Let’s start this post with the shocker: I don’t really care for linen.
I know, I know. Linen is supposed to be a rite of passage for Southern gals – it’s cool and breathable, and the wrinkles are supposed to be there. Well, I HATE the wrinkles! Wrinkly fabric drives me insane, makes me feel rumply and unkempt. I just can’t get behind a fabric that wants to wrinkle the second I look at it, much less wear it around for a few hours. Nope nope nope.
That being said – I really want to like linen. Seriously! I love the idea of a fabric that gets softer with every wash, and as someone who could probably work up a sweat in the middle of the Arctic (I don’t even know how that’s possible, considering that I’m ALWAYS cold, but leave it to my body to fuck up my heating and cooling system), I’m always on the hunt for light and breathable fabric to wear during the summer months. Linen was my nemesis, but I was willing to extend the olive branch and make an effort at friendship.
Also, I’ve been eyeballing that striped linen fabric for months now at the studio (and probably for more months to come, since stripes just launched at Elizabeth Suzann woohoo!), and I knew it needed to be in my life/on my body. Linen wrinkles be dammed.
There are many, many, many important things I’ve learned through my sewing journey. One of the biggest ones (well, other than not sewing over your pins. STOP THAT RIGHT NOW) is not to fight against your fabric. If your fabric is drapey, don’t try to sew something form-fitting with it. Alternatively, fabric with a lot of body needs to be made into something that will work with the shape. And if you are sewing linen but still hating on the wrinkles… make pajamas. No one cares if your pajamas are wrinkled (and if they do – get out. Get out right now while you still can).
Also, have you slept in linen pajamas before? LORD HAVE MERCY.
Making proper pajamas has been on my sewing to-do list for aaaages. I love wearing matching pajamas sets, even if Landon does think they are dorky (I did compromise and get rid of the hot pink cat pajamas though. Relationships, man!). My mom actually buys me a new pajama set from Victoria’s Secret every year for Christmas (not the hot pink cats, those came from my AWESOME Mamaw). Still, I’ve always wanted to make my own so I could have – what else? – complete control over every aspect of the design, color, and fit. But I’ve never really found a suitable pajama pattern that didn’t look like something more appropriate for an 8 year old boy, so I held off on that dream.
The winning pattern you see here is the newest pattern from Closet Case Files, the Carolyn Pajamas. I looooooved this pattern the second it graced my inbox – the slim, feminine cut of both the top and bottoms, as well as the inclusion of the piping (I mean, I know how to sew piping, but it’s pretty nice to have a pattern that was designed for optional piping, if you get my drift), were what really got my gears turning. Also, Heather Lou looks amazing in those product photos, doesn’t she? I could steal that hair right off her head. I won’t, but should it ever go missing, well…
I really enjoyed sewing this pattern! While I wouldn’t exactly call the linen easy to work with (it was a shifty little bitch and was prone to constant fraying), it did respond beautifully to pressing and took all the piping and topstitching like a champ. I recall when Heather Lou first released this pattern, she mentioned how much she labored over the instructions – and it really shows. Everything is very clearly laid out with beautiful little diagrams and helpful tips, and it’s about as hand-holdy as you can get with a pattern without actually having it be part of a sewalong (there’s no sewalong for this pattern, however, there are a few posts on the CCF website to guide you through the trickier steps if you need it!). I’m especially impressed with how nice my collar turned out – piping and all!
I made the size 2, based on my measurements and following Heather Lou’s advice. I reeeeally wanted to make the 0 because the ease just seemed excessive, but I’m glad I followed along faithfully because this fit is pretty spot-on. It’s sleek and somewhat fitted (I mean, fitted as far as pajamas are concerned), but there’s juust enough ease to make them super comfy. I did trim about 2″ off the legs, but that’s about it. I feel like there could be some tweaking with the armhole – it seems a bit low and pulls when I reach forward – but that may just be because I’m used to wear shirts that are a lot more tailored. It’s not uncomfortable or restrictive by any means.
I chose to make the long pants with the short-sleeved top. I was originally just going to make shorts, but my new digs are in a basement (I mean, it’s a happy basement with windows and a door – but it’s still a basement, with basement chill), and it’s a bit chilly down here right now. I added piping to the pocket, cuffs, collar, and leg side seams. The piping is self-made – I used more of this glorious linen fabric in the opposite colorway, and cut bunches of bias strips and sewed it around yards of cording. I prefer self-made piping, not just for the color/print selection, but also because it tends to be a lot softer than the stuff you can buy (well, I’m sure you can get awesome soft and flexible piping at some place like in the Garment District, but here all we have is that Dritz stuff in the packages and that stuff is AWFUL if you try to sew it to a drapey fabric. Again – don’t fight the fabric!). I didn’t have wide enough elastic as was required by the pattern, so I sewed an extra line of stitching about 1/4″ away from the top of the pants edge and inserted the elastic below, resulting in a frilly little gathered edge (some of my RTW pjs have this feature and I’ve always loved it!). Here’s a post about elastic waistband finishes if that doesn’t make sense.
