Guest blog – Jen
When I first saw this amazing fabric I knew I would love to sew with it. I’ve collected elephants since I was a child so a very long time! I contacted Caroline and Fliss at Felicity Fabrics to see if I could write a blog for them. Cheeky I know but ‘shy bairns get nowt’ so the saying goes.
Obviously you know the outcome your reading my ‘guest blog’ post now!
I knew straight away I would love some luxurious pyjamas in the amazing fabric and I had recently made the Carolyn pj’s by Closet Core Patterns. I am a serial Sewist’s I like to make a pattern at least 3 times to push it a level and get a near perfect make also add hacks and make it mine. Practice makes perfect.
I made size 14 in view B adding piping to get that professional finish.
To achieve the piping around the collar I niched out the piping to create the perfect curves.
I love cutting out and to me Pattern placement can make or break and I didn’t want a repeat of the last elephant make when I managed to sew a uterus shape from miss placed elephant trunks.
The pattern placement on this fabric is small enough to hide any errors but I cut the front and back pieces out lining them up side by side to maintain the repeat. I also added the cuff pattern pieces to the end of the leg and sleeves to maintain although you can’t really tell due to the seam allowance and added piping but I know.
When starting a project I decide whether I want to see stitching on the front of a garment. With the first pair I followed the instructions to top stitch around the piping but this would have given a visible stitching line and I tested this after adding piping to the pockets and decided I was going to hand stitch the cuffs so you cannot see the stitching to make them more couture. I did however top stitch the waistband elastic because it drives me mad if the elastic twists. I also used french seams for a professional finish.
Previously, piping tripped me up a little so I was extra careful whilst making these. I used my Husqvarna narrow zip foot to apply then I moved the needle setting to 1.3 over to sandwich the stitching closer and omit any gapping.
I was always scared of button holes but since I’ve purchased my Husqvarna Opal 690Q I fear no more. One tip I would say for everyone is to use ‘stitch and tear’ on the reverse to help stabilise the stitching. Also trust the automatic setting if your machine has one, maybes just reduce the speed but still guide your fabric through the machine.
I had enough left to make a sleep mask. I love it when all the fabric you have is used up.
Now I could do what us Sewist’s typically do and tell you about the bits I didn’t nail 100% but for once I’m not going too !
