PJ pants (I'll wear them all day if I want to)

Remember I said I was teaching that sewing class?

It turns out that being in a room with 8 people sewing up a storm for three hours at a time is really motivating. In terms of sewing, that is.

I made a couple tote bags along with my students on Saturday morning and the few minutes spent sitting at a sewing machine got my sewing mojo revving (does mojo rev? what does mojo do?). So, Sunday morning, with a couple hours to kill, I decided to whip up a pair of pajama pants that I’ve been wanting to make for a while.

I saw this tutorial for making pajama pants right around the time when my favorite flannel pjs shit the bed. I’d been wearing them since getting them for Christmas about 5 years ago, and it was really only a matter of time.

They were frayed at the bottom, had stains everywhere, and the ribbon waist tie was shredded. Eventually the ribbon broke and sure, I could have fixed them, but I think 5 years for a pair of Old Navy flannel pants is pretty decent.

Instead, I ordered a bunch of flannel from Joann’s the last time I ordered yarn (free shipping, you know) and when it came last week, I couldn’t wait to get these started.

Of course I went with birds.

Normally, I’m a lazy sewer and I don’t like to bother with the whole washing and ironing fabric first, but I’ve been burned with that a couple times lately and I didn’t want to spend hours making these only to have them shrink in the dryer.

Turns out, it wouldn’t have been a big deal, because I finished this pair in under 2 hours (super simple!) and I have enough fabric leftover to make another pair (should I have needed to, which I don’t.)

I know what you’re thinking – two hours is a long damn time for a pair of flannel pants that you can buy at Old Navy for $10, Katie!

BUT. Can you find this adorable owl pattern there? No.

Which I will be thinking about all day today, as I work from home wearing them from sunrise to sunset. Believe it. I may even exercise in them. I’m wild and crazy.

The tutorial (found here) is really well-written and very easy to follow. There’s no need to make a pattern even – I just used my old pair of pants, folded in half, and cut them out in the same size, with a little extra room for seam allowances.

The waist is just a drawstring, but to make it I had to learn how to use my machines buttonhole foot, which probably added on another 30 minutes of time to the overall process. So really? These are an hour long project. Not bad, I say.

Side note: My machine’s buttonhole foot feature is super slick, once you learn how to use it. It’s one of those cases where the machine seems smarter than you are, but eventually you figure it out and smack yourself on the head for not doing it sooner. I mean really?! I can’t believe I haven’t used it yet!

So yeah, they take a little bit of time, BUT! No slave labor was used to make these. Well, none except my own. And my own labor, slave or otherwise, makes these pants that much sweeter.

But that’s the thing with homemade stuff. It is usually way more expensive to make this kind of thing (hand knit sweaters and blankets fall into this same category), but oh so much more satisfying.

Which, again, I will be thinking about as I sit at my computer working, wearing comfy flannel owl pjs, sipping my homemade tea (made yesterday – first time I ever made my own tea!) from an equally adorable owl mug.

What handmade items do you make or buy that you think are worth the extra price? What should I do with the rest of my owl flannel? Anyone else spending the whole day in pjs today?

And seriously with the someecards? Why are they all so damn funny?!?!