Operation Pajama Drawer: Appliqued Big Kid Tanks

Oh, my! I had so much fun with these! I started with my free The Tank pattern, but since it only goes to size 5, I had to grade it up a bit to Jamie’s size 8. (Would anyone else like to have this pattern in Big Kid Sizes?) Once I had the pattern ready, I dug coordinating knit fabrics out of my stash, and then the fun part started — designing appliques to match the fabrics in the pants that I made a few weeks ago! I like the way that these came out so much, I’m a little sad that they’re pajamas!These raw-edge appliques are really quick and simple to do. You just press Wonder Under or Heat N Bond Lite onto the back of your fabric, draw or trace your design on the back, cut it out, peal off the backing and press your applique to the clothing (or pattern piece). You can use a zig-zag stitch around the edges, but for these, I just used a regular stitch about 1/8″ to 1/4″ inside the edge. This way, those edges will fray a bit in the wash for a fun, casual, modern look.

Here are all of the tops with their coordinating Pajama Party PJ pants:Since these all fit the same, I let Jamie choose which set he would model for me, and he was quick to yell, “FOOTBALL!!” Like I did for Charlie, I added a tiny bit of extra length to these pants so that Jamie has some growing room. (Why do kids always seem to grow up way faster than they grow out?!)Taking pictures of Jamie is so much easier than taking pictures of Charlie.He’s so much more mature, and silliness is really just not a problem.Nope, no silliness here at all.So, how’s your Operation Pajama Drawer sewing coming along? Friday is the last day to load your pictures to the Fishsticks Designs Flickr Group for a chance to win a $35 gift card to Simplifi Fabric!