the cat’s (sleepover) pajamas

Friday was “Pajama Day” at Lila’s preschool, and stuff like that compels me to sew. I had four days warning, which is plenty of time to make a pair, but here’s the problem with pajamas: there’s pretty much no print that doesn’t work. And having too many options paralyzes me.

I hemmed and hawed over the fabric until Thursday morning, when I saw that Linh had listed Lizzy House’s new line, Catnap. It’s such cute stuff, and the coordinating Jewels and Pearl Bracelets are an added bonus. The Cat Dream print appealed to me right away – it’s just so fun and colorful, and if whimsical weren’t such a dumb word, I’d probably call it that, too. And catnap, cat dream, the cat’s pajamas…I couldn’t resist all the sleeping references. So I picked up some Cat Dream in Linen and Jewels in Peach, traced the Oliver + S Sleepover Pajamas pattern, and mentally prepared myself for a late night of sewing.

I’ve sewn lots of Bedtime Story pajamas, and usually I just make the pants, then sew a little patch to a t-shirt and call it good. But since the Sleepover Pajamas pattern was new to me, I decided to try the whole set.

Lila is in between a 4 and 5 right now, and while it pained me to buy the smaller size range for her, the size 4 turned out to be a great fit. One nice thing about the Sleepover Pajamas is that the pants and sleeves both have cuffs that can be let down, which gives the set a longer life (shown above with pant cuffs let down and sleeve cuffs rolled up). And it’s a unisex pattern, so there’s still a chance I’ll get some use from it after this pair.

And while I love the look of the Bedtime Story‘s kimono style top, I think I actually prefer this style in terms of fit and comfort, since the kimono ties were sometimes tricky to keep closed. Anyway, I was worried she’d reject the top since most of her pjs are knit, but she ended up wearing this ensemble for 48 hours straight! Kinda gross, but we had a lazy weekend. I’ll take it.

I can’t say I’d recommend starting this pattern the night before it’s supposed to be worn – I really enjoy sleep as a general rule, and I only engage in these types of late-night sewing shenanigans a few times a year. But every now and then I like a little challenge, and it feels good to just power through and make something from start to finish. Even if it means you have to finish it off with three orange buttons and one mismatched pink one.

And, as I knew it would, the pattern held up to the high Oliver + S standards: frustration-free sewing with good looking and fitting end results. If you’re going to stay up late, that’s the way to go. It’s crazy (or just poor planning), losing a night’s sleep to send your kid to school in cat pajamas, I know it is. But I’d do it all over again – they’ve already been worn the equivalent of twice, which beats a whole slew of other things I’ve made for her!