The particular night that this idea came to me we had been browsing around on the Internet, like we usually do, looking at too many pictures of weddings and babies to be considered "normal" 19 year olds. We stumbled upon some precious collard pajamas and she immediately expressed interest in them. Perfect I thought! I already know what I'll get her weeks ahead of time.
Originally I was going to do the normal sane human thing and go buy a pair from target for her. But one night as my insomnia set in I decided it would be a good idea to make her a pair instead. Having only even sewn a stuffed animal and done some minor hemming before in my life. Good thinking self.
The next two weeks were undeniably the most frustrating weeks of my MRS degree so far. I learned the selectivity of tension and tried to make myself understand the exasperatingly vague pattern, but in the end I was semi-proud.
Sure there were loose threads and the whole thing was unlined which may have added to the whole home ec project look but you could tell they were pajamas and that was good enough for me.
Picking out the four little buttons was one of the hardest parts for me. The button section of the craft store is large but also too small at the same time. I spent at least a half an hour there, going up and down the isle putting buttons back and lusting over the sworovski crystal buttons all the same. I finally settled for some simple see through buttons that would not take away from the fabric but also avoided looking like a tacky thrift store toss.
The shorts were my proudest moment by far. As I began to carefully trim apart the delicate pattern I quickly realized that pants really were not what the birthday girl would want. So I decided to draft my own pattern. I took a pair of Nike tempo shorts and used them as a sort of guide, drawing a shape that I thought resembled a factory made short. I think they came out beautifully in the end!
I wrapped the whole mess up in a nice box and hoped that she would not totally hate them. In the end she may never wear them but I think that the point was made. The best presents are those that are really thought out and tailor made for the person. Every stitch of these pajamas was filled with love, thankfulness and joy to be her friend celebrating her 20th year.
Happy Birthday baby girl!