Ask LorriAnne - Sewing Advice

I bought flannel to make pj's for my 3 pre-teen grand-daughters. Ths pattern is cuter at 90 degrees from "on the grain". What is wrong with cutting the girls pj bottoms with the selvage's at the waist and jammie leg bottom? What will happen to the garment? The pattern fits perfectly lengthwise.

Please, advise.

Thanks!

Jammie-Making Granny

Dear Granny,

I love sewing myself, and what you are proposing is something that I would do, too. I would make the pajama tops have the hem on the bottom and the sleeves' cuffs also done the same way, with the selvages. Anything that saves time (and a lot of thread, too, here) is worth it. You can still sew elastic into the waist, just measure the elastic for fit, add about an inch to overlap, sew the ends together. Section both the waist and the loop of elastic into halves (separately), then halve again, marking these just big enough to be seen while you are pinning them. Make sure that one of these markings is at the overlapped elastic part and the back center of the bottoms, because this is where you are going to want to have the elastic loop's overlapped area at. You can halve them both again, if the bottoms are really baggy. Pin the elastic loop into the waistband, matching up the overlapped section of the elastic loop to the back center of the pajama bottoms, then the sides, the front, and so on. When you sew this elastic loop in to the bottoms, you are going to have to keep the elastic stretched out, which takes a bit of work, but not too much. If you look up 'burdastyleDOTcom' you should find lots more tips, tricks, and ideas that you can use. Let me know how this works out for you. Another thought, but one that can be expensive, is the different trims available these days. They have premade fringe, beaded trim, wide ribbon, laces of all widths.... any of these would be great on the cuffs of the tops and bottoms, as well as the tops' hems.

LorriAnne

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what is basting?

Hi,

Basting is just a simple straight stitch that is meant to be temporary. Basting thread is sold and this kind washes out, but regular thread can be used and then removed after the 'real' stitching is completed. It's used instead of pins. Stitch lengths are a lot longer than regular sewing stitches.

LorriAnne