If you’ve been reading the blog for any length of time, you will know that I have a special place in my heart for recycling/upcycling. Not because I have a Scrooge style clamp on my wallet, but because I hate to throw things away. Pretty much everything can be reborn if you have enough time and inspiration. Sometimes it even creates something better than the original!

This was certainly true with my last project. I set out with a mission to find my youngest child some new pyjamas. The problem being he has the most sensitive skin and everything from labels to seams irritate him. So I needed a very gentle solution. I began with the wonderful Oliver & S pattern for their Bedtime Story Pyjamas, unfortunately this is out of print now, but you can still purchase (stocks permitting) from some stores, I got mine from Saints & Pinners.

Next I moved onto fabric choices. I knew I wanted Flannel/brushed cotton, but I couldn’t find any I liked in this country. The US puts us to shame when it comes to selections of this fabric. So I began raiding my stores and found two plain white flannel sheets from when my son was a baby. They were beautifully soft from washing and I had just the right amount. But I thought he might look like he was doing baby karate if I made them in white. Enter Dylon! I had a box of Purple washing machine dye left over from a previous project, so I set about dying the sheets. The results couldn’t have been better (unfortunately I forgot to take a pic).

Next came the cutting and sewing, this pattern really is easy and before long I had these amazingly soft, label and side seam free pyjamas! My son adores them and wants to wear them all the time, I will certainly be making a second set soon, I may even treat myself to some imported flannel so I can use a cute fabric pattern.