March | 2018 | liz-o-matic

Yes…. I have finally finished my Carolyn Pajamas….. after only 1.5 years. This project may have upset my Vogue Cape as the longest sewing WIP.

My husband completely directed this shot… down to the tiny coffee cup… it was adorably hilarious!

I actually started this intending to post it to Allie J’s Social Sew– RIP 😥 But, obviously did not quite finish it in time.
This is my first crack at the Carolyn Pajamas and my first crack at a Closet Case Pattern (hooray branching out!)….. so of course I choose the most complicated version- Version B with piping…. And no muslin! Shock, HORROR…. Liz not muslin!!! What is the world coming to??!?!

Yes! Partly in order to save time so I could finish in time for the Social Sew [HAHAHAhaha…HAHAhaha :-D], but also because it seems very silly to muslin a pair of pajamas Therefore, I cut straight into my fabric- Kaufman Shetland Flannel Herringbone in Navy…..and surprisingly enough it worked out!

I really like the fabric! It takes stitching really well in that way where the thread just sinks in 🙂 Unfortunately, I have noticed some piling on the bottoms which have already gotten a few washes 😦

I dug through my Grandmother’s button collection and hemmed & hawed about the buttons. I finally decided on these, rather large, white buttons. I think they’re made out of shell or mother of pearl… or something? You’ll notice there’s only 4, whereas the pattern calls for 5- how very astute of you! Yeah… despite my exhaustive digging I could only find 4, but it actually works since they’re so big.
Also… after sewing all the button holes I discovered I had actually bought buttons specifically for this project and “cleverly” tucked them in my project bag… where upon I promptly forgot about them! But I actually like my vintage buttons a lot better 😀

As I said before this was my first Closet Case Pattern…. despite owning like 5… I have a hoarding problem

The directions took some getting used to…. there wasn’t as many pictures as I would like, being a very visual learner. But the two tutorials Heather did on sewing the piping and the notch collar were invaluable!
FYI: I did NOT make my own piping- because I may be crazy, but I’m not fucking crazy 😉 I used this one. Also, this pattern uses A LOT of piping, despite the minimum order I only have one full package left.

I shortened both the pants and top by about 1 inch, but it’s still a little too long….Heather is a GIANT!! …..Or more likely I am very short, either way, just be forewarned all my vertically challenged sewing friends 😉
I’m wondering if I maybe even need to go down a size?? I’ve lost about 10 pounds since the time I started on this… ugh I just realized I may have to re-trace all those little pieces 😦

Overall, I really like this pattern! It’s stylish AND incredibly comfortable…. I already have an absurd amount of fabric for other versions- including a super cute summer version!
In the meantime, this will nicely fill my winter pajama hole… and none too soon! We got 2 inches of snow last night!!