Sunday, November 21, 2010

Assembling PJ Bottoms

I created this blog with the intention of just showing off my creations, to hopefully inspire some people. Friends, however, have insisted that I give easy to follow tutorials. So, this is my first attempt at a tutorial. Please, if you have questions, feel free to email me.

Since I taught myself to sew using pajama bottoms, I have decided to make pj bottoms my first tutorial! I have heard from the pros that pants are difficult because of the crotch seam, but I am a contrarian. Yes, there is a crotch seam, but if you take it slow, it's a breeze. Pants are quick to cut out and quick to put together. Most would have you start with a skirt or a pillowcase, but many people simply do not wear skirts, and who wants a pillowcase that doesn't match your sheets? Most people wear pjs, and most patterns are unisex, so you can make them for the entire family.

For this tutorial, I used a pattern that I drafted (drew, using my own measurements) myself. You may purchase your own pattern - I saw one at Wal-Mart for $3 - or, even better, use this FREE pattern available at Simplicity http://www.simplicity.com/t-sewing-101-part4.aspx In fact, this free pattern was the very pattern I used when I made my very first pair of pj bottoms! It's a unisex pattern, and all you have to do is save it to your computer, so you can print out new copies for all the sizes of your family members.

Let's get on with the tutorial! Before you begin, you'll need to prep your fabric. Simply, wash and dry it to preshrink it. It would never do to make perfect fitting pants, only to have them shrink on you! Then, iron them to remove any wrinkles. Now, we're ready to begin!


1.Cut out your material as per the directions on your pattern. Please pay special attention to the print design on your material (you don't want it to be upside down!) and whether anything needs to be cut on the fold. My pattern requires that I cut each piece in opposite directions, so I do this by folding my material in half lengthwise and cutting two at once. Generally, if your pattern says "Cut 2" this is what you will do. If you are using the free Simplicity pattern, you will also do this.

From Pj Bottom Tutorial





2. If your pattern has a "back" and a "front" piece to each leg, like mine does, you'll want to line the two halves together. It is very important that the RIGHT sides are on the inside (touching each other) and the WRONG sides are facing out. If you are using the Simplicity pattern, or one where each leg is one piece, then you won't need to sew the outseam. You will only fold each leg in half (RIGHT sides together- WRONG sides out) and line up the inseams.

From Pj Bottom Tutorial




3. Now, we pin the outseams (skip this if you there is no outseam) and the inseams. Do not pin the crotch seam, which is the curved seam at the top of the pants' legs, and don't worry that it does not match up - it's not supposed to! We will not be sewing this until later.




From Pj Bottom Tutorial




4. Serge (or sew) the inseam, starting at the bottom of the crotch seam, and according to the seam allowance on your pattern. A serger gives finished edges, which will not fray. If you are using a sewing machine, my next tutorial will be how to sew a finished edge, which should not fray. Here's the link to it! http://pineappledamask.blogspot.com/2010/11/sew-seam-with-sewing-machine.html




From Pj Bottom Tutorial





5. Turn the pants over and serge/sew the outseam. If your pants do not have an outseam (Simplicity Free), then you, obviously, skip this step.




From Pj Bottom Tutorial





6. To set the serged stitches, you should press the seams you just sewed. Simply place your hot iron on the seam and use the weight of it to do the work for you. Glide the iron along the stitches; there's no need to put your back into it - we're just setting stitches, not ironing out wrinkles.



From Pj Bottom Tutorial





It's also important to do this because the serged stitches will want to stand straight up. We want them to lay flat against the material. Here is a blurry picture showing how the stitches are standing up. Press them flat =)

From Pj Bottom Tutorial







7. Repeat the above steps with the other leg. When you are finished, you should have two, inside out legs to your pants. Great job!

From Pj Bottom Tutorial







8. Now, we need to attach the two legs. This may seem daunting, but take it slow, and it will be a piece of cake! First, turn one pant leg inside right. It does not matter which one, since they are both the same!

From Pj Bottom Tutorial





9. Stuff the inside right leg inside the inside out leg. Both RIGHT sides should be facing each other. Hopefully, this picture illustrates my point. You'll also want to make sure that the inseams and outseams, as well as the crotch seams are lined up.



