Welcome to the New Year!! We are kicking it off with the first Love Notions Sew Along in 2021, the Tranquil Nightwear Sew Along. No matter what season you are in right now, the Tranquil Nightwear is perfect! Lounge by the fire snuggled under a blanket with hot cocoa wearing the long sleeves and pants option, or relax in front of the open window to the birds singing in the morning wearing the short sleeves nightshirt. This sew along will show you how to create all the options the Tranquil Nightwear has to offer.
Selecting the perfect fabric
Each Love Notions Pattern has fabric suggestions listing on page 4 of the pattern. The Tranquil Nightwear is no different. When we look at the pattern suggestions, we see that we must use knit fabrics. You cannot substitute woven fabrics for patterns drafted for knits. Even if you size up, the pattern will not fit properly do to the lack of stretch. Lighter weight knits are best for the Tranquil Nightwear. Cotton lycra, modal, double brushed poly, rayon spandex french terry, bamboo lycra are all great options. I love double brushed poly, so I will be using some from our sponsor Cali Fabrics for this sew along. If you get hot while you sleep, I don’t recommend double brushed poly (DBP). However, bamboo lycra and modal tend to stay very cool to the touch and don’t trap heat. The fabrics listed above are just suggestions. If your fabric is light to mid weight and has 40% stretch across the grain, then it should be a good match for the Tranquil Nightwear.
Fabrics above can all be found at Cali Fabrics. All of the fabrics I am using above are double brushed poly. From top to bottom, we have slate blue double brushed poly, light blue birds and butterflies on slate, blue koi on white, and robins and vines on charcoal. I adore the weight of these fabrics! They are a beautiful quality and have washed beautifully. The one thing to note is that they are a bit lighter weight, so the wrap hem doesn’t lay really flat during assembly. Not a bit deal, but I do want to note it because it’s visible in the photos.
Choosing trim
The faux wrap front and hems of the Tranquil Nightwear offer a great opportunity to play with some trim! The pattern suggests fold over elastic (often referred to as FOE) or has a knit binding option. I was inspired to try some lace trim and recently, Tessa used piping. Both worked beautifully! I would not suggest using either at the hem of the long sleeve because of the lack of stretch, but they do work for the neckline and the pants hem.
Later this week, I will also be sharing how I finished the neckline and hems with a band instead of binding.
Making sizing adjustments
Sewing custom clothing allows us to create a custom fit. If you find that your high bust offers one size and your waist and hips offer another, don’t hesitate to blend sizes to achieve a fit that matches your unique shape. In the photo below, the red line shows how to blend up a size, and the green line shows how to blend down a size. You want to use a long gradual line when you blend sizes. Start a couple of inches below the armscye and end your line near the waist.
Cutting your fabric
After your adjustments are made and you have a cut out the pattern pieces for the Tranquil Nightwear, it’s time to cut your fabric. Pay close attention to the grain line while cutting the insert pieces especially! You want to make sure to keep the grainline marking parallel to the savage edge of the fabric.
It’s also important to remember to transfer the markings on the pattern pieces to the fabric. I like to use clips for this task. For other suggestions on pattern marking tools, you can hop over to this blog post. There, I cover all my favorite tools for different fabrics and purposes.
After you have your fabric cut, you are done with day one of the Tranquil Nightwear Sew Along! Join me tomorrow for constructing the neckline.
Don’t miss the video side of the Sew Along
Each day of the Tranquil Sew Along we will have a new video on the Love Notions Youtube Channel. Below you will find today’s video.
Tranquil Nightwear Sew Along Schedule
Monday: Fabric, adjustments, cutting
Tuesday: Sewing the neckline
Wednesday: Creating the faux hem/ sewing the sleeves, BONUS: banded finish option
Thursday: Sewing the elastic waistband
Friday: Hemming, BONUS: faux wrap nightshirt hem
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