fabric by flipping the pattern around and cutting one leg upside down. If you don't buy extra fabric and move the pattern down along the same fold to cut the second leg, your husband's cheesy Christmas pajamas will be even more cheesy because the aforementioned Christmas ornaments will be hanging down properly on one leg and, in total defiance of gravity and common sense, hanging UP on the other leg. (Sorry, dear.) To use the smallest amount of fabric possible on your "lounge" pants, buy a cute print that looks the same turned any direction.
You'll also need thread to match, pins, paper to make the pattern, a pencil or pen, scissors, a safety pin, and enough elastic to go around the waist of the wearer plus about five inches. What kind of elastic isn't all that important but it should be about 1 / 2 inch wide.
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I really like the fabric I have used and I would hate to have wasted my time (and fabric). I assume I could add a little fabric at the top as a belt, instead of just rolling the rise down to hide the elastic, but that's only a theory and I'm not quite sure how to do it... Any advise?
My pants came out looking pretty good, but I had some thread mishaps;) Not the fault of these instructions at all, just a learning curve for a newbie. I will be using this instructable again in the future! Thanks so much for instructions so easy a total novice can use them! Witty AND useful. I love it!
Brilliant (and funny) instructions. Thanks a lot!
I'm making a pair for my Dad right now and I wanted to be fancy, so I'm putting some pockets in.
You're great! Thanks again!!!
Anyway ,the part i really don't understand is what you mean by "Fold your fabric just enough to accommodate your pattern" and in the picture it shows it folded in half twice.
So. What you need to do is lay out the 44" of fabric and fold the selvedge edge (the finished edge along the long sides of the fabric) towards the middle only as far as you need to fit the leg pattern on there. Then cut Leg #1 out. Now you need a second leg so you refold and cut Leg #2.
One thing I can do is sew (I made him a great Austin Powers suit from some old velvet curtains a few years ago), and he can never find PJ bottoms long enough so this idea will be my saving grace.
Thanks Compwalla, you're a star!!
I was wondering if one could use a knit material for these pants? What changes would need to be made in the sewing technique?
Thanks! Great instructable, by the way.
Question: Would there need to be any modifacations done to the pattern to work with a pregnant woman's increasing belly??
Thanks Alot!
thanks again!
~M~