Pajamas from a Vintage Sheet: The Dr. Seuss Project

Pajamas from a Vintage Sheet

Vintage sheets are my favorite fabric to sew. You can get them on the cheap, they’re super soft after having been washed a billion times, and the novelty prints immediately whisk me back to my own childhood and all the pop culture stuff that I was into that’s still really cool now (says I!).

I sewed my nine-year-old these sweet Dr. Seuss (he was an environmentalist!) pajamas from a twin-sized vintage sheet that I scored for a couple of bucks at my local Goodwill. Nine-year-olds have to pretty much pre-approve all patterns and fabrics intended for their wear, and I was happily surprised to hear, when I showed her the fabric and explained the project, that yes, she would totally wear Dr. Seuss pajamas!

The pattern that I used for these pajamas is the Oliver + S Sleepover Pajamas, sans pockets and modified for short sleeves on the top and pants legs that reach just below the knee. Oliver + S is my favorite company for sewing patterns for the basics–I don’t sew their dresses much, but I could outfit both of my kids entirely by mixing and matching their various shirts and pants patterns. This pajama top, for instance, could easily be just a simple button-down shirt, and these pajama bottoms are your basic pair of comfy play pants. Their sizing is a little unusual for my kid–her pajama top is a size 8, while her pajama bottoms are a 10–but if you haven’t gotten into the habit of measuring your kid before you sew for her, then you’re going to be in trouble no matter whose patterns you use.

Also, this front facing gave me fits:

Pajamas from a Vintage Sheet

 

I eventually figured it out, though not without Googling it and coming across another blogger who’d also sewn this pattern, AND had included a close-up photo of the front facing, giving me enough information to figure out how to do it for myself. Fortunately, buttonholes are a cinch with a buttonhole foot, and I added mismatched blue buttons to complete the outfit.

This Dr. Seuss twin sheet gave me just enough yardage for a complete set of pajamas, and a second pajama top one size up (the elastic-waisted pajama bottoms are roomy enough that my kiddo will definitely be able to wear them next year, but she’ll have certainly outgrown the top by then). I was lucky, too, that I didn’t have any mystery stains to navigate around… shudder.

If you’re curious, here are some other projects that I’ve sewn using vintage sheets:

1. circle skirts from a Peanuts sheet

2. dresses from a Snow White sheet

3. pajama pants from a yellow striped sheet

4. pencil roll from a Superman sheet

5. petal dress from a red silk sheet

6. wrap skirt from a blue flowered sheet

Ummmm… that’s a lot of sewing stuff from sheets. If YOU’VE got a project that you’ve sewn from vintage sheets, tell me about it in the Comments below. I can’t be the only one this obsessed!

1 thought on “Pajamas from a Vintage Sheet: The Dr. Seuss Project”

  1. Those pj’s came out great and she looks super happy!

    I love the idea of sewing from sheets, just haven’t gotten there yet. Probably because we like the stretchier fabrics like t-shirts and sweaters.

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