Summer Reads (Lexi Ogden Pajama Set)

Thanks to the Haute Girls for providing this fabric! It\’s currently on preorder; you can see all the fabric in the collection here.

Hello! It\’s sleepwear month over on Petite Passions\’s #wardrobebuilder so when the Haute Girls offered me a few yards of their new quilting cotton collection, I knew just what to make: pajamas! I don\’t do too much sewing with quilting cotton, but I just love using it for pajamas, since you can wear all those cutesy prints that you might not have an opportunity to wear otherwise, like these! I love that the prints in this collection are all coordinates, so you can mix and match pieces or use one print as the main fabric and another as an accent. I made a bunch of pieces with my coordinates and just two super-simple patterns and I feel like I have a whole new pajama wardrobe–and it all matches!

My first pieces are a pair of Evie La Luve Lexi boxers and an Ogden, both in the prettiest multi-color ikat print, and finished with some bias binding made with the larger-scale print. I\’d previously made a summer set using the Ogden cami and the shorts from Closet Case Pattern\’s Carolyn, but the Lexi boxers are just simpler, and for an easy summer pajama set, I don\’t mind simple! In fact, I made them even simpler: I cut them on the straight grain instead of on the bias, and overlapped the straight side seams on front and back to make one large pattern piece. Since there\’s no side seam shaping, it doesn\’t affect the fit at all! I made a size medium, and the fit is roomy and comfortable, without any fit alterations. I did change up the construction some, though–I finished the waistband with a casing for my elastic (it\’s a lot easier to me than turn-and-stitch elastic) and I finished the legs with bias tape instead of turning under. I definitely recommend this method–it\’s easier to get around those curves and you can add a little contrast if you apply it on the outside like I did! I also finished my Ogden in the same accent bias for a sweet matched set.

I also made a little Ogden nightgown simply by lengthening the pattern. I previously made a slip by doing the same thing, and actually I have two more dresses coming up this month made using the Ogden–True Bias Kelly should re-release the pattern with a dress variation, in my opinion, just for marketing purposes, since this is a great dress. It\’s easy to do though, just extend the hem and side seams! (This would make a super glam floor-length 90s-inspired dress in silk, by the way.) This shows off the cool print. I just love the little tigers! For a little change, I also made a second little pair of Lexi boxers in this same print, to wear with tee shirts (like this one from Grana, my fave place for simple wardrobe staples). You can never have enough little sleep shorts, don\’t you agree?

I don\’t know about you, but all this pajama sewing makes me want to just curl up and read a book–it could also be that I\’m a librarian, and I always want to just curl up and read a book… maybe that\’s it. Either way, I now have some cute pj options to wear! And what have I been reading in my pajamas? Here are a few recent favorites:

The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
I mentioned this one on instagram stories last month, when I was tearing through the five-book series of which this is the first. If you grew up loving the Little House books, or if you\’re reading them to your children now, you should definitely pick up this book, which follows Omakayas, a young Ojibwe girl. Not only does it take place at around the same time and place as the Little House books and provide an interesting counterpoint to Ma\’s \”wild\” indians, it\’s also very similar in tone and content, with lots of fascinating descriptions of everyday life. Not to be missed! I suggest you skip amazon this once and buy it from Birchbark Books, the author\’s indie book store in Minnesota which also serves as support system for the many Native authors and artists who live in and around the Twin Cities. (ps: The blog American Indians in Children\’s Literature is a wonderful resource regarding Native representation and gives this series two thumbs up.)

Murder is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens
I\’ve been listening to episode after episode of My Favorite Murder recently as it\’s a bit less scary than actual news (ha) and along with this book, it appears I\’m on a total murder binge! This is the first in the Wells and Wong Mystery series but I\’ve read all three available in the US, they are simply spiffing, as main character (and juvenile detective) Daily Wells would say. Classic whodunit format (ie Agatha Christie), likeable characters, and interesting racial awareness/class conflict overtones as the two main characters are a slightly shabby upper class British girl and an ultra-wealthy Hong Kongese girl (Originally published in the UK, where the series is known as the \”Murder Most Unladylike Mysteries\” and the first three books are entitled Murder Most Unladylike, Arsenic for Tea, and First Class Murder.)

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
I\’m on the third book of this series as well, entitled Rich People Problems. It\’s a lighter read, along the lines of a grown-up, Singaporean Gossip Girl, but you can feel really smart about reading it (even if it does say \”CRAZY RICH ASIANS\” on the cover in huge text) because it\’s basically just like an ethnography. Right? Right?? Plus, you really must read it before the movie comes out, and everyone who is anyone is talking about it, lah! (I\’m super excited for the movie\’s all-Asian cast, y\’all–the first since 1993\’s Joy Luck Club. Representation matters!)

Read anything good recently? Do you have a go-to pj pattern or do you like to mix it up?

xoxo,