Uncommon Beach Wear

This is what my kids see every morning, me gulping down cup after cup of coffee!

I know this is not a swimsuit or a beach cover-up or really a garment that anyone would wear anywhere near a beach, but for me its what I plan on lounging in all morning (and night) while at the beach!  We are having our parents join us this trip and I felt like my current pj's are pretty ratty, or close to it!  And I have a habit of getting up super early, I love the quiet and solitude, sitting on the deck and drinking coffee.  There's something so quieting to my spirit to sit and listen to the day as it begins, so peaceful and grounding. 

 I have been planning on these pajamas for at least a couple of years- sheesh, get your sewing on already right!?  But every time I picked up the pattern, it just looked so involved! 

Its just that I have come to a place in my sewing journey where I really get annoyed with sloppy unfinished facings that just get folded over leaving some raw seams exposed to the washer and dryer.  I've also come to a place that really appreciates all the small design details such as piping. 

All that being said, I knew, when looking at the pattern, that I'd have to pipe the darn thing to be happy with it and then alter the facings to make everything inside enclosed, sigh.  So, two years later, here they are!!

I used McCall's 6659 and made the same adjustments to the back pants piece that I made to the last pants pattern I made and it worked again!  There are minimal back wrinkles!  I also shortened the pant by 2 inches at the cuff.  The cuff finishing is nicely constructed with everything neatly enclosed.  
 

 

The originally designed finishing and construction used to make the top were pretty sub par.  I read through the instructions after cutting everything out and as I began to put it all together in my mind I was not happy with the finished product, so I decided to trim down the front facing, graded it, notched it to help ease it in and folded it under, stitching it down to the top enclosing everything.  Essentially its an enclosed button band.     

The only place where I wasn't 100% happy with my finishing changes was at the point where the facing, shoulder seam and collar facing all came together.  There was some snipping of fabric, as instructed by the pattern and then some hangy, thready bits left out to dry.  Ugh, I HATE that.  I tried to catch it all as best I could in my altered enclosed facing.

But for all my nit picking, the finished pajamas are really nice.  I LOVE this cotton lawn, its a Hancock's purchase.  The piping  was from my stash, I did end up running out of it after making the top but luckily had a length of cotton in the exact same peacock green and made bias tape and piping for the pants cuff.  The buttons were from my stash and were on a super old card.

I am so glad these finally came together, cotton lawn is perfect for pajamas, this print is opaque and the hand is really soft.  Just great for wearing at the beach, gulping pots of coffee and listening to the day begin.    

Thanks for reading and happy stitching!

Elizabeth