Brake for Moose!

This is sign and bumper sticker we see frequently here in my state.  We do see the big creatures from time to time, especially at dawn or dusk.  Today we're going to take a break from the bucket bag for some moose pajama shorts.  The moose is my son's favorite animal, and when he saw this moose fabric in Jo-ann's, I knew I'd eventually make him a pair of shorts.

I used good old Simplicity 3935, which I use just about every time I make pajama shorts or pants for the children.  This is your basic, elastic waist pajama bottom pattern.  They're easy and quick to make.  I made this pair in about an hour, and I'm going to share how I make these shorts even quicker.

One:  If you have a serger, use it for the major construction parts.  I use four threads and a stitch length of 2 and find that this is sturdy enough for children's pajamas.  I also don't mark the front and back with any sort of pencil.  I just put in a safety pin in each of the back pieces - easy to find and remove and leaves no marks.

Two:  I stitch the side seams first - there's a reason for this, as you'll see in a moment.  Sometimes, if I have enough fabric, I eliminate the side seams, by overlapping the front and back pieces at the top by the amount of the seam allowance.  The sides at the hem likely won't match, but a little extra fabric at the knee isn't a huge problem and you'll have two less seams to sew.

Three:  This is the big time saver!  Finish and press everything while it is still flat.  Since the side seams are sewn, you can serge the top edge and the hem edge right away.  Then you can press up the hem, because it is serged, I don't even press up twice.  At the top edge, I press under 1/4" or whatever the width of the serging is and then press under again 1" for the elastic casing.  I only press, and do not sew at this point.  It is so much easier to all of this while it is flat, rather than working the waist and hems around the ironing board if they're already sewn into a cylinder.

Here's a close-up of the elastic casing and the hem:

Four:  Make sure the hems and top casing are *totally unfolded* for this step.   I stitch the inner leg seams, and then join the two legs, right sides together at the crotch with the serger (you'll have to turn one leg right side out and put one leg inside the other).    When you're done stitching, turn everything wrong side out and just fold them back in place and repress.

Five:  At the regular sewing machine, since everything is already turned and pressed, in one sitting, you can do both hems and stitch down the elastic casing, leaving and opening for the elastic.  You don't even have to get up from the machine and most of the finishing is done.

Six:  Insert the elastic, join the ends, close the casing opening and you're done!

My son loves the shorts and it was fun making something easy and quick.

Parting Shot:  Mt. Washington.  My son and I hiked up to Mt. Washington this weekend, spending the night part way up at Lakes of the Clouds Hut on Friday and hiking up to the summit on Saturday.  He did a great job and was really excited to have hiked this peak.