As I mentioned, I got my fabric from Elizabeth Suzann, because I work there and I get awesome employee benefits like wholesale fabric prices (don’t be jealous). It’s striped 100% linen (I’ve seen similar fabrics to this rolling around on the internet, but most are referred to as a cotton/linen mix. The stuff I have here is definitely all linen) and it is GLORIOUS. It also wrinkles, frays, and shifts like crazy. It wasn’t the most amazing piece of fabric to work with, but I’m glad I powered through because it is pretty amazing to wear. I made sure to finish all my seam allowances with the serger to keep the fraying down (for the front facing, I just serged the edge instead of doing a rolled edge, since I thought the bulk would show through). I didn’t realize how sheer the fabric is, so some of the dark piping shows through on the right side. It’s super sheer and everyone is absolutely aware of the color of my underwear when I wear these pants, just so we’re clear (I’m wearing nude undies for these photos, to save your eyes). It’s also, like I said, super shifty – so my pocket is really wonky. I’m going to call it “charming.”
Detail shots:
Pretty good stuff! I love my new pajamas and I definitely feel like a Classy Adult when I wear them, wrinkles and all. I definitely want to make a flannel pair when winter rolls around – finally, I won’t be at the mercy of whatever pink shit they’re selling at VS, woohoo! Too bad my mom is going to have to find a new Christmas gift to buy for me. Sorry, mom! Maybe I’ll make you pajamas instead 😛
One last thing – the giveaway winner from last week! Random number generator says…
Woohoo, congratulations Kayse! I’ll be in touch to get that gift certificate out to you ASAP. Can’t wait to see what you make with your fabric :DDD
Finally, this would be my senior picture, if I was still in high school and did things like senior pictures. The end.
LLADYBIRD 
Love these – the fabric and piping look great. I really like how they are a bit slimmer fitting than the usual pj patterns and the shirt hem is fab!
Yeah, the slim fit is what really sold me on them – they’re super comfy, but they look pretty sleek and stylish for pajamas!
These are freakin’ amazing from start to finish. I love the pattern, the fabric, the piping and just really want a pair to call my own now!
You should make some! Fancy adult pjs for everyone!! 😀
I am a massive linen nerd. I don’t like super creased linen that just looks like a massive mess but I love the softer creases that ‘nice’ linen gets in the elbows of jackets etc. that soft worn-in look. My old boss had a linen jacket with pick-stitch lapel (custom made) and I used to want to stroke it… yeah I didn’t… but it always distracted me!
Ohhh that sounds amazing. I would want to stroke that, too. (and now, on that note, I’ve turned this comment into a “that’s what she said” joke haha)
LOL that made me laugh… the blazer! The blazer!
Wonderful fabric and an excellent job with all that fraying. The result is perfect. I do not understand the logic of sleeping with clothes on (and woven ones even less), but it is a wonderful pajamas, and they fit you perfectly!
ha, trust me, I would sleep in just my panties (can’t handle the full-on nude, though), but I get WAY too cold for that. I’m one of those weirdos who sleeps with socks on. You can go ahead and judge me, everyone else already does 😛
I am still laughing! 😀 Great post and great pyjamas! 🙂
😀 thank you!
Pyjama envy, these are glorious!
Thank you!
One of the most beautiful Carolyn PJ I’ve seen on the Web! This linen is glorious.
Thank you so much! I gotta say, I’m quite smitten with ’em myself 😉
love em! especially the piping.
Thank you!
another question – did you do flat piping? if not, what do you use as filler? I live in the sticks, and have been trying to find good piping filler (only have JoAnns and the Internet).
I used piping cord, so it’s not flat piping. I get my piping in the Garment District when I visit, and they also sell a few widths at my local fabric store. Sorry I can’t give you more help than that!
Very classy! I really like these on you.
I thought I was the only one that found linen kind of a pain to sew. The weave is, as you mentioned, very shifty, and it has a tendency to grow. The wrinkling bugs me too, so I only use it for things with a lot of ease (like circle skirts and loosely fitted shirts).
Funny, I was thinking the same thing when I was sewing these up (“Why is this so difficult? Why don’t I hear anyone else complaining about linen? AM I DOING IT WRONG?”). Glad to know that I’m not the only one, ha!
