New PJ knit pants
At Christmas time the pattern company Ellie & Mac offered their adult pajama pattern free to their customers. The pattern is drafted for use with both knits and wovens. All Ellie & Mac patterns are well written/drafted. The directions are wonderful especially for beginner sewers. I don't really have a good pj pant pattern drafted for knits so I wanted to try this one.
I am not a Harry Potter crazy fan, but I did have enough of a knit based on Harry Potter to use as a trial pair. The pattern had pockets included. I love pockets in a pj pant. No, I do not sleep with things in my pockets but it certainly helps me figure out the front and back of the pants.
Pocket Construction
The pockets are generously sized to say the least. In fact the next pair I make I will be trimming the pocket considerably. It ended up that not only do I have more than enough room to put my cell phone in each pocket, but I think I could also fit my land line phone in there are well.
The directions were easy to follow. The pattern called for 1-1.5 inch wide, which I did not have in my stash. I really never use elastic of that width. I used the widest I had 3/4 inch. To make it behave a little nicer I sewed a top stitch on the top and bottom. When I make them again I will have to buy some wider elastic because I think it would help the appearance a tad.
I think it was a valiant effort for the first pair. The more times you make a pattern the better each finished item becomes - something I think beginner sewers need to hear on repeat.