Easy Kids Pajamas

Since summer seems to be upon us, we've been finding our boys are needing more summertime pajamas.  We tried the shorts-no-shirt to bed, but they feel they need their shirt.  So.. a sewing I will go.  Makin' pj's.

Since shirts intimidate me a little, I'm still not 100% confident with that, I picked up some inexpensive t-shirts from Wal-Mart for a few dollars each.

  Then I found some coordinating boyish cotton prints in my stash and went to work.

 Essentially, this is a tutorial for the shorts, but I added a little pocket to the shirts.  Here's how I did it:
Take an existing pair of shorts to use as a template.  Just a heads up, this is pretty much just like the tutorial for making quick sweatpants for kids, but we`re making shorts from cotton fabric.  Though, feel free to create your pj shorts in any comfy fabric you like.

Fold your fabric in half and lay your folded shorts, inseam facing outwards, in line with your fold.  Trace and cut out, adding about a half an inch for seam allowance and an inch on the waist and leg bottoms.

Now do it again so you have two.

Lay your pieces together, right sides facing in.

Pin the sides together right to the curve (which is the crotch of your shorts).

Sew with half inch seam allowance, then zigzag stitch or serge your edges.

Once you`ve sewed both sides, open up your shorts, so your legs meet up.  

Now pin and sew together, so it looks like this.

Zigzag or serge your waist and the bottom edges of the legs.

Now you can create your waist.  Fold over the waist an inch or less and press with an iron and pin in place.

Do the same with your legs.

My boys are learning to get dressed themselves, so I added a folded piece of ribbon to create a `back`of the shorts.  If you like, pin it to the back of your shorts.  (Remember, your pieces are exactly the same, so you can choose either side for a `back`).

Sew your waistband, leaving a 3 inch gap for adding elastic.

Measure your child`s waist or use your existing shorts as a guide to how long you want your elastic.  Slide in your elastic with a safety pin and pin the ends together.

Sew your elastic together, then sew up the opening.

Sew your legs as well.  And your shorts are done!

To add a matching pocket to your shirt, take a piece of the fabric you used for the shorts and measure a square with your ruler.

Mine was 10cm x 10cm.

Once cut out, fold over one edge and press.

Sew that edge.  This is the top of your pocket.

Now you can fold and press the other three edges over, all about a quarter of an inch.

Place it on your shirt where you like and pin it on.

Sew fairly close to your edges, leaving the top open.

Finished.

Now you have a matching set of pajamas for your little one!

The boys were so excited to wear them, I never even got to wash them first.

Loose and comfy shorts.  Perfect for summertime.

Luckily for me, they both chose which ones they liked, no fighting!  Phew.

Look how grown up they are now!  Standing still and smiling for pictures.  This is huge.

Guaranteed those pockets will be filled with little cars or figurines.

Have a terrific day!!

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