It’s not even officially Spring, but I’m officially declaring it The “Summer of Pajamas”! Right now I’m all about anything comfortable, relaxed but absolutely glamorous. Call it my act of resistance against the rain & ruin of right now. Please join me in #pajamasummer ! Are you in?
It all started when my dear friend Amy gave me the book From Sleepwear to Sportswear - How Beach Pajamas Reshaped Women’s Fashion by Janine D’Agati & Hannah Schiff of @historicpajama. And, a few pages in, I was officially hooked. With all the chaos in the country I needed something fabulous and inspiring to obsess over to help allay my ramping anxiety. And I think both Britex and Stonemountain & daughter were in on this obsession because I just happen to find some fabulous goodies that fit my theme in their weekly emails. More on that later.
If you don’t know about the Pajama craze that exploded in the Art Deco Era, I highly recommend you read the book. I have been looking at photos of beach pajamas for years on Pinterest, and having carried the Decades of Style Beach Pajamas in our shop, was familiar with the aesthetic. After then realizing we also carried their Kitchenette Pajamas, I realized that it was kind of a thing. I was not wrong. It was definitely A THING. There were pajamas for basically every aspec of life. Comfort & glamor in the kitchen, bedroom, beach, while lounging or even as evening where. Who could resist. My favorite, however are those with a nautical them & I found so many in this book, that I just had to make a pair of sailor pants.
Having just recently been gifted some beautiful washed “Petrol Blue” Linen from Wild Linens, I knew it was just perfect for this project. And having already made the Last Resort Beach Pajamas from Decades of Style, I knew that I could adapt the pattern. to work quite well.
The first thing I did was try my pair of beach pajamas on. A student had abandoned their project at The Sewing Room and I finished it. The amazing part was that they fit me. I’m so lucky. In any case, I decided to lengthen the rise a little by adding 3/4” to the overall length of the pants through the rise seam all the way across the pattern (to the side seam), so I had more room in my seat. And the student had shortened the leg length further so I added two inches at the bottom edge of both front and back.
Here you can see the fall front, waist facings and front facing
and here, you can see the button extensions.
Instead of using the front darts as fabric intake, I decided to make a functional fall front by slashing down the middle of the dart and stitching a button extension to one side and finishing the other with a facing. I also made a facing for the rest of the waistline as the original waistline was finished with a bodice on the pajamas. The final touch was adding welt pockets at the back which I’ve illustrated below in photographs.
Welt and pocket bag sewn to outside
Welt and pocket back pushed to inside and pressed
Bottom of pocket back is stitched to welt seam.
Pocket bag pressed and then finished on the sides.
Finished Welt pocket from the outside.
I’m really happy with how these Sailor Pajamas turned out and will be making a coordinating top to go with them so they seem more “pajama-like”. The Decades of Style pattern fits very nicely and is very flattering so I think it’s a great pattern start point. Keep your eyes peeled for more pajamas! There is more on the way and definitely a new theme for this year’s Gatsby Summer Afternoon. Whoo hoo!
In case you wanted to know more about the outfit I’m wearing:
Sweater - Forest Berry Cardigan by Fabel Knitwear made from Peruvian aplpaca gifted from a friend.
Blouse - self drafted by me and made from Cotton Lawn available in our Etsy Shop.
Pants - Adapted from the Decades of Style Beach Pajamas & made from Wild Linen’s Linen in Petrol Blue with Buttons - Mother of Pearl purchased from @TheButtonLigne on Etsy
Until next time, happy sewing!
xo Jennifer