Ok, I’m really glad to hear this from the two of you. Linen has to be forced to submit somehow. Haha
These are really great — and your “senior picture” is definitely one for the forever books!
I should frame it and give it to my mom for Christmas to put on the mantel, yeah? 🙂 haha!
These are awesome, but since I sleep on my stomach, there is NO WAY I can have buttons on pajamas. I am the epitome of the princess and the pea!
That’s a bummer! Maybe you need to convert your buttondown into one of those popovers so you can join the jammie party 😛
I LOVE THESE SOOOOOO MUCH. Seriously, they’re fighting for first place in my heart. The piping! The detail shots are really doing it for me. And I’m glad someone finally did the tuxedo stripe in the side seam – I need to do that for my next pair. Glad you got over the linen hump – I was meh on it for years as well, and then actually started wearing it and was like “Okay, totally get why this is a thing. MY SKIN CAN BREATHE!”. xoxo
I realized while I was making these that NO ONE has done that tuxedo stripe! (ok, that’s a really broad statement – no one turned up in my searches, anyway! haha!). Was starting to think I did something wrong, but, fuck it, I think it looks awesome 😛 I’m so glad you love these!
I love your new pajamas! Classic, natural, soft, they’re really great! Linen sounds like a wonderful fabric for pajamas too, especially as it gets warmer.
It’s SO amazing! Can’t wait to take these babies with me to lounge around while I’m on vacation 😀 I’ve got some humid destinations on my agenda this year 🙂
Sheer fabric be damned. Those could possibly be the most gorgeous & chic pajamas I’ve seen. It’s a good thing that you’re not within stealing range & a size smaller than I am, or they’d be gone.
You should just make some! Then we could match 😉 haha!
Awesome! Wow. First of all, I didn’t know you hated linen. I’m in LOVE with it and I’m not even from the south. There’s something so… provincial.. peasant-like… casual. YES I love casual about it. While still being so wearable. Sigh. Also, i didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to sew over my pins- the laziest parts of me are very angered by this.. but I actually see why that backfires… and now I’m annoyed that I can’t un-see it. These pajamas are really cute- the piping is awesome. I would seriously wear that top with jeans. You rule!
Girl don’t you dare sew over those pins! Haven’t I taught you anything!? 😛 I’m gonna stick you with one of those pins if I catch you doing it again hahahahaha 🙂 And yeah, I’m thinking about wearing the top with jeans! It doesn’t look tooo pajama-y… or maybe it does, DGAF haha!
I so want to make these pjs. I am a bit intimidated though and have so much else ahead in the que. These look perfect.
I was a little intimidated too (soo many pieces!), but they’re really not so bad. Easier than making a button up shirt for sure, especially if you use a more stable fabric and omit the piping (but don’t omit the piping, it’s the best part!)
These are so cute! Officially on my to do list 🙂
Yay!
Sweet PJs! First impression: Molly McIntire. It’s definitely the lines of the pattern plus the pinstripes on your linen. The pigtails help, too.
Linen has always been too high maintenance for me, but it would be perfect for an application like this where wrinkles are to be expected!
Ahhhhh I love Molly! BEST COMPLIMENT EVER!
OMG MOLLY!! Yes!! She was my fave…I am SO sad they’ve discontinued the orginial historical ones (uhhh…not that I would know these things…lol) These pjs are so nice!
These are just lovely 🙂 Piped pyjamas in linen are just everyones dream aren’t they?
If they aren’t, they totally should be! 🙂
Thanks for the recommendation of this fabric. I will try this one. I recently discovered cotton double gauze fabric and I think it would be perfect for PJs.
Ooh, yeah, cotton gauze would be awesome for pjs! And probably a little easier to sew than linen 🙂
Love the fabric (I forgive Linen for having wrinkles because its so comfy). The piping is so incredible too. I’ve been considering making some summer pajamas for myself. I’ll have to check out this pattern.
Summer pjs are one of those things that I wish I’d made a loooot sooner. Don’t know if I can go back to my normal sleep attire (aka, whatever tshirt I was wearing that day, plus ratty workout shorts, ha!)
Linen is…linen. I love to hate it and hate to love it. I despise the wrinkles, but I love, love, love the breath-ability. There is something about not dying in the blast furnace of Oklahoma summers that makes Linen the ultimate of fabrics to wear. When the humidity starts pushing past the 50% range and the heat index is in the triple digits, it’s damn the wrinkles, and full speed ahead with the linen.
that being said, I never thought of wearing linen to bed. Hmm…Linen jammies. Yeah, I can see it. I can see it in lovely, soft, atrociously expensive Irish linen. Excuse me, I’m going to go have a moment. 😀
Love your jammies!
