This past year has been very difficult for my family and for me personally. We are not alone since I think the past year has been difficult for many of us. I am looking forward to a new year and a fresh start and I hope it will be a better year for all.
For those of us who love to sew and craft, I wish much sewing and crafting time during this coming year. 
Happy New Year!
Happy Sewing!
I want to wish everyone a wonderful Merry Christmas! After all the hustle and bustle is over, maybe you can sneak in a little sewing time for yourself, too. 
Merry Christmas!
Happy Sewing!
Yes, I really tried to post pictures, but someone in this house changed the settings, which make it difficult for me to complete this task. I am hoping to get this accomplished soon because I have actually been sewing!
I think I”ve discovered that the problem may not be with my camera…..
Happy Sewing!
As soon as I have a spare minute, and if my camera cooperates, I’ll post a picture of both the finished apron and the finished pajama pants that I made recently. These days, real life really interferes with my sewing plans, but I can’t complain too much since sometimes, real life intereferes in a good way.
My next sewing project will be a pajama top to go with the pj pants I’ve been sewing.
For a review and step by step instructions for sewing shorts or pj pants, click on the following links. They take you to a tutorial for sewing shorts, but the sewing techniques are the same; pj pants are just longer.
www.sewseamless.com/Page33.html
www.sewseamless.com/Page34.html
www.sewseamless.com/Page35.html
www.sewseamless.com/Page36.html
www.sewseamless.com/Page37.html
www.sewseamless.com/Page38.html
www.sewseamless.com/Page39.html
Happy Sewing!
I have had the privilege of engaging in some “fabric therapy” several times during the past few weeks. JoAnn’s is having an excellent sale on flannel and fleece, and those are the particular fabrics that are almost flying off of the store shelves. The manager of the local store said that flannel is very popular this time of year because a lot of people are sewing pajama pants for Christmas gifts. Sewing fleece blankets also seems to be popular as well. I think I have stocked up on flannel for now, but maybe I need to go back and buy some nice fleece…….
I am also happy because I had a preferred customer coupon and when the clerk peeled off the sticker, I got 15% off of my total purchase!
In my last post, I told you about sewing the waistline casing, and after that is done, it’s time to insert the elastic. Although there are products on the market to help you thread the elastic through the casing, I like to use a large safety pin, which works just as well. Insert the elastic into the casing, adjust the waist as necessary, and then pull the elastic out of the other open end. At this point, you will have to join the ends of the elastic in some way. Most patterns will tell you to sew the ends of the elastic together, but this creates quite a bit of bulk. I use a variation of a technique that I learned from Sandra Betzina. She butts the elastic ends together, wraps a scrap of fabric around it and zigzags over the area. My version is very similar, but slightly different, and probably adds a bit more bulk, but I haven’t noticed any problems with this method.
I slightly overlap the ends of the elastic , zigzag over that, and then wrap a fabric scrap around that and zizag again. After this, the waist is adjusted and the casing is sewed closed. When I’m sewing a casing closed, I like to stretch the elastic a bit. I start sewing slightly before the opening, and sew, slightly overlapping the other side. At this point, you can adjust the elastic in the waist area, and then stitch in the ditch in the seams in order to prevent the elastic from twisting as the pj pants are being worn.
The hem for the pj pants pattern that I’m using suggests a shirttail hem, which basically means a rolled hem. I used the free arm on the sewing machine, and turned up the hem twice. After you have pressed well, the pajama pants are finished!
A detailed pajama pant sewing tutorial for these steps, complete with pictures can be found at : www.sewseamless.com/Page36.html , www.sewseamless.com/Page37.html , www.sewseamless.com/Page38.html and www.sewseamless.com/Page39.html
Happy Sewing!
It seems that the holidays come faster and faster these days and it’s hard to get ready in time. Many seamstresses enjoy sewing gifts for family and friends and pajama pants are always popular and are quite easy and fun to sew.
I believe that I showed you an easy method for taming that pesky crotch seam. All that is left to do at this point is to sew the waistline casing, insert the elastic, and hem the pants.
One thing that I forgot to mention about sewing the crotch seam is this: when you put the two pants legs together, make sure you have backs to backs and fronts to fronts. This is where those notches are important. Because I often serge off the notches, I usually mark the back legs and front legs with pins so that I know which is which. Some seamstresses also place different colored stick dots on each leg, or use some other method to make sure they can tell the difference between the front and the back.
Once the crotch seam has been sewn, and the seams pressed open, baste down each side of the seams. This will help the elastic to glide through the casing more easily. To sew a casing, simply press the waistline down about 1-1/4 inches. I like to pin in order to prevent shifting while I’m sewing. Be sure to leave a space to insert the elastic. When I sew a casing, I also like to place my sewing machine needle all the way to the left, and then place the presser foot on the finished edge of the casing.
I like to press the casing before sewing because it makes it easier to sew.
The next step is to insert the elastic into this casing, adjust it, and sew the casing closed and hem the pj pants. I’ll mention that in my next post and then I’ll move on to another sewing project. Hopefully, my camera will cooperate.
A detailed tutorial (with pictures) can be found at www.sewseamless.com/Page36.html
Happy Sewing!
It seems that we’re in the middle of a pajama pant sew storm. Right along with a few real snow storms in parts of the country! Sewing pajama pants just might be a great activity for those who are snowed in.
So far, the inner leg seams and side seams of the pj pants have been sewn, which leaves us with two separate pajama pants legs. These need to be sewn together at the crotch. Many seamstresses are very intimidated when thinking about sewing the crotch seam, but the method I use is very easy and almost foolproof.
