Pajama pants are a great sewing project for
all kinds of skill levels.
With only a few pieces and no really complicated
shapes, there’s not much that can go wrong.
So let me show you how I made these.
These are my favorite pajama pants.
I’ve already fixed them a few times, but
now they’re really beyond repair.
So I’m going to copy them and make a new
pair with the same fit.
I’m using this nice cotton fabric and I’ll
just pop it in the wash quickly to get any
shrinking out of the way before I start sewing.
For my pattern, I have to copy two pieces:
the front of the leg and the back.
To do this, I place the pants on some pattern
paper and I trace the pieces all the way around,
following the seams.
I then add 1,5 centimeters of seam allowance
on all the sides.
These pants don’t have the side seam at
the actual side, but a bit more to the front.
So I take that into account when I’m tracing
the back of the leg.
I’m adding an extra 1,5 centimeters of seam
allowance at the bottom of the legs so that
I can make a double seam.
The one thing my old pants were missing was
pockets.
So I’m adding some simple pockets to the
new pattern.
Time to cut the fabric.
I laid out the pattern pieces on the folded
fabric, and pinned them in place.
This way I’ll automatically get a left and
a right version of each pattern piece when
I cut through both layers of fabric.
I cut the pieces out with pinking shears to
prevent them from fraying.
I prepared the pocket opening by cutting notches
around the curve and folding the raw edge
over twice.
I then stitched it down.
I did the same to the outer curve, again cutting
notches and folding the edge over twice.
I then placed the pockets on the front leg
pieces and transferred the pins to include
the new layer of fabric.
I then stitched the pockets in place.
Now I can assemble the legs.
For the inner seam, I’m using a flat fell
seam, which you may recognize from the inner
seams of your jeans.
I made a separate video about this technique
in case you’re unfamiliar with it.
But of course you can also use any other type
of seam that you like.
For the outer seam, I’m using what’s in
Dutch called an English seam, and in English
is called a French seam.
I’ve also made a separate video about this
technique in case you want to know more details,
but again feel free to use a different type
of seam.
Now that the two legs are done, I can stitch
them together at the crotch.
To do this, I’m placing one leg inside the
other and for the crotch seam I’m again
using a flat fell seam, which is nice and
strong.
To make the waistband, I’m measuring the
circumference of the pants and the circumference
of my waist.
If you’re using a non-stretchy fabric for
the waistband, your piece should be the circumference
of your pants + 3 centimeters long and 10
centimeters wide.
I’m using a stretchy fabric, so I’m cutting
a piece that is the length of my waist + 3
centimeters of seam allowance long, and again
10 centimeters wide.
I’m starting by adding two buttonholes to
my waistband for the drawstring to come through.
My machine has an automatic buttonhole function,
so that’s easy.
If you can’t make buttonholes, by machine
or by hand, you can easily leave the drawstring
out, since it’s mostly decorative.
I’m folding the waistband in half, right
sides together, and I’m stitching the ends
together with a 1,5 centimeter seam allowance.
I then fold it over length-wise and place
it around the top of the pants, right sides together.
I stitch it in place, again with 1,5 centimeters
of seam allowance, but I’m leaving a gap
on one of the sides to thread the elastic
through.
I cut a piece of elastic that’s slightly
shorter than my waist measurement and put
a safety pin in one of the ends.
Then I thread it through the waistband.
Make sure the elastic isn’t twisted anywhere
and then sew the two ends together, turning
it into one continuous loop.
Now you can stitch the final gap of the waistband
closed.
To keep the elastic from twisting, sew a bit
of it in place on both of the side seams.
But don’t stitch all the way up the waistband,
because the drawstring will need to go through
the same tunnel.
Put a safety pin in one end of the drawstring
and thread it through the buttonhole all
the way around the waistband, coming out the
other buttonhole.
Finally, I’ll need to hem the legs.
I marked the same length on both of the legs
and then I folded the edge over twice and
pinned it in place.
I sewed all the way around, and that finishes
my pajama pants.
My new pajama pants fit me just as well as
the old ones, so I’m very happy.
Thanks for watching, I hope you enjoyed this
video.
If you did, then leave me a like or a comment
or something down below, and subscribe for
my future videos.
I’ll see you next time.