Ohh, now you’ve got ME wanted some atrociously expensive Irish linen! Stop! My stash is big enough as it is right now hahaha
I love love love your pj’s!! I’m working on a historical skirt in linen. Yes it is slippery and frayey ( is that a word). But oh does it take a press and feel so light and flowing.
Pressing linen is my favorite thing! It just takes that shit like a BOSS!
Those are the best pjs ive ever seen! They look amazing!
Thank you!
You know what else is awesome? Linen sheets. Super pricey but omg. Soft, comfy, cosy and cool at the same time. (My super loaded sister has them on all her beds, it’s just one of the nice things about visiting her…)
PS. I love linen. I’m working on a black linen sheath for a high school reunion right now. Was going to make a jacket as well, but they said the dress code is smart casual, so, okay, lacy cardigan it is!
I REALLY want some linen sheets (for whatever reason, I don’t care if my bed is wrinkled. Maybe because it’s a damn bed and it’s supposed to get wrinkled haha), but I’m afraid to look up the cost. I reckon I could make some, but man- that sounds like the most boring sewing ever. Ha! But I can only imagine how amazing they’d feel, ahh.
These pajamas are amazing! The piping looks great and they look like the nicest things to sleep in.
They are pretty nice! Now I can feel fancy even when I’m sleeping 🙂
OMGOSH!!! I love, love , love it. It’s beyond adorable…man you should sell these and make a bundle (well, I don’t know but , I love it) I have been on the market for a cute ’60s style pj like this. BECAUSE these last few decades, pj’s for women have really sucked. And I was trying to figure out what to do about it, IN comes Madmen, and someone oh, yeah Joan, wearing something just like what you made, and I said to myself “That’s, it” The sixties female PJ, it’s feminine and cute and adorable. I congratulate you, madame! It’s lovely!
Hahaha well don’t hold your breath, because I don’t make clothes to sell anymore 🙂 Not enough time to make stuff for myself, let alone someone else! But, man, you’re absolutely right – Joan always has the best clothes! Even her pjs were straight-up legit.
Oh hello comfort!! These look seriously lush – I purchased some seriously exxy linen sheets a few months ago, and they are a game changer! Sleeping in the uber soft linen… I can’t even begin to imagine the next level snugg-ness of adding PJ’s to the mix! But I think now it is a must – super cute pj’s! 🙂
I want linen sheets! Y’all are making me all jealous now!! hahah!
Here’s how I handle linens and cottons on the humid Gulf Coast
Machine wash cold. Hang until slightly damp. Iron it USING SPRAY STARCH. The heat from your iron should finish drying it and make a steamy sizzle. The starch helps with the wrinkling and wilting.
Except for the starch, this is the way I care for silk, rayon and viscose–also good fabrics for hot weather.
I have never seen a linen-cotton blend that didn’t look cheesy after a couple of washings.
That’s a great tip, thank you! May need to try that with some of my rayons – they don’t wrinkle as bad as linen (and thankfully, the wrinkles fall out pretty quickly), but it’s still enough to drive me nuts 🙂
These are stupid cute, Lauren! I’m a big fan of linen in general, and I’ve got a few pairs of linen/rayon palazzo pants that I seriously live in during the summer. Most. Comfortable. Things. Ever. Yours are totally my fave version of this pattern that I’ve seen yet. The fabric combo is perfect!
My best friend wears those linen pants in the summer too 🙂 I can’t get behind it because I’d rather be as naked as legally possible when the temperature is hovering at triple digits, but she does look WAY classier than I do so maybe she’s onto something 🙂
Love your new pjs! Love everything about them and I hope you now realize that linen is the ish! LOL!
I should just blindly follow your fabric expertise for here on out! You have never steered me wrong 🙂
Love it! They look so comfy! Definitely on my list of things to make! 🙂
Yaaaass! You are gonna love them! 😀
I adore linen, and its a fabric that takes getting used to. the best thing is not to iron them at all. linen responds to the wearer and your pyjamas will be like slippers in time as it will acquire subtle shaping (ie your shape). I dont iron linen, I just fold when in storage, it has a gentle crumple not a wrinkle (I have some old linen sheets which I adore using in the summer) great job on the piping and the detailing, they are gorgeous!
I love the idea of a fabric that molds to my shape. Means no one can ever borrow my pajamas heh heh heh 🙂
The only the retail pyjamas I’ve seen in natural fibres are cotton or silk so I thought I was the only person to ever use linen for pyjamas. Nice to see that someone else thinks this is a good idea too.
