Brainzzzz and radishes.

I felt like there were at least enough pictures here to warrant a whole new post about pajamas, but this is the last one for a minute.  Promise!  The boy was in desperate need of some new summer pjs seeing as how his Super Mario set has seen better days and that's really all he has.  What can I say?  Summer is not a lengthy visitor in these parts.

I found a tee shirt at the goodwill outlet that was stained and had the neckband cut off.  It pretty well looked destined for the landfill but soooo soft so I snatched it up for a few cents.  

Can you see the crazy print?  It's some kind of steam punk hot air balloon drawing with a brain hot air balloon.  I know right?  (On a side note; hot air ballons = steampunk?  I still can't quite figure out the rules here.  End tangent.)  This pretty nearly became a tank top for moi but being such a good mommy I made the sacrifice and I think it was worth it.  

There was no pattern I just sort of eyeballed it.  The front neckline has a bit too much fabric but its not so bad I'm thinking about changing it.  I finished the neckline and armholes with strips of the same fabric and my lucky 85 percent rule.  I honestly didn't hem the shirt because I couldn't find my grey thread. I did buy a twin needle though so theoretically I could.  Would you like to know the fastest way to break a twin needle?  Let's just say: always remember to reset your machine to a straight stitch and leave it at that shall we?

The red shorts are made from an old tee of mine.  I never wore it because it was a bit on the short side.  The fabric is pretty thick so it's perfect for shorts.  The shirt had a scoop neck and a neckline placket so I was worried I wouldn't have quite enough.  Sometimes I'm amazed that the sewing gods don't just smite me where I stand, slapdash as I am sometimes.

I was kind of in a hurry (it wouldn't do to be late for the pajama party would it?) so I took the sweatpants pattern from Sewing for Boys and pinched out lots of room until they fit on the fabric I had.  Luckily they turned out just the right size. I kept the original hem so all I had to do was sew up the crotch and inseams then fold over for the elastic waistband et voila!

That means this whole outfit was thrown together in about an hour for almost no cost (I think the shirt was 25 cents give or take).  Quick and dirty and completely reloved <3 p="">

Best of all he actually likes his new pjs.  It's so nice to finish something for him that he actually wants to wear.  Zombies are a big thing with him right now so really anything with brainz are A-ok!

As for the radishes... Well, he had fun picking them...

Cleaning them...

Smelling them...

But he never did eat one.  Apparently he'll stick to the braaaiinnnzzzzz!

Cute Calavera pajamas

Just the way pajamas should be: quick & dirty.  I mean, they were dirty pretty quick after I put them on her ;)

Actually I think these PJs were about the fastest make ever.  When I made my PJ top I cut off the sleeves of the original dress and just stuck one sleeve inside of the other right sides together (the same way you probably did when you made your PJ pants.  You did make PJ pants for the pajama party, right?).  Then I sewed the crotch seam.  A nice big semicircle with one side deeper than the other for the bum.  I cut out the excess fabric (again, just a big semicircle of fabric).  To finish them I turned over the top for a waistband and threaded some elastic through.

It's really simple, though I'm not sure those instructions made much sense without pictures.  If anybody would like a photo tutorial on this I do have some extra sleeves laying around and would be happy to throw something together.  Just let me know!

For the top I traced off one of her shirts.  The back piece I used as is, but for the front I cut off around empire waist level.  Then I cut a rectangle, gathered, and sewed the top bodice to the gathered rectangle.

I did not add seam allowances since the original shirt was pretty big but the shirt came out pretty snug so next time I'll make it a bit bigger.  

I didn't bother finishing the hem, neck, or armholes.  It doesn't seem to bother her any and it certainly doesn't bother me.

OMG how cute is that?  The sun!  It burns!

There's not really a whole lot else to say except I'm pretty jazzed with the results.  The happy skull pants are so cute, I love Dia de los Muertos stuff.

Again, just cute.

And those are little miss Baby Girl's new PJs.  These couldn't have taken more than 45 minutes at the most, so what are you waiting for?

pajama party time!

I feel like I'm past the point in my life where I care a whole lot about others' opinion of me (haters gonna hate and all that) yet when I told my parents about the virtual pajama party Karen is hosting and how I "really have to get all these pajamas made by Saturday or I might be late because she's in the UK" they had some choice words that shocked me.

If I recall correctly those words were "geek" and "nerd."  What, if anything, is geeky about a virtual pajama party?  Is the very fact that I have to ask proof of the point, as it were?

I think that's enough of life's deeper questions for today; let's move on to the cuteness.

I wish you could see how adorable this is in real life.  Even more than it is in this picture.

I made pajamas (tops and bottoms) for myself and both of my kids!!!  Hubby got some shorts, but he's not home today so he's missing out.

And radishes of course.  That's right.  I grew radishes.  SUCCESSFULLY!!  The carrots, beets, sweet peas, and sunflowers are all struggling just to shoost their little heads above the rocky soil, yet the radishes are going crazy.  All I can say is that next year there will be more radishes.  Stick with what your good at people.

By the way, all these pajamas were made from reloved fabrics.  Baby girl's shirt is the last of a knit sheet from the thrift that you've probably tired of by now, her pants and my shirt were a thrifted nightdress, my shorts are made of some unloved fabric from the thrift outlet, my son's shirt was as sorry a piece of work as I've ever seen sold by the pound (but I couldn't pass it up because of the awesome art) and his shorts used to be my shirt.  Phew!  That's a lot of reloving going on right there!

My pajamas!  Did you notice that my daughter's pants are the same fabric as my shirt?  You didn't?  Well go back and look.  I found this XXL nightgown at the Goodwill Outlet (by the pound, people, BY.THE.POUND) and obvs had to get it.  I have a before picture but it's sideways and my Picasa is in time out right now so you don't get to see it.  I cut off the sleeves and took in the side seams a loooot; I didn't think this fabric was that stretchy but it is.  I made my daughters pants from the sleeves (watch this space for a post all about her cute little PJs).

In my mind this is a matching set because the shirt has these happy calaveras and the material I used for the pants has skulls and crossbones (along with hearts and chains?  weirdest fabric ever.  This too came by the point.  What can I say?)

I cheaped out and used the PJ pants pattern I already had but nipped it in about an inch all over as it was a bit baggy when I made it up last year.... and I made one veeery important adjustment:

Welt pocket!  Just one.  They're only pajamas, after all, no need to go crazy with two.  But seriously all pants, including the pajama variety, must have a pocket for ze iPhone.  Cuz I don't go anywhere without my iPhone (even though it lied to me on multiple occasions and got me lost in Portland).  I used all the welt pocket pieces from the Thurlow pattern (which is Sewaholic, so I was like halfway there) and the tutorial from Lladybird's sewalong which was awesome.  There would definitely not be a welt pocket to admire here without her guidance.  

Definitely not my best picture nor the most flattering outfit I own, but welt pocket or not they're still pajamas and they're crazy comfy.  Sometimes that's just enough.

We tried to take pictures of us jumping on the bed but they just wouldn't come out at all.  But no pajama party is complete without:

A PILLOW FIGHT!!!  I apologize for the blurries but they do imply motion and there was enough of that.  My son is a champion pillow fighter, guys.  He learned from the best ;-)

Yeah, I could narrate these but I think they pretty much speak for themselves.

As a final note, last year I remember Karen required each party attendee to share what their current bedtime reading is.  As a matter of fact I've got two books going right now:  

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Mike and Psmith by P.G. Wodehouse

If you've never heard of P.G. Wodehouse then get thee to the bookstore immediately, you shan't be disappointed.