Wednesday 30 January 2013

Ice Cream Coloured Night Shirts


Two soft and pretty nightshirts for my sister.


It will be my sister's birthday on Saturday.  A while ago she asked me to make her some nightshirts that would not irritate her skin.  I had an unsuccessful attempt when I tried to adapt a pattern.  I took it to the States to show her and it was gigantic and completely the wrong shape.  I just had to scrap the material and try again.  This time I chose ice cream colours, soft and pretty for bedtime.  To ensure that the seams do not rub, I used my 'even feed' foot, so that I did not have to worry about the top fabric pushing and I also did not have to use a zig zag stitch on the seams. This can look bulky and peculiar.  I just used a medium sized straight stitch and top stitched the sleeve seams.  Because they are dropped sleeves, this was easy as it is almost a straight line. I used a zig zag stitch to finish off the raw edges as that seemed a better option than turning them under and edge stitching.  Funnily enough, a piece of pink cotton print fell out of my sewing box when I was getting ready to sew and it completely matched the fabric, so I appliquéd a heart onto the left side. I think the result is quite pleasing and I hope she likes it. Unfortunately, I could not find a piece of yellow in my stash to match the yellow nightshirt, so that one went unadorned. When I have some time, I may even make one for myself. 
The fabric is from Tia Knight, Inspired Fabrics.  You can find her on: http:/www.tissufabrics.co.uk.



The pink nightshirt with a heart-shaped appliqué.




 Here is the pattern I used for the second (and successful) attempt.  I cut out the tunic, adding 4 inches to the length and stitched up the slits.  They are nice and long and cosy, but not too long to trip over. Butterick patterns are, on the whole, quick and easy to use and I like them for things like this.  I am really a Vogue pattern fan, but they can be complicated and unnecessarily tricky for things like nightwear.


A simple and easy to use pattern which I will definitely use again.


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