Let's get this party started…

…with my awesome PJ's!  In this post I said that if I made two pairs of PJ bottoms I'd be happy and if a matching top happened to turn up too, I'd be ecstatic.  Well I'm ecstatic!  So without further ado, here are my newest bedtime buddies.

Both pairs of bottoms were made using Simplicity 9871, officially the easiest pattern in the world.  They were ridiculously easy to make, but that's no excuse for not taking the time to make them beautifully, so I French seamed everything in sight.  

Very satisfying.  The only change I made to the pattern was to chop three inches off the length.  And for those of you who are interested and are a similar size to me, I made a size small (the pattern runs from XS to XL).  

For the top, I used the Colette Sorbetto pattern, with added sleeves.  I got the sleeve pattern from Sew Incidentally's blog - she's very kindly made it available as a downloadable PDF, what a superstar! The Sorbetto turns out to be the perfect pattern for a PJ top.  The centre pleat adds just enough interest to stop it looking too boring, and the fact that there are no waist darts gives you the roominess essential for slouching around. I love the colour of this shirting, it's the exact colour of my eyes (it's much more grey in real life) but yes, it is a bit boring, so I added some pale blue gingham bias binding around the edges to girlify it.  

I'm also aware that because of the colour and style, the top and bottom worn together look more than a little like hospital scrubs!  Ahem. I'm not worried though, I can always mix and match and wear my lovely floral bottoms with the top as a change. Like this...

Obligatory 'jumping on the bed with mad face' shot

I'm so pleased I've finally taken the plunge and made pyjamas. They're quick and easy to make and it's a great way to use up fabric that you're still undecided about. If they don't look perfect, who cares?  You'll be in bed blissfully asleep in your handmade lovelies.

Now, if you've read this post, you'll know that our fearless PJ leader Karen is off to San Francisco in May to take in the sights of that amazing city, and have a week of one-to-one sewing tutelage!  I'm SSOO envious!  There's a nice little coincidence coming up though - as part of her round-up post, Karen also wants to know what our current bedtime reading is, and wouldn't you know it, I'm reading the Tales of the City series by Armistead Maupin.  

If you haven't read this wonderful series of books, I'd highly recommend that you do.  They're set in San Francisco (there's the coincidence!) and follow a real mixed bag of friends from the 1970's to the 1990's.  They're charming, funny, romantic, sad, the characters are fab and they're very, very readable.  Every few years, when I'm between books ,or ill, or bored, or all three, I re-read them and I never tire of them.

Enjoy your time in San Francisco Karen, you'll have a ball. And thank you so much for organising the Pyjama Party - it's been fab.  x