From Pj Bottom Tutorial





10. Now, you'll want to sew the crotch seam. I've drawn a very uneven line on the picture below, to show you where the crotch seam is. You'll have your pants in a tube, and you'll start at the top of the "U" shape and sew down along it, ending at the other top of the "U."

From Pj Bottom Tutorial




11. Carefully serge or sew the crotch in one continuous line. Go slow, especially at the curved part at the bottom of the "U" shape.



From Pj Bottom Tutorial





12. To reinforce the crotch seam, I use my sewing machine to stitch straight stitches along the serged edge. This is an optional step, but I recommend it. When sewing with a regular machine, remember to backstitch a few stitches at the beginning and end, in order to secure the stitches.

From Pj Bottom Tutorial





13. Set the crotch stitches and press them flat with your iron.

From Pj Bottom Tutorial




This is what your finished crotch seam should look like.



From Pj Bottom Tutorial




Here is a side view.



From Pj Bottom Tutorial




14. If you've done it right, and I'm sure you have, you can pull out the leg which is on the inside, and you should have inside out pj bottoms! They won't stay up like this, so we'll need to add elastic to the waist. In order to do this, we need to create a casing, or a place holder, for the elastic. It's super easy, I promise.



From Pj Bottom Tutorial




First, we'll need to somehow keep the edges from fraying. I quickly serge the top edge of the waist. If you don't have a serger, see how to do a proper waistband with a sewing machine in my tutorial here http://pineappledamask.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-to-create-elastic-casing.html



From Pj Bottom Tutorial





15. Set the stitches with your iron.

From Pj Bottom Tutorial



16. Fold the top down to a size which will fit your waistband, plus a seam allowance. I am using a 1/2" elastic band, so I fold the waistband down about an inch. I could make it smaller, but this is easier for me. You'll find that, as you sew, you'll develop your own idiosynacrasies which work for you, whether or not they are the proper way to do things.

From Pj Bottom Tutorial





Pin in place.

From Pj Bottom Tutorial





I also press with my iron to help keep the waistband in place.

From Pj Bottom Tutorial





17. Starting at the back, begin to sew the waistband in place. It is important to leave an opening for the elastic band, so when you get all the way around, stop sewing about an inch from where you started. Don't forget to backstitch at the beginning and end to secure the stitches.

From Pj Bottom Tutorial





Here is a picture showing the space you should leave.

From Pj Bottom Tutorial



18. Set the stitches with your iron.


From Pj Bottom Tutorial



19. Cut a piece of elastic to the length that you'll need. Most directions say to do it to your waist, plus an inch, but I've found that this makes it too large. You want the elastic to stretch in order to hold up your pants, so I always cut it exactly the width of the waist measurement, or even sometimes a bit smaller.

From Pj Bottom Tutorial



20. The easiest way to feed an elastic into casing is to pin a safety pin on the end of the elastic and use that to shimmy it through. Go all the way around and out the other side. Make sure the other end of the elastic doesn't go into the casing! You may want to pin that to the pants.


From Pj Bottom Tutorial



21. Now, make sure the elastic is not twisted anywhere, and overlap the two ends about a 1/2 inch or so. Pin with your handy safety pin.


From Pj Bottom Tutorial



22. Sew the two ends of the elastic together. I usually do a zig-zag stitch down the middle, but some people do a straight stitch and sew around the edges in a square. Remember to backstitch to secure the stitches as well.

From Pj Bottom Tutorial



23. Feed the elastic back into the casing and stitch the casing shut, backstitching to secure.

From Pj Bottom Tutorial



24. Now, we need to hem the pants! You should probably try them on first, so you know by how much you'll need to hem. I usually do a rolled hem on my serger, but if you don't have a serger, or want to do a traditional folded hem, go to my tutorial on how to do that here http://pineappledamask.blogspot.com/2010/11/easy-hems.html

From Pj Bottom Tutorial



25. Turn the pants inside right, and you should have a pair of pj bottoms!

From Pj Bottom Tutorial




From Pj Bottom Tutorial




From Pj Bottom Tutorial

I hope you had fun and that your pj bottoms were a complete success! Keep sewing!

Were you inspired? Post pictures of your cozy pjs to the Pineapple Damask Group's Flickr Photo Pool!

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