these were a sod to make for a beginner like me. they’ve taken a whole week’s worth of evenings and at the end of it all i’m doubtful whether they’ll fit. it hadn’t occurred to me that making something with sleeves and a collar would be quite so much work - a lot of it being trying to wrap my brain around how it all fitted together. still, it’s all educational.

they’re made out of a bargain king size brushed cotton sheet i got from shaws. i used less than half the fabric so i can make at least one more pair when (if) i can get up the urge. lovely cheapy thread, buttons and elastic too, so if you don’t count the woman-hours they’re bargainous.

i did a size 92 to get a better feel for the ottobre sizes, as well as cos that’s the smallest size they come in. one glance at the trousers…

…tells you they’re for a very different shaped child to mine (beautifully stumpily armed/legged n pot bellied for anyone who doesn’t know) . a lot of the length is actually in the rise, which is great for the clothy bum, but i’m not convinced there’s enough fabric in the waist section to get them over the nappy in the first place.

there are a few things i’d do differently next time round. i didn’t add any extra allowance to the hems and from what i’ve seen so far it looks like i should - both the dress and the pj top are a bit skimpy for length. i topstitched the seams on the trousers as per the instructions (well, i think, they’re a bit minimal) and it looks a bit odd. kinda military in some way. anyway, not very pyjama-y. a close look at the photos in the magazine doesn’t show any sign of topstitching. i’d add extra to the trouser tops too, so i’d have enough to turn under the casing for the elastic. i’d also like to tidy up the hems on the cuffs so they could be turned back and look decorative (rather than frayed, which these will). maybe wrap the seam in some kind of bias tape (lol, can you tell i don’t really know what i’m talking about?).

i’m pleased with my tidy hems but the corners aren’t very square and the collar came out a wee bit wonky. i’m just pleased it came out the right way up :)