Let's all give a WARM welcome to Maria today who is going to help out toes stay warm this winter!
Well the expression is Cold Hands, Warm Heart but in my house its cold toes season. Oy! Yep when your three year old climbs into bed and shocks you awake as he puts his cold toes right in the gap between your pj pants and your shirt- its definitely cold toe season! For now the child problem is solved with socks. His footed pjs are on the to-do list.
As I mentioned yesterday, this year I am starting with me!!!!! I get cold feet- just ask my hubby about being shocked awake. That might be why he has no sympathy for me on this matter.
Ahhh, but there is a simple solution. Yesterday I mentioned my frustration with the kids' pattern for footed feet pjs. Despite those frustrations I am thankful that I made those last year because it gave me a brainstorm of EPIC proportions. Yep, I said it- EPIC. You all may not believe but it is truly epic.
The problem with traditional footed pjs is two fold for me. First, I actually use the bathroom while wearing my pjs. Sometimes a couple of times during the night. With full footed pjs, you have to zip off the top and sit there freezing. Yeah not fun! Second, while I am cold, I'm not fleece cold at night. Fleece under the covers is too hot for me. The kids' pajama pattern solved both issues- they were made of flannel and they were separates! Of course, that was a kids' pattern and I didn't actually care for it.
Thats where my trusty Easy Fits pattern came to the rescue! I use this pattern and the kids' version quite a bit. More than I would have expected when I bought it. These are really my go-to patterns for comfy pajama pants, mostly because, as the name suggests, they are easy to make.
After all the Christmas sewing was done I sat down and whipped up this pair last year. They are the best! I kid you not- I am pulling these out of the dryer before it stops these days. Well I was two weeks ago, now I have 2 more pair added to my rotation.
Of course when I went to sew a new pair this year I couldn't find the pattern I'd made up last year anywhere. Not really surprising if you took a look in my craft room. Better for you all though, now I'll do a quickie tutorial on how to add feet to your Easy Fits.
Start by measuring your outseam to the floor. I print my pattern out twice so I can cut my pieces two at a time instead of having to put them on the fold (plus I add rise to the back so my bum is covered better). So here you can see my XL piece under my tracing paper. For this you'll need to make a full pattern so you can either do what I do or trace one side then flip and trace the other so you have one large- yes LARGE- pattern piece.
Then you'll lengthen your pattern to your outseam measurement plus 2-3 inches for movement. Draw line down the middle (where the fold would be) and a line across for the bottom (hem part). Do not draw the inseam sides of the pants just yet.
Now if you haven't adjusted the top of the pants, you'll need to mark you back rise and back leg part. Next we'll add the foot. Start by tracing around your foot, a shoe, or a template of some sort.
Next comes the oh-so-accurate part of the process. Mark the middle of the ankle bones on the sides of your foot and the middle of the top and heel if you want. If you don't have a foot to measure, you'll need to approximate where the middle of the ankle bone would be and mark it on the sides.
Next you're going to cut out your foot and lay it down on the front side of your pattern match your ankle bone markings with the bottom of the pant. Place the foot about 1-2 inches away from that center line you drew (on the front part of the pant). Mark about 1-2 inches on the other side of the foot and then draw around the foot. Measure the distance between the center line and the outer point at the bottom of the pant. Thats the amount you'll measure out on the back side of the bottom.
From your points on the foot side and the back side of the bottom of the pant you'll draw up to the crotch for your inseam. This is what your final pattern should look like.
And the easiest part, sewing it all up. The first step is to sewing 1/4 inch elastic about 3 inches from the bottom of pant on the inside- from inseam to inseam. You'll really need this elastic or you'll be tripping- believe me, I forgot to add it to the blue pair above and had to go back to add it after I tripped going up the stairs with the laundry!
After that you can sew up the pants the way you would normally. For the feet, I like a little cushiness so my feet are three layers. The bottom (sole) layer is grippy fabric that I buy at JoAnns. I always seem to get lucky and find it in the remnant bin, you really don't need much. Its also sold various other places, including some cute ones that are feet shaped. Next a layer of the thickest fleece I can find in my sewing room and last a layer of flannel or terry or whatever you want, maybe velour- my feet sweat next to fleece so I like that layer to keep the fleece off. You can baste these together if you want- the grippy facing out, the fleece then the last layer with right side out as well.
Sorry- I'm realizing I should have taken a picture of this next step. You'll turn your pants inside out and pin the foot to the bottom with the grippy side facing in- right sides of the pants should be facing all in. Sew around the foot- turn out it out and check that you caught all layers and try it on to make sure it fits. Finish your pants as you desire and enjoy!
For a great matching top pattern check out the bowling shirt ! and see this post here on lengthening the sleeves.
