Jordan loves Christmas, and he always wears Holiday Sleepwear to celebrate the season. He loves his comfy Sleep Shirt and Sleep Pants. Cozy felt Slippers complete the outfit. He can hardly wait to wake up on Christmas Day and open his presents.
Download Jordan’s Holiday Sleepwear Pattern Here!
I am looking forward to seeing all the Kitty Friends and outfits that you create. You can join the Kitty Friends Facebook Group and share your photos and stories with other group members.
Jordan’s Holiday Sleepwear Instructions
Materials
Stretch knit fabrics for shirt and pants
Felt for shoes
Needle for hand-sewing
Sewing thread to match fabric
Straight pins
Craft scissors for cutting out pattern
Small embroidery scissors for cutting fabric
Iron and ironing board
Fabric marking pen
Size 4/0 snaps
Red “Puffy 3D” paint or seed beads
NOTE: Please supervise children and take safety precautions when using an iron or a sewing machine.
STITCH DIAGRAMS
HAND SEWING VS. MACHINE SEWING
This tutorial will focus on hand-sewing techniques. If you are a beginning sewer, it will probably work better for you to hand-sew the pieces together. However, if you feel like your machine-sewing skills are up to the challenge, go for it! For sewing knits on the machine, a ball-point needle will be less likely to snag.
CUTTING OUT THE SLEEP PANTS
Download and print pattern. Cut carefully around the outline of each pattern piece with craft scissors (save the good scissors for fabric so they won’t become dull). The fabric for the Sleep Pants needs to have some stretch. Polyester or cotton knits are good choices. You might even have something in your own closet to use such as an old t-shirt or workout/exercise shirt. Knits can be tricky to cut out because the fabric tends to roll or slip. I recommend cutting the two pieces for the Sleep Pants separately instead of pinning through two layers of fabric. Make sure that the arrow on the pattern is aligned with the stretchiest part of the knit fabric. You can pull on the knit in both directions to see which one is the stretchiest. Some knits have a right and wrong side (but double knit is the same on both sides). Check to see if your knit has a right side and be aware of that when you are sewing. After cutting out one side of the Sleep Pants, you can flip it over and pin the piece onto the fabric to cut the second piece. This makes it easier to match plaids or stripes.
SEWING THE SLEEP PANTS
With right sides together, align both pieces of the Sleep Pants. Use a single knotted thread and take a stitch at the center front waistline edge. Do not use a double thread, because it can easily become tangled. Backstitch 1/8” from the edge and continue sewing with a backstitch until you get to the crotch. Then knot the thread and cut off the end. Press center front seam open.
Cut a 3 1/4” long piece of 1/4” wide elastic. Fold it in half and mark the center with the fabric marking pen. Pin this center mark directly over the center front seam, close to the fabric edge. Pin one end of the elastic to the outer edge of the fabric. Pin the other end of the elastic to the other edge of the fabric. Take a couple basting stitches at each end to hold the elastic in the correct position while you attach it.
I used a zig-zag stitch on the sewing machine to attach the elastic to the Sleep Pants. After you set the machine to do a zig-zag stitch, try a test on a scrap of fabric to make sure the stitching looks good. Start stitching at one end of the elastic and gently pull the elastic as you stitch to stretch it out along the edge of the Sleep Pants. If you don’t have a sewing machine, you can sew the elastic on by hand as you stretch it out. Use small stitches in a zig-zag pattern (which allows the elastic to stretch after sewing).
After you have attached the elastic to the fabric, fold it over on the wrong side of the fabric and hem in place to create a waistband.
With right sides together, fold Sleep Pants in half and sew center back seam. You will be sewing directly through the elastic as well, so it might take a little effort to push the needle through. Finger press the seam open. Hand sew a narrow 3/16” hem at the bottom of both pant legs.
Match the center front and back seams at the crotch and pin together. Match the ends of the pant legs and pin together. Start sewing with a backstitch 1/8” from the edge at the bottom of one of the pant legs.
Sew all the way up the leg to the crotch. Take a couple extra backstitches here to reinforce the crotch. Then keep sewing down the other leg all the way to the end of the other pant leg. Make a knot and cut the thread. Trim the edges of the seam allowance. Clip on either side of the crotch seam.
Then turn the Sleep Pants inside out, and you are done.
CUTTING OUT THE SLEEP SHIRT
Choose a knit fabric for the Sleep Shirt. Align the arrow with the stretchiest part of the knit and pin the Sleep Shirt pattern to the fabric. Cut out fabric with the embroidery scissors.
Do not clip the red lines yet, but mark the black dots on your fabric pieces with the fabric marking pen. Also mark the center of the neckline. Cut out the Collar piece with the arrow aligned with this stretchiest part of the knit. Mark the center with a fabric marking pen.
NOTE: if you are using a dark color for the sleep shirt, your fabric marker might not show up. You can take a small basting stitch using a contrasting light colored thread to mark the center locations.
