My Twilleager Life: Family Christmas Pajamas

Pajama pants are one of the first things people learn to make. It's cold here so I wanted to make flannel pants. And then I decided I wanted to make the hubs, Tucker and myself matching pajama pants. I started to look for a cute flannel in September, but came up empty handed. I either wanted some kind of cute animal or a red and green plaid. I didn't like anything online. Finally, JoAnn's had an adorable reindeer plaid that I loved! And it was only $2.95/yard. Amazing. It was sold out online, so you had to get it in store. My friend went to two stores, found me 6 yards and shipped it to me. Even with the ridiculous shipping charges it is still cheaper than buying fabric in Switzerland.

I made mine first. I added french seams and cuffs with piping. The front crotch was too big, but I know what I did wrong and won't do that again. Everything on mine went smoothly, the only improvement I could do is work on stitching in a straight line on my piping. And one leg is like 2 centimeters shorter than the other. It's one of those things that no one else would notice but I do and it drives me crazy. I used this tutorial by Melly Sews for the pants, and cuffs.

I also made a matching tank top. I used this tutorial by Melly Sews. I made my own bias tape with the flannel fabric. Flannel is probably too thick for the bias tape, but I wanted to use it so it would match the pants. I used this tutorial from Coletterie for the bias tape. Colette Patterns has a booklet you can download for free that talks about how to make and attach bias tape. I also added a shelf bra. I couldn't find a great tutorial, but it was really easy to do. I used this and this video.

Next up was Tucker. I used this pattern and tutorial. I cut out an XL. It fit in the length. But the neck is too wide, the width around the stomach is too wide and the thighs are too tight. Just a few tweaks needed. Tucker already has a pretty extensive wardrobe so I don't think I'll make him too many pajamas. I added a ribbed knit around his cuffs, and I had enough pipping for two of his legs.

Tucker doesn't like getting sized

a cute puppy sleeve

So handsome

Cute little fluffy bootie

Neck is too wide. It needs to be big to easily get his head through, velcro would be a good fix.

Width is too wide, needs to be slimmer in the waist

Last up was the hubs. He did not have a pair of flannel pants that I could use as a template. I read that it is a mistake to use a different fabric type then what you want to make. But the stubborn part of me decided that I was going to do it anyway. Big mistake. I used fleece pants as a template for flannel pants. The end result were pants that were almost 2 times bigger than they needed to be, and for some reason too low. Too big, too low rise and too tight in the legs. It took some time but I finally got them to fit. And now I have a pair of flannel pants I can use as a pattern for next time. I added bias tape to his cuffs.

Bias tape added to his cuffs.
Contrasting cuffs would have probably made more sense, but I didn't have any flannel on hand that would work

We decided to wear our matching PJs for our Christmas card. Tucker hates having his photo taken. The timer takes too long and Tucker always looks away. The hubs just got a remote, so hopefully it'll come in handy during our next family photo session.