I think these Winter Pajamas by Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop were my second project to make with my serger. I wanted to try sewing knit with it, but thought it was safer to try pajamas. That way if it didn’t work out the best, it didn’t really matter. I didn’t think I was going to completely ruin them, but didn’t know if I would do well enough to make a shirt or pants that Lillian would wear outside of the house.
Like I mentioned above, this is the Winter Pajamas Pattern by Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop. It would have been easy to sew if I weren’t still learning how to use my serger. The fabric is from Girl Charlee and it’s a cotton thermal knit. It’s not as stretchy as the jersey knit I have used, but still has a decent stretch. Which is good considering it’s knit.
It took me FOREVER to get my serger set up to properly sew knit and I’m still not sure I had it set up correctly. Can you see the wrinkled edges? I think that means that the tension was slightly off. Not really knowing anything about setting the tension on a serger, I think it’s fairly decent. I’m still learning!
I think the inside looks pretty awesome! I’m still pretty excited with how professional a serger makes the clothes I sew look. It’s ok to be giddy about it, right?
I made a 3T knowing that they would be a little big, but that they might fit by the time she would actually be wearing them. Actually, I made these before Easter and she was able to wear them a few times before it got too warm out. As you can see, they are definitely too big.
Here she is with some of her goodies from the Easter bunny. You can see that the sleeves are a whole cuff too long so we had to roll them up. I still think they look pretty cute on and she asked to wear them, so that is a plus.
My biggest issue was the seam in the neckline. If you look closely at the right side of the neckline you can see where my serged edges show. I tried multiple times to fix it, but for some reason I couldn’t. I’m not sure if it’s because it was knit or because I just don’t know how to finish an end on a serger. If you have any tips, please do share!
No matter what I did, the inside seam was showing on the outside of the shirt. I also attempted the double needed again on my sewing machine and it wasn’t any more successful than the last time. I even lengthened the stitch length this time. I will keep trying though!
Like in my post about the basic skirt, I finished the elastic waistband with the serged edge showing. I was successful with the double needle on the waistband, but I think that is because I also sewed over the elastic, so it didn’t suck the fabric down into my sewing machine. Can you see the small zigzag stitches above the waistline? That is the back of the stitch of the double needle.
Disclaimer: I am an affiliate of Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop so I get compensated for any orders placed through the links in this post.
7 Responses
Hey April,
The best knit to use for necklines is rib as it has a lot of stretch and good recovery. Thermal knit tends to not bounce back and won’t hold it’s shape very well and does exactly what you photo shows.
You mention that “No matter what I did, the inside seam was showing on the outside of the shirt.” Which seam is showing?
They look great! As for the wonky serged edge (though it doesn’t look too bad at all!) you can try playing around with the differential feed settings. As an aside, thanks for your sewing machine/serger reviews. I found your blog looking for people with experience using the Bernina 330 as I am debating the purchase right now!
Cute pj’s! You made them the perfect size – especially the way kids grow. Didn’t realize you were from WIsconsin – you must be near Milwaukee?? I don’t see too many blog writers from the midwest. I’m from Minnesota. Have a good day!