Lounging Around

Yesterday I finished up these lovely Beach/Lounging Pyjamas!


Fabric: 4 yds floral print from stash ($6/yd I think...), 1/2 yd red shiney stuff, red ribbon salvaged from too small sweater
Pattern: Wearing History 3017
Year: 1930s
Notions: buttons ($3)
Time to complete: 6 hours (next go round should be much quicker!)
First worn: October 2011
Wear again? Yes!!!!! I'm so in love with this outfit! It's terribly fun to wear and super comfy. Much cuter than my normal pjs.

Total cost: ~$27

I had several hiccups while making this pattern that made for slow going. I didn't make a muslin and the hips hit in a different area than I thought they would. Now, my hips are 12" larger than my waist so I usually grade up several sizes in the hips. I actually made this up in size 18 which is for 1" smaller than my waist. It's a pretty loose garment and I did measure before cutting but I measured the wrong area for hips. I did end up removing 1" from the blouse portion and then it was a bit small for the pants portion. I made it work though! Next time I'll remove the length from the middle before I cut fabric.

Also, I discovered that there 4 buttons in the pattern design were not enough. So, I made a trip to Jo-Ann's for more buttons and I'm now up to 7. And, despite careful measuring, my waist ties were not level so I had to take one off and put it back on. And the fabric was slippery and required lots of pinning.

Ok, on to the things that went well.

I used French seams and bias binding so the inside is all pretty! I got my machine's button holes to look nice so no bound button holes! They are crazy fun to wear! And I've already bought some more material for a winter version as this one is a bit chilly with no sleeves.

And, lastly, tips for those of you who want to make this pattern.Do make it because it's crazy fun to wear!

• Watch the arm holes as they are kind of small.
• I made size 18 and squeezed it into 4 yds of 60" fabric though I think I'd get 4.5 yds in the future just to be safe.
• Add more buttons to the back.
• There are no illustrations in this pattern and they are not as detailed as modern directions. The sewing isn't too difficult but I wouldn't suggest this as a sewer's first vintage pattern.

I'm still on the fence about wearing this outside the house but my husband's response was "Those are pyjamas? It looks like a regular dress to me." so that's pretty encouraging.