Pajama Bags

To celebrate the new bunk beds, and as part of my overall organization frenzy, I made these jammie bags for the boys a few weeks ago.



I followed the Kidlet Wall Pocket Tidy Tote tutorial from J C Handmade. Instead of the lovely linen and cool Japanese fabrics she used, I used some soft off-white corduroy I bought for another purpose but ended up not using for the outsides, and some leftover scraps from other projects for the linings and pockets. All I had to buy was the cotton webbing. I think for pajamas, I should have made them a little bit bigger, especially for bulky winter jammies (but we're done with those for a while--yay!) and for M, who is bigger and has bigger jammies. The idea was to make bedtime easier by not searching for pajamas, and also to cut back on laundry by not getting out a new pair every night because we can't find last night's...so far E and Z have been on board, sometimes even putting their own jammies in the bags, or helping me or C remember to do so. M, not so much--old dogs, new tricks and all...plus he's categorically opposed to any type of cleaning up or organizing (unless it's his PokeMon cards or his collection of Maine Tourmaline, but that's another story)...two out of three ain't bad.

I know a few people who are interested in sewing, but not sure where to start. I think this would be a good almost-first project, because the instructions are clear and easy to follow (unlike a pattern from the store--so confusing!), it is small and sews up fairly quickly (the tutorial says it should take about an hour; since I made three at once while I was working on other projects too, I can't vouch for it, but I'd say it's about right, maybe adding a little more for cutting, but I am a sloooow cutter) so it's a good instant gratification kind of thing, but at the same time, it's got enough challenging elements (turning corners, making a gusset, reinforcing the handle, etc.) to give you a good sense of accomplishment, and they're so cute and handy, who doesn't want a dozen? I could see them in fun, funky fabrics for grownups with no kids, to hold your keys by the door or whatnot. The only flaw I found in the directions was that I could not find the seam allowance anywhere in the instructions (maybe I missed it), so I just set out with a 1/2-inch seam, only noticing later in one of the photographs that it should have been 1/4 inch...no big deal, did not change the outcome at all, except making the bag slightly smaller. So get out your machine and give it a try!