I won a Decades of Style pattern as part of a prize in the Sewalongs and Sewing Contests Facebook group and, after much dithering, I chose the Kitchenette Pyjamas pattern from the 1930s, which I thought was rather fun.
The pattern envelope shows colour blocked pyjamas
I chose to use one piece of fabric – a rather bright piece of silk from Potters, which I got very cheaply because it had “a couple of flaws, which can be cut round”. Yeah, right! This fabric is riddled with flaws, so it malingered in my stash, even though I liked it a lot. For some reason, I felt that the Kitchenette Pyjamas were the perfect use for it.
I did a fair bit of googling on this pattern and there was some consternation about fit, so I knocked up a quick toile, and am ashamed to say that I didn’t even bother turning on the iron!
The front looks ok. The pattern says to choose the size based on bust size, which worked well, except then the pyjamas were too big in the hips, and I have a minor case of elephantitis at the back!
The hole for the wrap belt should be in the middle of the bodice, but I just left a gap in the seam. I also moved the belt to the edge of the backs. Just these little changes made a difference to the fit, but the back was still rather weird.
Off to my pattern making class with Sarah with it then! It makes such a difference when there is another person to pin out all the excess fabric, and having an expert makes it even better!
And there was a lot of excess fabric!
New pattern pieces were developed for the back, and I finished up with the left and right back bodices being the same, which is not how the original was.
Sarah made me toile it again, and here is how it looked – so much better!
I was initially going to make this from a light cotton lawn which is rather diaphanous, meaning that it would need to be lined. Then the pink and white silk showed itself, and the rest is history.
I really like these pyjamas, so I’m going to overload you with photos!
How good is the back wrap now? Although I do think they are supposed to be baggy at the back, I much prefer this sleeker look.
I used self binding on the neck and armholes, hand stitching it down on the inside. I think it was meant to be visible, but I decided to hide it. This pattern has some gorgeous style lines, which are hard to see in this patterned fabric, but they are there! There are tucks on the shoulders, giving the kimono sleeves some shape. The top also extends into the trouser part of the pyjamas in a really stylish way – here is a screen shot of the pattern picture. The pockets sit in the pointed part, and imitate the shape.
Please note the teeny tiny pockets – I can just get my fingers in them!
I took so much fabric out of the pyjamas that they have finished up a teeny bit short, but they are perfect with flats.
My verdict? I have a strange liking for these pyjamas. I feel vaguely glamorous floating round the house in them and will enjoy wearing them for casual social events in the summer.