Who wears short shorts?

Sorry for my delay in posting, I've been lazy about my crafting!  If you know me at all you probably know that I love pajamas.  Pajamas are just so cute and soft and comfy and I love nothing more than lounging in my jammies and drinking coffee on a Sunday morning.  Additionally, I've discovered a new love for the Hanes ComfortSoft tagless shirts.  They are so soft and I love sleeping in them.  They're not really cute though.  For some reason I had a package of 5 of these shirts in XL, much larger than my actual size.  I got an idea to make myself pajamas out of these extra tees.  I thought I'd start by making a pair of shorts.  I used my favorite pair of pajama shorts as a guide.

ComfortSoft Shorts

Supplies:
2 Hanes ComfortSoft T-shirts, XL
Sewing machine and coordinating thread
straight pins
scissors
ribbon
large safety pin
shorts to use as a guide

Start by turning the guide shorts inside out and folding them in half, along the seams.  Pajama shorts are very simple, basically made up of 4 panels stitched together.  Lay the shorts on top of the first t-shirt, with the hem (bottom of the shorts) along the bottom of the t-shirt.  This way you can make use of the original hem and not have to sew more than you need to.

Line the side seam of the shorts against the folded side of the t-shirt

Trace around the shorts with a pencil.  Cut out the panel adding about 1/4in. to the edge for a seam allowance.  Since your shirt is flat and has two sides, you're basically cutting out two panels at once.

Next, lay your second shirt flat and lay your already cut piece on the shirt just like you did with the original shorts, matching the hems and the sides.  Trace this piece with a pencil and cut precisely along your pencil mark (you already worked your seam allowance in!)

Now, unfold both pieces and lay on on top of another, right sides together. You should have a piece that looks vaguely like the picture below. Pin two pieces together on the curved sides, I marked these with a dotted line.  Then sew the sides together along the dotted lines I indicated.

I forgot to take a picture at this stage, I'm sorry for the poor rendition I drew!

Once you've sewn the two pieces together, adjust the shorts so the seams you just created are in the center. 

They should look something like this

 Now, pin the outside of the crotch area together, perpendicular to the seams you already created, like this:

make sure you keep the shorts inside out!

 Stitch the crotch area closed where you pinned it.

Now, your shorts actually resemble shorts! All that's left is making the waistband.  Keeping the shorts inside out, fold down the open top part of the shorts about 1in.  This should be along the cut edge of the shorts.  Pin this down and iron it flat.

Make sure you don't pin the sides together!

Stitch the around the waist, close to the edge of the cut edge of the fabric.  You'll be inserting a drawstring so you want to have enough space for it to fit.

Now turn your shorts right side out.  Determine which side is going to be the front (I chose the one that looked the nicest.)  Cut a tiny vertical slit (about 1/4in.) in the center of the front of the waistband, only through the top layer.  You can rub some fabric glue or fray check on the slit if you choose, I just left mine. Take your safety pin and pin it to the end of your ribbon.  Stick the safety pin into the waistband through the slit you made and work the safety pin all the way around the waist until you get back to the slit. 

make sure you don't lose the end of your ribbon!  I left mine on the spool until I was done

Now pull the ribbon so it's all stretched out.  Slip the shorts on and pull both sides of the ribbon and tie them however feels comfortable for you.  Tie two small knots in the ends of the ribbon so it won't slip back through. 

Sorry for the blurry pictures...I really need to invest in a new camera!

 Voila!  You now have a new pair of sleep shorts.  Since these are plain white they can easily be decorated with fabric paint or dye or cute embroidery.  Go crazy!

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