PJs

I have a favorite pair of pjs that

I bought a few years ago and now they are all that I wear for sleeping and relaxing. When they need a wash, they are washed and then I wear them again that night. They have been to China with me a couple of times and they are very comfy. Often I will put them on after dinner and settle down to watch TV. They have been on three cruises, $20 well spent five years ago.

 However like everything they have become worn and thin but still useable except that the elastic is quite loose. I have worn them to the showers at caravan parks but the elastic is not to be trusted any more. Not a pretty sight seeing a mature women losing her pants out in the middle of a caravan park and that would be me fair out in the middle if it happened.

At the back of my mind, I was thinking to replace the elastic not a real easy job as they are machine stitched and would need considerable time to do it. It was on the back burner.

Shopping with my daughter yesterday and we ventured into the lounge wear area and there was a pair of comfy looking pants.

I selected the ones that had some purple/mauve n them to go with the current top. Then I saw T shirts for $4. Now I have a new pair of pjs for $14.

Should I take both pairs, the second pair wont take up a lot of room or weight but weight could be an issue.

Don't want to take too much but also dont want to be caught short.

Arrgh, decisions decisions!!! Just waiting for ten oclock on Monday and we can leave and then ts too bad what we have left behind or have too much. 

 

Spotlight Visit

I wore a new top the other day and I really liked the style so I paid a visit to Spotlight to buy a pattern that was similar. I haven't made myself anything for awhile but I do have plenty of fabric.

These are the patterns that I bought, two for me and two kids ones. A friend of mine makes kids pjs for a charity and I have thought that I could do that as well, but I didn't have a suitable pattern.

Oops, I did buy some fabric as well (they did have a sale on!) and I promised myself that I would make the pieces up as soon as possible.

This morning I washed the fabric (I always wash it before cutting in to it) and cut out the patterns while they were drying.

Patterns always look daunting at first so much paper. It is a multi sized pattern and I decided to go for the medium size which is for seven to eight year old, I can easily go one size smaller or one larger.

I selected this one to make first.

Yay, finished just before the footy started. I do have to sew buttons and button holes but that means changing things on my sewing machine so will do all the button holes at the one time. I hope to make another couple of pairs before I start on my tops next weekend. My challenge is to have all four new pieces of material made up before next term starts, that gives me three weeks.

French seams

What do you know, I remembered and used something that I was taught quite a few years ago, almost fifty if my maths is right.

A few weeks ago, I decided to make myself a pair of shortie pjs. i had a nice piece of fabric that was suitable in colours that I like, mauve and pinks and blues, it was a mishmash of colours but it worked. I had to be a bit inventive in cutting out as again I had bought the fabric because I liked it not with any plan in mind at the time so it really wasn't quite enough.

Because of the type of fabric, some of the seams pulled out and others unravelled after a couple of washes. While they was nice and I had spent time and effort to make it, it was going to take much more time and effort to mend and fix, I binned them.

Sometimes I can let things go and other times I am determined to make something work, this was an other time, so next time I was at Spotlight I bought some more silky type fabric suitable for night wear. I figured that I had to make the seams stronger so that they didn't pull out of the stitches.

Light Bulb moment. Wayyyy way back when I was at High School and learning dressmaking we did have a small unit about French Seams that could and should be used for light material.

I proceeded to cut out the pattern leaving extra on the seams so that I could execute French seams, so far so good for the top. I aim to finish it and the shorts today and have photos later.

A french seam is sewing the wrong sides together at first and then turning and sew another seam on top enclosing the first seam.

The material that I chose was in the bargain bin and therefore cheaper, I wanted one and a half metres I thought would be enough however if I bought the whole roll or what was left on the roll, it was 50% off, not one to pass up a discount and there was only three and a half metres left, I bought the lot. I will make kids boxers for the excess for the charity that I support, the fabric is dark blue with small polka dots

Using up some of my stash

This is something that I have been doing for some time and I have emptied one plastic tub but there just seems to be more. I found about four pieces of lace curtain, different pieces and on a forum I asked what I could use them for, towels or table runners were two of the answers that I received back.

As we have the new table and it is rectangle not round like the old one, I decided to make a table runner and arm rests for the new lounge seats.

One piece gone, I used another to add to face washers that I will send to a charity that I am making some items for, as the face washers came in a pack of twelve and only three colours I have used pieces of lace to make them look different. I needed a yellow something for a school swimming carnival so I used a piece of yellow from my stash to make a top but ended up I didn't wear it as yellow is not my colour and I'm pleased to say that it was a little too big so I will have to adjust the pattern (and give the yellow shirt away. I was on a roll last weekend and made Warren a pair of boxers (pjs) and a pair of pjs for myself (but not from my stash, I bought a couple of remnant pieces for each of them) I used it all and any scraps went in the bin.

Dressing gowns, does anyone wear them anymore?

Just putting away my clothes from the last washing day and while hanging up my pants and shirts, I noticed a lump on the floor of the walk in robe. It was a bright pink dressing gown!

Last year I bought a winter set of PJs and included in the set was this dressing gown. Its big, its fluffy and I have never worn it. It ad been on a hanger at the end of the row and I guess had fallen off the rack sometime or other.

These days I like to wear pjs, (detest nighties)and as they look more like a comfy pair of loose pants and a T shirt, I don't need or want to wear anything over the top. I head down to the shower block at caravan parks wearing these in the mornings.

Very rarely do I step out of the bedroom, without showering and dressing so never use a dressing gown in the mornings.

Yep I think this one will be heading to the salvos at the next available time. I do have one silk light dressing gown if say I found myself in hospital which is the only time I could see myself wearing/needing one. The silk one was made and given to me by friends in China so I wouldn't give that away.