Simple Sew, Lapwing Trousers / Pyjama Bottoms

Lockdown. If someone had said a year ago, when Easter rolls around in 2020 you will be forbidden from leaving the house no one would have believed them. I'd been looking forward to getting some of my warmer weather makes out of the wardrobe as the sun came out, but turns out lying around the house in your LBD is a little underwhelming.

The thing to do then? Make some indoor clothes, obviously!




I bought this fabric from Abakhan Manchester on my last trip there with my lovely sewing friend Charlotte. We are both terrible for encouraging each other to SPEND every time we hit the shops together, and I would have chucked this pretty viscose back into the shop stash bin if she hadn't talked me into keeping hold of it. My first thought was 'it would make great pyjamas, but when am I going to make pyjamas?' - Yes I was still oblivious to the imposing 'lockdown', and therefore my future need for house clothes.
Fast forward a few months and the fabric shops are now SHUT and I'm unsure how reliable online ordering is going to be, and I'm faced with what can I make using my stash and my stash alone? Lucky for me someone talked me into buying pyjama fabric and there is LOTS of it. I have enough odds and ends of elastic on my sewing box for PJ bottoms to be a viable option. 

I have two pairs of wide leg Primark PJ bottoms that I wear to bed quite religiously (no, not at the same time), I love the shirred waistline so thought I would have a go at making my own. The Primark bottoms are made without a side seam, a piece of fabric for each leg. I faffed about for a bit wondering if I could draw around them and make my own pattern, when I remembered that the Simple Sew Lapwing trousers pattern would be very adaptable to make PJ bottoms from. I would still add the shirring to the waist but I would also have POCKETS inserted into those side seams... Go on then, you've talked me into it.

With the intention of adding a piece of elastic to the waist and then a few rows of shirring I added 1.5cm to the top of the waist so that I could fold this over the elastic.

The pattern is quite easy to follow, although the illustration on sewing the outside leg seams at the pocket area still baffles me a little. I just did what felt right and ended up skipping the 'snip into pocket seam allowance' stage as I just didn't seem to need to do this?!

I then also decided to understich the pocket opening to keep the pockets from flipping outwards. I was able to overlock the side leg seams once the pockets were inserted, only leaving the bit of pocket seam allowance hidden under the front pocket un-overlocked. Maybe worth finishing this edge before putting the trousers together next time?

The crotch and inside leg seams are straight forward. I overlocked these raw edges together not separately- the front rise to back rise first and then the inside legs.

Next step I was kind of winging it a bit now - I cut a piece of elastic that sat comfortably around my middle where I wanted the trousers to sit and stitched it into a ring. I then marked half way and quarter way points and matched these up to the back, front and side seams on the inside of the trousers. I then pulled out the elastic matching the mid points and stitched along the bottom edge of the elastic. I then turned the elastic inwards twice so that the raw edge and stitching was hidden, pulled the waistline back out so the elastic was taught and stitched a second line at 1cm, folding under the edge as I sewed along.

To add my shirring, I wound the bobbin with elastic by hand and lined the machine foot up so it was a foot's width away from the stitch line. When shirring I always make sure I leave reaalllly long tails to make sure my elastic doesn't TWANG when it's pulled out. I added 6 rows of shirring each at foot width apart.

They are almost done now! Next step is a try on, and as I suspected they were wayyyy too long. The legs are straight and wide so it was fine to just cut the extra length from the bottom. I cut a massive 7.5cm from the length, an alteration I will be doing to the paper pattern too as I remember my last pair were also super long. I left enough fabric for a 1cm hem - twice turned over and then hemmed. 

Finished! Lovely comfy lockdown trousers! What have you been making in iSEWlation? Have you been using up your stash or have you been avidly internet shopping? Are you using this time to learn new techniques or are you busy making your summer wardrobe and praying we get let out? Maybe you've made scrubs? Let me know!

Lots of love and #staysafe

x

Location: Endcliffe Village
Currently listening to: Nobody Move, Hanni El Khatib