I can’t believe more people don’t use linen for pajamas! It’s SO nice in the summer heat!
I hope you get some kind of finder’s fee because I just purchased the pattern. Can’t wait to make these!. I too adore the jammies from VS – but they are like $50 (with free matching POS slippers whoop-tee-doo). My VS jammies are sooooo soft and they say 100% cotton but I dunno. I’ve never felt cotton that soft. But mine are about 10 years old and fraying like crazy around the waist so I’ve been looking for an un-boxy, feminine jammie pattern and this looks like it!
Side note: Have you ever tried the Groovin’ Piping Trimming Tool? I got one on clearance at a quilt store that was going out of business and at first it kind of stumped me. You still have to make the piping yourself, and I’m with you…make thy own…but what the tool does is create a uniform seam allowance next to the cord. You wouldn’t think so but man it is incredibly handy to have that SA all even for pinning next to a raw edge. I had to make about 9 miles of it for my granddaughter’s nursery set to go around the bumpers, comforter, valance edge, etc. and it made my life much easier. Anyhoo, thanks for the pattern find and I’m ISO some linen now.
Well, I will say that all my VS pjs are much newer than that and they’re not as well made as the old ones (my mom has 10+ year old VS pjs too). They were probably made of a better quality cotton than what you can get now. It’s such a bummer how the clothing industry has shifted to crappy!
I have never heard of the Groovin’ Piping Trimming Tool, but now I’ve lurked it and now I want. Dammit. haha!
I looove linen, but also don’t like it when it gets wrinkly. Especially when you’ve worn something for a longer time… looks horrible then. But I love it for being and feeling so natural.
Yeah, but pjs are supposed to be wrinkly 😛 At least – that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
That’s right! 😉
I want to steal those right off your back! They are glorious! I’m a big fan of how the linen stripe makes it look a bit like old timey baseball uniforms.
Yes! I love it too, makes me feel like I’m in a cool costume haha 😀
This set is the one pushing me over the edge to buy the pattern. My current pus are either be sweatpants and my fiancee’s extremely oversized tips, or ridiculous lingerie not really made for lounging….I could use some adult, feminine pairs!
As an aside, no matter how many times I sign up to be on your mailing list, I get unsigned up….and they are not being sent to my junk mail. Weird
Also, is there any chance of me getting my hands on this fabric? Want so bad
Oh, that’s weird! I wish I could tell you how to fix it, but I don’t completely understand how the mailing list works (I’m VERY un-tech, and I personally use a feed reader to follow blogs) 😦
Oh, and for buying this linen – I don’t know about the exact fabric, since I bought mine from Elizabeth Suzann (who purchases it wholesale to make clothing for her line – she unfortunately doesn’t sell fabric, just to meeee haha), but it looks like Blackbird Fabrics has some very similar linens in stock right now. Hope that helps 🙂
These are really gorgeous, like you could wear them out and still look great, y’know? I’ve not been tempted to make Grown Up pyjamas because it seems like a lot of work for something I’m just gonna sleep in but if anything could change my mind it would be these 🙂 Really lovely job on the contrast piping – and I love the little bow on the front pocket too! ^_^
I thought the same thing too, but there’s something super luxe about going to sleep (and lounging around!) in a pair of well-made, beautiful pajamas. Might be no turning back for me at this point 🙂
And yes, the bow is my favorite part! Totally stole that inspo off my VS pajamas haha!
you know, that might be the kicker selling point for me… I work from home at least 50% of the time and it’s truly appalling what I wear most of the time LOL. I might feel a little less hobo-esque if I was wearing proper PJ’s at least ^___^
These are cute! I get the wrinkly fabric thing, It’d bother me, too. These look super comfy.
I’m in love with these! They’re just a perfect pair of pyjamas! It was such a great idea to use the opposite colour way for the piping
Great pattern, I’m with you on the linen but I just can’t get away from it. You nailed the details on the pj’s, wonderful job!
They are gorgeous! I want some!!!
Absolutely adorable. Now I need linen pjs!
WOW you did such a lovely job! Your skill and talent really shows, and I loved reading your love/hate relationship with linen because I’m with ‘ya. My only hesitation is the lack of stretch in linen for actual sleeping, especially a shirt with armholes and sleeves. I’m tempted to think a simple strapped camisole might be more comfortable (I run hot at night anyway) or raglan sleeves? Would love your thoughts on the lack of stretch affecting the comfort when sleeping.
I haven’t had any issues with the lack of stretch in the linen, but I am also don’t move very much when I sleep (making my bed is SUPER easy in the morning lol). Sorry that’s not more helpful!