Catching Up: guess what? more pajamas!

By this point, you may be wondering why this blog is called "earthchicknits" instead of something like "earthchick does other stuff." I promise, I have been knitting - I even bounced back from my vest disappointment and produced a small finished object. But the truth is, I have been cheating on my obsession. There were even four solid days in April that I didn't pick up the needles at all.

I can't seem to help it. It turns out I love sewing. Love the planning, love the fabric, love the cutting, love the machine, love how quickly I can finish something. (okay, I don't love making stuffed animals, I find them somewhat trickier than making clothing) The whole process kind of amazes me.

So in April, I did a few more jammie pants, because they're just so darn fun. And easy. This time, I made them for other people.

My Old Man's son, Chris, came to visit for three weeks. I took him to the fabric store and he picked out a couple of soft flannel plaids that he liked. I haven't made the second pair yet (will be shipping them to him in England at a later date), but here's the first. As you can see, I'm still not doing so great on the whole matching up patterns from front to back. I also made the stride too short, by not adding enough fabric at the top when I modified the waist. But I went back and corrected this issue. The correction doesn't look great, at least not from the inside, but it did the trick, and I think I know how to avoid the problem with future pants. This is, again, Simplicity 4380. Simple, straightforward pattern.

I couldn't possibly leave Little Buddha and Tiny Dancer out of the pajama party, especially since I initially wanted to learn to sew in order to make them clothing and, to date, had only ever made them one thing - bizarro pig costumes. The boys went with Chris and me to the fabric store, and Little Buddha picked this fabric out himself.

Isn't it darling? He liked it because it reminded him of Winnie-the-Pooh (we have the boxed set of the classic Pooh books, and all the book covers have these little bees on them). Chris and I both loved this fabric so much that I went back this week to buy more - so the two of us can have bumblebee pj pants, too! (of course mine will have lace cuffs). I'm not intentionally leaving My Old Man out of the pajama parade. He's just not a pj kinda guy.

But these little dudes love 'em.
pattern: Kwik Sew's Sewing for Toddlers Knit Pants
(these are not made of knit fabric, but woven; I just inadvertently chose the wrong pattern, the one without side seams, but they turned out fine)
sizing: sizing was tricky - I did a sort of hybrid between a 4T length and a 1T waist (for Tiny Dancer) and a 2T waist (for Little Buddha).
fabric: JoAnn "tossed bees - blue" for $3.49/yd. Each pair of pants used about 3/4 yard. Add in the elastic for the waist, and each pair cost me roughly $3.

Little Buddha loves showing them off. He is so proud of those bees.
I think of all the things I have ever made (knit or sewed), these little $3 pj pants have gotten the absolute best-ever reaction from a recipient. The boys ask to wear them all the time. It makes my heart smile.