Make It Simple Juno Pyjamas

One of the benefits of being at home on lockdown is that it seems to be encouraging me to make use of things that I already have. A case in point - in this post I've got a set and a half of Juno pyjamas solely using fabric left over from other projects.

The Juno pyjamas are one of the projects included in Make It Simple, the new-ish book from Tilly Walnes of Tilly & the Buttons fame. The main version of the pattern in the book is for proper pyjamas with long sleeves and full-length legs, but there are pattern pieces included for short sleeves for the top, and instructions on how to adjust the trouser pattern to turn it into shorts.

I first decided to try to give the pattern a go just to make a pair of shorts, as I realised that the fabric I had left over from making my pink Bobby dress last year was exactly the right colour to match the pyjama top in this photo (which I bought ages ago in M&S for a bargain price because it had no bottoms to go with it). Luckily, there was also just enough of it to squeeze out a pair of Juno shorts.

The shorts were really simple to sew and are a nice fit, so I thought I'd have a hunt around in my jersey leftovers to see if there were any other potential Junos hiding there.

Instead of one single piece, I came up with three pieces (the leftovers from my original Bobby dress, a t-shirt I made last year and a recent plain white tshirt that I made) that I thought would all work together and so my hotchpotch Juno set was born! One of the beauties of the shortie version of this pattern is that it doesn't use a lot of fabric so if you're thinking of making it, it's definitely worth looking in your stash to see what options you might have.

The pyjamas are really quick to sew. The sewing time estimated in the book is 2 hours - I think that would be roughly right and I'm not a speedy sewer. The instructions are very clear, including the bit about the adjustments to make to the trousers to turn them into shorts.

I really liked the way the elastic is attached at the waist - instead of sewing a channel at the waist and then threading the elastic through (which is what other pyjama patterns that I've made have done), the elastic is sewn directly to the shorts and then folded over on itself and topstitched to enclose it. It seems quicker to do it that way, although I haven't actually timed it in comparison to the threading elastic method so I'm not sure whether it actually is or not.

In terms of sizing, I made a straight size 6 for these PJs. In Tilly's patterns my bust measurement puts me in a size 5 and my waist and hips put me between a 5 and a 6, but I prefer my pyjamas to be on the looser side rather than tight so going up to a straight 6 seemed to be the best option. My shorts are also quite a bit longer than the length suggested in the book (my inside leg is 11cm instead of 6cm) - again just because of personal preference.

I'm really pleased with my set-and-a-half of Juno pyjamas - they were quick and easy to sew, they used up fabric that might otherwise have gone to waste and they're super comfy to wear. That's the most important thing when it comes to pyjamas really, isn't it?!

Make It Simple Safiya Dungarees Sewing Pattern Review

Hot on the heels of my first project from the book Make It Simple by Tilly Walnes, here's my second. These are the Safiya dungarees, and I'll give you a spoiler from the outset - I love them!

Safiya was the pattern that first tempted my to buy the book. The main version of the pattern in the book is for wide-legged slightly cropped trousers with an elasticated waistband, and there are variations of a fun wrap-front playsuit and these easy-fitting dungarees.

The dungarees have a relaxed fit with no fastenings, darts in the bodice section for a little shaping and a tie belt for as much or as little waist definition as you want.

When I ordered the book, I'd intended to get some light denim/chambray to make the dungarees so that they'd go with everything, but then I realised I had a much more interesting fabric option already sitting in my stash waiting to be used!

It's a cotton viscose twill from Seasalt (no longer in stock, but their other fabrics are here), and the combination of an excellent sale discount and a gift voucher that I'd been given for my birthday made it somewhat irresistible even though I wasn't sure what I'd do with it at the time. For a while now I've been trying not to buy fabric without a project in mind, but sometimes you have to bend the rules don't you?!

Anyway, it occurred to me that the weight of the fabric would be perfect for these dungarees. I had a feeling that the somewhat bold print might make them a bit of a love-it-or-hate-it kind of garment, but I was fairly confident that I'd end up loving it so I was willing to take the risk. Plus, spending lots of time at home due to being on coronavirus lock-down is a good time for sewing risk-taking I think!

The Safiya dungarees are slightly more time-consuming than some of the other projects in the book, but simply because there's more to sew rather than because they're complicated. If you've made a pair of pyjama trousers and can sew a dart, then there's nothing to be scared of about making the dungarees.

