Planning a Capsule Pajama Wardrobe

A theme that I’ve picked for 2018 is “taking better care of myself.” I can see this theme expanding out into multiple areas but the topic I’ll share about today is sewing handmade pajamas.

In the past I haven’t been a “fancy pajama” kind of girl. I have typically worn the following for pajamas: old t-shirts, wide leg cotton pajama pants, old long sleeve shirts, muslins from previous sewing projects, etc.  As I have been thinking more about this theme, getting rid of the older pajamas sounds like a great way to bring this theme into my handmade wardrobe.

I shared in this post the idea of making a capsule wardrobe.  I think adapting this capsule idea over to my handmade pajamas will be really fun.  Pajamas don’t have to match, of course, but the idea behind this project is making things to wear that make me feel comfortable and beautiful.

I thought I would share a bit today about my planning stages for this project.  I recently discovered the lovely Ti of Simply by Ti fabrics.  I will be sharing future makes with her lovely fabrics (*A disclaimer, I have become a Fabric Ambassador for her shop). I have an oatmeal baby terry knit, a black baby terry knit, and a black and white striped rayon coming in the mail for this special project.

The following are a few patterns in my stash that I’m considering for this project:

Simplicity 1593, New Look 6404, and Simplicity 1720 and the Hudson pants by True Bias.

The parameters for my #capsulepajamas project (based on my own preferences) are:

• Use knit fabrics.  Surprisingly, a lot of pajama sewing patterns use woven fabrics.  Knit fabrics are my favorite to wear during the day so it made the most sense to pick this fabric category for this pajama project.
• Use patterns in stash.  I may stray from this a bit but ideally I’d enjoy using patterns that I already own but haven’t made yet.
• Sew within the current season.  My current season is Winter so I would like to start this project to sew pajamas for the winter and then continue this project through the changing seasons.
• Sew with fabrics that are within my capsule colors.  This is not a requirement, of course, but I thought this would be fun to include.  Plus, this broadens the pajamas to also become travel/lounge wear (in the car, on a plane, etc.) as well.

The first pattern that I’m sewing is a recent purchase (yes, funny enough I did purchase a pattern that wasn’t yet in my stash).  The Hudson Pants pattern by True Bias is one that a lot of people have made and has been really popular.  I have to admit when it was first released, it didn’t catch my eye.  I haven’t worn this jogger style pants before but I’m finding now that I like it a lot.  I’m making a muslin first to test fit so I will share more about the pattern in an upcoming post.

I started a hashtag for this project, #capsulepajamas if you want to follow along on this adventure with me on Instagram.  I’d also encourage you to join in, if this idea sounds fun for you or if you’re a new sewer and want to start sewing with handmade pajamas.  Please join me and let me know what patterns you’re making as well (or if you have your own tried and true pajama patterns that you’d love to share)!

 

If you haven’t worked with Ti’s fabrics yet, I highly recommend you check her out!  She has a lovely variety of garment fabrics.  The majority of the fabrics are knits but she also carries some Stretch wovens, Stretch Chambray and Athletic fabrics as well.  Usually when she brings in a new fabric, it is on a pre-order discount (which is a nice option to grab it early when it’s discounted).  If you want to view a few fabric swatches before ordering, Ti will send you fabric swatches upon request (just send her an email).  She is located in the U.S. but she can ship domestic or international.  Her fabrics are at nice weight for garments and are good quality fabrics.