February 2022
I sewed myself a set of summer jammies, consisting of shorts and a camisole. The fabric is from www.fabric.com, and is a super cute sweater print. It is a thicker 100% quilting cotton. I sewed as size 8 top, and size 40” hip bottoms.
The top:
Pattern- True Bias, Ogden Cami. This is a hack from www.sewnorthco.com, in which you skip the lining and add bias tape to the neck and armholes instead.
This is the 4th Ogden cami that I have made (5th if you count my Ogden Cami dress hack), and by far my favorite. I will make all future camis unlined. This fits so much better and has a much better flowy feeling, even in stiff cotton. I may even re-do one of the camis in my collection and remove the lining. For some reason the lining never allows the top to fit me properly, it is always too tight around the bust (and I am NOT busty) and it messes up the shape. It also causes the front hem to flare out. I have not had this issue with the unlined version. I may even go down a size when making the unlined ones. The fit is loose, but not “too big”. I forgot to attach the back of the straps before I added the bias tape, and that was incredibly messy. Thank goodness these are pajamas, so no one should really notice the poor stitching. I want to work on making the straps neater in the future.
New techniques: single fold bias tape. This is the coolest invention ever! The edges are smooth and look so neat. I need to work on my technique, especially at the overlapping areas (in this instance, the overlap by the straps.) I remembered to clip my curved edges before sewing on the tape. I was very proud of myself. I also want to find a way to finesse the V in the top. There was a tiny bit of puckering that I couldn’t figure out how to smooth out.
The bottoms:
Pattern- began as the Darcy Boxers from www.peppermintmag.com, but I ended up not wanting functioning boxers with the fly and changed it to plain shorts with an elastic band.
These were pretty standard shorts. I cut off the flap for the fly and seamed up the opening. I then made an elastic channel and threaded it through. My tension was a nightmare on these shorts. For some reason I could not get the tension on my sewing machine right, so my stitching is very loose. Again, good thing these are pajamas. The shorts are at least 1 size too big, and I didn’t compensate with tighter elastic. They are rather loose on my hips but still wearable. I hemmed the legs with basic fold over ¼ inch, twice, then iron and sew.
All in all, I am happy with these jammies. They are NOT perfect. They are not even close. But they are done, and I can now wear them (when it gets warmer). I want to make ALL the unlined Ogden camis. I even want to make another Ogden Cami dress hack that is unlined. I feel much more prepared to do it right and have them fit better. I want to try to sew one with a lighter fabric. So far, I have only used quilting cotton because it is easier to sew. I am not going to go crazy and make a silk one, but maybe a medium weight linen… I don’t think I will be making the Darcy Boxers again. I want to find another shorts pattern that has options for elastic and drawstring waist. I also want to find an athletic shorts pattern that can be made with jersey fabric. I need to figure out sizing, in general. I tend to always make a size too big. This is better than making a size too small, I realize, but I want my garments to fit. I am a 36”x 29”x 40” and am 5’4”. I always make the finished garment to be 40” in the hip, but it always ends up being a size too big. Not sure what I am doing wrong there, but I need to figure it out.
Loves,
M
Mrs. Collins Makes Stuff 