SEWING THE COLLAR ON
Thread a needle with a single thread that has a knot at the end. Sew a narrow 3/16” hem on both of the Sleep Shirt back edges.
With right sides together, align Collar center to Sleep Shirt center and pin in place. Start sewing Collar to Sleep Shirt starting at the back part of the neckline. Secure with a backstitch, then keep sewing with a backstitch 1/8” from the edge, until you reach the other end of the collar. Clip curves every 1/2” or so inside the seam allowance. Turn under outer edges of Collar. Fold Collar down on the inside of the shirt.
To secure it, you will be doing a “stitch in the ditch.” The ditch is the crease underneath the collar on the right side. If you sew in the ditch, the shadow of the seam will hide most of your stitches. Finish sewing the Collar in place, then make a knot and cut the thread.
Press the collar flat with the iron on medium heat.
QUESTION: Why do you need to press the seams after sewing?
ANSWER: Pressing the seams will reduce puckers and wrinkles and will make the finished shirt much more professional looking. It may take a little more time, but the result is definitely worth it.
SEWING THE SLEEVES
Sew a narrow 3/16” hem on both of the Sleep Shirt sleeve edges. When finished, press the Sleep Shirt again with the iron.
With right sides together, fold the Sleep Shirt in half at the shoulders. Match the side seams and pin together. With a single thread knotted at the end, backstitch at the lower edge of the skirt, 1/8” from the edge. Keep sewing with backstitches all the way along the side seam until you reach the dot. Take a couple extra backstitches here to reinforce the stitching. Keep sewing toward the sleeve until you reach the edge of the sleeve. Make a knot and cut the thread. Sew the second side seam in the same manner. Clip the side seams up to the dot. Press both side seams open.
HEMMING THE SLEEP SHIRT
Fold under 3/16” and hem all around the bottom of the Sleep Shirt. Tie a knot and cut the thread. Press with the iron. Now you are ready to add the snaps.
SEWING ON SNAPS
Mark the placement of the snaps as shown on the pattern. It is very important to align the snaps carefully. Snaps come in various sizes such as 1/0, 2/0, 3/0 and 4/0. The larger the number, the smaller the snap. I used size 4/0 for this shirt, but if you have trouble sewing on such a small snap, you can use larger snaps.
Separate the two pieces of the snap from the card. These little snaps are slippery, so handle with care, or they may get away from you! Each snap has a “Ball Half” and a “Socket Half.” The Ball Half of the snap has a thinner edge than the Socket Half. Make a knot in a double length of thread and insert the needle close to where you want the snap to be, on the top part of the shirt closure. Center the Ball Half over the placement mark, and bring the needle up through one of the holes. Sew twice in this hole, then move on to the next hole. Try to keep the stitches small on the right side of the fabric, so they don’t look too messy. Keep sewing around the snap until you have sewn twice in all four of the holes. Then make a knot and clip the thread.
On the bottom part of the Shirt closure, make another knot in the thread and insert the needle close to where you want the Socket Half. Center the Socket Half over the placement mark, and bring the needle up through one of the holes. The Socket Half should be facing up to receive the Ball Half of the snap. Sew twice in all four holes of the Socket Half. The stitches on the underside won’t be visible, so they don’t have to be as neat. Then make a knot and cut the thread. That’s it! Snaps can be a bit tedious to sew on, but they work really well for clothing on small dolls.
DECORATING THE SLIPPERS
Cut out the Slippers from felt.
Cut six small holly leaves as shown on the pattern. Start with a rectangle about the size of one leaf. Then snip off the top edges to make a point at the top. Do the same at the other end. This should leave you with a hexagon shape. Keep shaping the leaf to make the edges a little more curved until you are happy with the shape. Take three of the leaves and arrange them on one of the Slippers. Take three small stitches in the middle of each leaf to secure it to the Slippers.
Practice making small dots with the “Puffy 3D” paint on a small scrap of felt for the holly berries. Make three small dots with the “Puffy 3D” paint in the middle of the holly leaves. Set aside to dry for a few hours. Sometimes the “Puffy 3D” paint will soak in a bit as it dries. If that happens, you can add more “Puffy 3D” paint on top of the dots. If you don’t want to use “Puffy 3D” paint, you can sew on three red seed beads for the holly berries. Repeat for the second Slipper.
SEWING THE SLIPPERS
After the paint is completely dry, fold one Slipper in half. Use a double layer of knotted thread. Insert the needle in between the layers of felt to hide the knot. Start sewing at the top of the heel using a whipstitch, and continue sewing the heel and sole of the Slipper. When you reach the toe, make an extra stitch, then knot the thread and bury it between the layers of felt.
Now you have completed Jordan’s Holiday Sleepwear for your Felt Kitty Friend! Sweet Dreams!
I have done my best to make the instructions complete and accurate. If you have any corrections, questions or comments about the tutorial, please Contact Me. And if you want to be informed when I add new patterns for Kitty Friends clothing or accessories, please Subscribe.
