Thrifty Mama: Summer Pyjamas
Friday, October 23, 2009 18:17With another baby on the way and the incentive of saving up for a car that can actually fit all five of us in, we’ve been working hard on saving money over the last few months. This is the first season change where we haven’t had any hand me downs to rely on from my nephew, as Declan, my weed like two year old, is now the same size as his five year old cousin. My one year old isn’t so hard up for clothes, but as Declan seemed to skip size 1 in summer clothes he’s not all that prepared for the heat.
I’m not willing to go to target and fork out anything between $15-25 for a pyjama set, particularly as my eldest has the height of a four year old combined with the waist of a one year old, making it near impossible to find sets of clothes that fit him. So out came my sewing machine and I got creative with some fabric that I had laying around.
The t-shirts came in at $4 a pop, (normally $5 but there was 20% off kids’ clothing at Target), the only fabric that I bought new was the “I have a bright idea” cotton which I picked up at (my husband’s request! wtf?) last weekend from Spotlight. The rest of the fabric was half yards left over from other projects and the Ghostbuster’s flannellette was the shirt half of a pyjama set I bought for my husband so that he could relieve the glory days of his youth – he’s not one for pyjamas shirts, so I managed to get 2 pairs of shorts and lots of bits for embellishments out of the top half of the set.
Grand total of a six new PJ sets to cover the next six months from the stores? Somewhere between $100-$150 (basically Best & Less – Target)
Grand total of a six new PJ sets to cover the next six months from my sewing machine?$30!
Hah, take that recession!
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Liz says:
October 23rd, 2009 at 10:46 pm
My son is 5 and is wearing 3T shirts and 4T jeans with adjustable waists. He fits in 2T pants. I’ve been making pj’s for him too. Frustrating, isn’t it…
Your jammies look great!
PJS says:
October 24th, 2009 at 1:43 am
they are fabulous PJ’s…. i love it, what a great idea, and one i could convert for myself too… what a triumph to have pj’d up your son for so little money… it deserves a ‘woo hoo’!!
Jenn @ FFP says:
October 25th, 2009 at 12:51 am
Great idea. I also scour yard sales and thrift stores for good basic plain t-shirts then either iron on, stencil paint, or applique different embellishments. You literally come out pennies on the dollar compared to what you’d spend in Target or Walmart!
Shalini Chandak says:
October 26th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Your idea rocks. I like to sew and recently stitched a Indian Dhoti pant for my 5 year son. Your PJs have made me eager to stitch full pants for him because winter is setting in here.
Lenna Green says:
October 29th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Well done the PJs are great. You are so clever. Thanks for sharing.
Fern says:
October 29th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Thanks for all the feedback guys! I’m in the process of putting together a basic “how to make pants” walkthrough if anyone is interested!
Blackbird Pie says:
November 15th, 2009 at 6:39 am
I am just about to sew a few pairs of pj’s for my son for a winter holiday gift. Mine will be long-legged though, with the cold Canadian winter approaching.
I like this newbie pants sewing tutorial:
http://handyprojects.blogspot.com/2005/04/how-to-make-easy-kids-pants.html
I used it to sew several pairs of pj pants for my son that he is now growing out of and will use it again to make the new sets.
happymom4 AKA Hope Anne says:
December 3rd, 2009 at 3:22 pm
I love them–I like to sew PJ’s for my little guy too. As to the recession . . . I am told that JoAnn’s Fabrics stocks are UP. I would suppose it’s because many of us are sewing to save.
http://www.xanga.com/happymom4
Mary says:
December 17th, 2009 at 7:29 am
Im with Jenn! Yard sales and Craigslist, even if it is to “repurpose” the cloth. Im cheap like that =)