The instructions are very thorough and easy to follow. I did make a couple of small changes though - just for personal preference really. I've always found turning small tubes of fabric the right way out to be a bit of a hit and miss process (it either works perfectly or takes ages!), so when it came to making the straps I pressed the pieces in half WS together, pressed the seam allowances to the inside and then just topstitched them together. I also made fabric belt loops instead of the thread loops in the instructions, just because I prefer them on garments.

Sizing is a bit interesting for this pattern if, like me, your bust measurement puts you in a smaller size than your hips. As the dungarees are a pull-on style and have no fastenings, the bodice needs to be able to fit over your hips. Tilly recommends in the book that you don't grade between pattern sizes but I knew that if I did that then the top would end up being too big for my liking. My bust measurement is a size 5 and my hips are between a 5 and 6 so I thought it was worth trying grading between the sizes and making a toile. Thankfully it worked nicely - I can just get the dungarees on over my hips. If I couldn't, I'd probably rather make the pattern more complicated and put a zip in the side seam than make the top any bigger, as I think it would just look baggy on me.

Other than blending between sizes, I also lengthened the bodice by 1.5 inches and added 3 inches to the legs to make them full length. I really should have lengthened the legs a bit more though - they have a teeny tiny hem on them and are just about long enough. Next time I'd add at least an extra inch or maybe a bit more.

As I said at the beginning of the post, I love how these dungarees turned out! I wore them for the first time the other day and they're so comfy. My only slight problem as that I don't seem to have any short-sleeved t-shirts that go with them, but thankfully I found a piece of jersey in a charity shop a little while ago that I think will help to solve that problem! Isn't it good when that happens?!

Tilly & The Buttons Bertha Cardigan

During these times of social (sewcial?!) distancing, I'm finding that being creative in various ways is one of the things that's keeping me vaguely calm and I'm making sure that I've got a couple of projects on the go or lined up in my head so that I always have something to work on that fits my mood. One of the projects that I worked on last week is the Bertha cardigan by Tilly & The Buttons.

This is one of the patterns from Tilly's latest book Make It Simple, which I treated myself to the other week as part of my own version of panic buying (can't risk running out of projects!).

In Tilly's own words, "Bertha is a slouchy, open cardigan, cropped at the waist and with dramatic batwing sleeves. The deep cuffs and hem band add definition to the silhouette". I also added the optional pockets following the instructions in the book.

While it was initially the Safiya trousers/playsuit/dungarees that attracted me to the book, Bertha ended up being the first pattern that I made up because I wanted to use the leftover fabric from the Sheridan sweater that I made earlier this year, and this seemed like the perfect pattern to do that.

As with all of the patterns in Make It Simple, the Bertha cardigan is an easy project to sew. Even with adding the pockets, it was still a quick pattern to make and came together in just a few hours from start to finish over the course of a couple of evenings.

The instructions are very thorough, and help to make the sewing process quicker and easier by, for example, not telling you to press seams after each step but leaving pressing until you have a few things that you can press all at the same time. I found the instructions very easy to follow throughout, and the only thing I did slightly differently was to catch stitch the seam allowance of the neckband to the various other seam allowances around the neck edge. The instructions don't tell you to do that, but with my fabric (French terry) I felt like it would be a good idea to make the seam allowances sit nicely.

My measurements put me in a size 5 at the bust and between a 5 and 6 at the waist and hips. Being as Bertha has a relaxed fit and is designed to be worn open, I decided to make a straight size 5 and I'm happy with the fit that gives me.

As I already mentioned, the main floral fabric is French terry left over from my Sheridan sweater and came from Loubodu Fabrics (now sold out). I had just under a metre left, so far too much to let it go to waste but I knew whatever I used it for would need some colour-blocking and the Bertha cardigan seemed like a good project for that. I debated what colour to use as the contrast but in the end settled on a light pink, also from Loubodu Fabrics and also sold out, but they have other plain French terrys here. I'm happy with how the two fabrics look together, and thankfully they played nicely with each other while I was sewing.

All in all, I'm pretty pleased with my Bertha cardigan. The style is more slouchy than I usually go for so it might take me a while to work out exactly how to best pair it with other garments in my wardrobe, but it's super comfy and feels lovely to wear. Plus it's definitely good to have another way to wear this beautiful floral fabric - I wouldn't have wanted to leave that sitting in my stash would I?!