I have had the Carolyn Pajamas pattern for a very long time. The first time I made the Carolyn Pajama Shirt was in 2018, and then I think I just completely forgot about the pants because I was more excited about making the shirt.
But a few months ago, a friend of mine was saying that she really hard time finding nice pajama pants. I remembered that I had this pattern, and I thought it would be a good idea to try it out, so I ordered cotton flannel for both of us.
I made my pants first before making my friend’s, since we’re close to the same size, just to make sure I didn’t need to make adjustments. I made the size 14 because it lines right up with my measurements.
I found the fit to be kind of snug, especially because when I think of pajama pants, I want them to be more loose and roomy. It does say that these are tailored pajamas, so the pants have a closer fit. I also think that I need to add a bit to the back rise because the fit in the back is giving ‘hungry bum’ (cringe picture below, sorry).
If you make these and want a little more room, then I would go up a size. Another option would be, since it has a 5/8 seam allowance for French seams, you could make your regular size and then sew with a 3/8 seam allowance along the long seams for more ease.
This pattern is very medium rise, so if you like high waisted things, you’ll have to adjust the rise. After making mine, I also added 1″ to the depth of the pockets for my friend’s pants because the pockets weren’t very deep.
I messed up on lengthening these and in the end, they were too long and I had to take the cuff off and shorten them. So next time, I wouldn’t add more than 1″ of length to them.
So just as a quick recap: My ideal changes would be to size up or using a smaller seam allowance, adding to the rise (especially in the back), lengthening the pockets, and not adding very much length to the legs.
These are good ‘at home’ pants for the winter, though. I’m usually pretty warm at night, so I wear shorts all year round. My next try with these will be to make the shorts version.
Pattern & Fabric Details
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Carolyn Pajamas by Closet Core + cotton flannel from Tissus Hemmers
Thank you for reading today’s blog post and happy pajama pant making. xoxo