PJs for the family

Before Tabitha was born, Dan and I had a conversation about me making matching pjs.  Dan insists that I said that I wasn't interested in matching pjs, but I'm pretty sure that I didn't say that.  Especially since I have these patterns, for women and little girls, for similar pjs.  Except, the little girl pattern starts at size 4, so it was a little big for Emily still.

But still, I'm pretty sure I wasn't excited about the idea because it would mean buying fabric, and while I like buying fabric, I also recognize fabric as a WANT instead of a real NEED.  And since I wasn't gung ho about the idea, and Dan thought I didn't want matching pjs.

So, Dan took Emily to JoAnn fabrics, without me (I was pregnant, and probably tired), and came back with 8 yards of bright green fabric.  With monkeys, polka dots, and hearts.  He assured me that he would be perfectly willing to wear the fabric as pj pants, despite the hearts.

So I made us all pjs.  Emily got a nightgown, instead of a shirt and pants, because 8 yards isn't actually that much if you make pants for a couple adults.  And I made Tabitha a sleepsack, which she has just about grown out of.  I also cut out fabric to make myself a matching top, but I haven't finished it yet.  Well, I haven't started sewing it yet.  So we will see.

I had this idea that I would finish our pjs before Tabitha was born.  I was actually working on them the day before she was born.  And then the light on my sewing machine blew out.

Another nightgown

As I mentioned a while ago, Emily sometimes insists on dresses.  The same applies at night.  So, Dan requested that I make her some more nightgowns (he did also mention something about buying some, but really, this is about me making things).

I used Simplicity 7189 for the nightgown, which I'd used a couple times before, including for a dress I made for Emily when she was less than a year old, which still fits ( . . yeah, I made it big). 
I didn't think there was enough fabric for long sleeves, but once I added some ruffles to the bottom of the short sleeves, they came almost to her wrists.

Instead of being gathered with elastic, the sleeve and the ruffle below were both gathered independently, and then sewn to a shorter strip of fabric to secure the gathers.  They turned out very French Renaissance I think.  I finished off the sleeves, yolk, and the bottom ruffle with lace.

Emily seems to enjoy this nightgown as much as the other one.  It's great for watching Daddy play on our new Wii.

Emily especially likes Mario cart.  She cheers Daddy when he wins a race.

Nightgown

There were a couple presents I planned to make for Emily's birthday, and didn't get to because the quiet book took so long.  One of them was a flannel nightgown.

I made the nightgown for Emily the week after her birthday instead.  I used Simplicity 4709 as the pattern, but altered it in a couple ways.

First, I made the yolk bigger because the largest size was 18 months, and Emily is definitely bigger than that.  The body of the dress, because it is so loose, wasn't going to be a problem.  I made the yolk about an inch bigger, and it fits well, although one of the snaps in the back comes undone, so it might be a little tight across the back.

Second, I lengthened the dress so it would go to Emily's feet.  I added 3 inches to the bottom of the pattern, and also added a ruffle at the bottom.

Finally, I made the sleeves into long sleeves instead of short sleeves.  This involved trying to measure Emily's arms and wrists (for the elastic).  Emily was NOT a fan of having her arms measured.

She WAS a fan of trying on her dress to see how it was coming.  At one point she ran around in her unfinished dress for about half an hour, and refused to give it back to me.  I had moved on to working on the sleeves, and salvaged the body from her bedroom after she moved on to another activity.

Emily pretty much thinks that her nightgown is the best thing ever.

Perfect for eating breakfast

playing dress-up and taking care of dolly

 or dancing with Daddy (no Mommy allowed).

In fact, she may love it a little TOO much, as she spends lots of time dancing in front of our full length mirror, instead of settling down and going to sleep.

Mommy Made

Mommy made this.  The bed, the sheets, the nightgown--and the baby.

I put together the crib all by myself, when Emily was only five months old, and Dan was somewhere else (work or school?) and I wanted Emily's crib put together.  I changed her crib into a toddler bed (Dan helped with that part).  I sewed the sheets (more on that later), made Emily's nightgown from an old T-shirt of her uncle's, and got her bed made and her dressed for bed.

I took the picture the morning after we stayed up half the night, first changing her crib into a toddler bed, putting on the sheets and getting Emily in bed.  And then singing to her and holding her and Dan found the night light she loves, and she still got out of bed and walked into our bedroom, and Dan held her forever so I could get rest for work the next day, and I finally went down to help and she fell asleep on me right away.

But most of all, I made Emily.  I think, all in all, she's my favorite.