I love to sew especially for my daughter, but fabric can get expensive so I get a lot of my fabric from discounted clothes. As soon as I hit a clothes store I check out the clearance section. The larger the piece the better the fabric. I recently went into my favorite discount store and found these huge long sleeve shirts for $1.99. In looking at the sleeves they looked like the perfect size for pant legs. I quickly grabbed a few and added them to my fabric stash.
With these super chilly NYC days I decided to make my daughter a super warm two piece pajama set out of the shirt. First I cut off the sleeves at the seams and then cut the side seams of the shirt. Then I carefully cut the neckline.
To make the pants I followed my tutorial for Toddler Flannel Pants. The length of the sleeve was the perfect size for the length of pants I needed. I subtracted the hem allowance on the pattern and matched it to the hem of the sleeve so that the hem of the pants would already be finished.
To make the shirt I took a pajama shirt that fit my daughter well and used it to make a pattern. First I folded the shirt in half and folded back the sleeve and traced it onto a piece of paper. I added 1/2 inch seam allowances to the sides and armholes of the shirt. Then I traced around the folded sleeve and added 1/2" at the top of the sleeve.
Next I measured the neck line of the toddler pajama shirt that I used for the pattern and added 1/2"the measurement. I then used that measurement to cut the neck binding from the adult shirt I cut earlier. Pin ends together and sew using a 1/4". Open seam and flatten. Pin around the neckline, right sides together and sew all around using a 1/4" seam. Finally sew the sides of the shirt using a 1/2" seam. To finish, I used my pinking shears to go over all of the raw seams.