As you can see from the picture above, there are two pajama pants legs. Leave one leg inside out, and turn the other leg to the right side; the right side of the fabric will be facing you.
Place the right side out pajama pants leg into the leg that is wrong side out. You will notice that you have a “U” shaped seam. This is the crotch seam. Sew around the “U” shape and the crotch seam has been sewn. 
Sometimes when I’m sewing a crotch seam, I like to use the free arm on my sewing machine to make it a bit easier to navigate the curve. This isn’t really necessary, but it often helps me navigate the crotch curve a bit more easily.
After the crotch seam has been sewn, press it well, and then press the waist area seam open if you have finished the raw edges prior to sewing construction. Or press the seam to one side if you have chosen to sew the seam on a regular sewing machine, and then serge the seam.
More information and a detailed tutorial, complete with pictures, is available here: www.sewseamless.com/Page35.html
The pajama pants are now almost complete. Next, I’ll show you how to sew the waistline casing, insert the elastic, and hem the pants.
Happy Sewing!
Somebody needs to remind me that when I actually plan to sew, real life always interferes! I had forgotten this, and actually planned to sew one day last week, but of course, I didn’t get to sew a stitch on that day. I am happy to report that on many days when I don’t plan to sew, real life doesn’t seem to care.
Pajama pants are always fun and easy to sew, and they make great gifts. After finishing the raw edges, the firs step is to sew the inner leg seam and press it open over a seam roll. The next step is just as easy. Sew the side, or outer leg seam, press it as stitched, and then press the seam open.
After you have sewn the side seams, you will have two separate pajama pants legs. This is where the fun begins because now you are ready to sew the crotch seam. Stay tuned for the answer to the mysteries of sewing a crotch seam on a pair of pajama pants.
In the meantime, here is a link that will take you to a tutorial, complete with pictures, for sewing shorts. The sewing techniques are the same for shorts or for pj pants.
www.sewseamless.com/Page34.html
Happy Sewing!
It is very interesting that we’re having another pajama pant sew storm this year, and our weather forecast includes snow! 
For this area, that’s unusual, especially this early in the season. Hmmm…I wonder if there is a connection to the pj pant sew storm?!
This year, I have decided to sew pj pants, but I also will be sewing tops to go with them, and I”ll share those projects with you here as well—if my camera cooperates, that is. These tops are easy to sew and are pull over style tops, so there are no buttonholes to sew.
Ok, back to pj pant sewing….
The first step is to sew the inner leg together, I pin the inner leg seams together in such a way that I am sewing from the bottom of the pants leg up toward the crotch area. (Be sure that you don’t sew over pins; pull them out as you’re sewing. ) When this seam has been sewn, press the seam as stitched, and then press it open over a seam roll. I like to press from both the wrong side and the right side. This is very easy to do since the pajama pants leg is still open on one side.
Also, remember that flannel tends to fray, so prior to sewing the pj pants, you need to finish the raw edges in some way. I serge finish them, but you could also zigzag or overcast the raw edges, or you could sew the seams and then trim them with pinking shears, also referred to as “pinking” the seams.
Sewing the inner leg seam is the first step in sewing pajama pants. The next step is equally as easy; sewing the outer leg/side seam. More about that in the next post.
In the meantime, here is a link that will take you the first page of a tutorial, complete with pictures, for sewing shorts. The techniques for sewing shorts and pajama pants are basically the same, but pj pants are just longer.
www.sewseamless.com/Page33.html
Happy Sewing!
We woke up to quite a surprise this morning. It was snowing! Of course, it turned to rain about an hour later, and then stopped. That is pretty typical of this area. However, the weather folks are telling us that we have another chance for snow later this week. This type of weather is a bit unusual, but these kinds of days are very good sewing days.
The holidays are looming and many sewing enthusiasts are searching for gifts to sew. Pajama pants seem to be popular every year. They are fairly quick and easy to sew, and they have an added bonus of being appropriate gifts for every age group.
I have been sewing some pajama pants recently, and even though my camera is insisting on misbehaving, I have some pictures to share with you.
Pajama pants can be sewn from a variety of fabrics, but my favorite is 100% cotton flannel. The flannel that I recently purchased ad JoAnn’s Fabrics is quite nice and soft. Make sure that you wash and dry the fabric prior to sewing construction. Flannel tends to shrink so you need to pre-shrink it before sewing with it. My rule of thumb is to buy about 1/2 yard more than I think I’ll need because this gives me “goof room” and it also provides a large left over scrap of fabric that can be used in another sewing project.
There are only two pattern pieces for pj pants; a front leg and a back leg. Place the pattern pieces on the fashion fabric, pin, and cut.
One thing you will notice is that the back leg has a deeper crotch than the front leg. The picture below is a close up of the front leg crotch.
The back leg crotch is deeper or longer; that is the picture below.
One easy way to tell the front from the back is that the front has a single notch while the back has a double notch. This is great prior to sewing the pants’ legs together, but after the seams have been sewn, it’s not always easy to tell the front from the back. My method for keeping this straight is to put one pin in the front, and two pins in the back, but you might prefer to use another method.
When you have cut out the pattern from the fashion fabric, press the fabric pattern pieces and then finish the raw edges in some way. The easiest way to accomplish this is to serge finish the raw edges, but if you don’t have a serger, simply zigzag or sew an overcast stitch on the raw edges. I also like to press these stitches after I have finished the raw edges.
Stay tuned for the next step of the pajama pant sew storm!
Happy Sewing!