25 August 2021

Trendy Ruffle Hem Jaimie PJs Hack (+ video tutorial!)



Never without a need for new PJs, I'm no stranger to sewing loungewear-esque clothes, especially PJ bottoms and shorts. It's Abi here (the social media & content creating button *waves*) and with so many homemade pyjamas under my belt, it's time to get creative with them! 

If you're after the ultimate PJ pattern, look no further than our Jaimie Pyjama bottoms and shorts sewing pattern - it's a must-have. Not only a fabulous pattern for complete beginners, but Jaimie is also a great place to start pattern hacking! Whether that's adding your own in-seam pockets or trying out this ruffle hack, you'll be able to create your perfect PJs using Jaimie as your base. 



Jaimie is available in TWO size bands, UK 4-24 / US 0-20 / EUR 32-52 or UK 16-34 / US 12-30 / EUR 44-62. Get your copy HERE and come back to this post for ruffle hacking goodness!



Ruffle hem PJ bottoms have been popping up in RTW shops and have slowly been creeping into my future sewing hack plans, so my need for cute PJs that I don't mind answering the door in just became my top priority. And let's face it, PJs this trendy might even get a trip out the house too...maybe (plain white T, sandals, straw bag - I can see it!).

I'll be making 3/4 length Jaimie PJ bottoms in the video tutorial and the shorts in this blog post, but these steps will apply the same way to the shorts or longer PJs. To decide where I wanted my leg length, I measured from where the waistband of the PJs sit on me to halfway down my shin and made a rough judgement, knowing there would be an inch or so added to the length with the finished ruffles.

Let's make some PJs...

Sew your Jaimie PJs as normal, following the instruction booklet or by following our handy sew-along below. Up until the hemming of the legs (which is the last step). 




With your Jaimie PJs left unhemmed, let's start sewing some ruffles. FYI the ruffles can be adjusted to suit your fabric length to minimise waste or cut them longer or shorter if you want them more or less gathered, or just follow me...


You will need:
  • A small amount of fabric (less than 1/2m) or scraps to make your ruffles
  • Your half made Jaimie PJs
  • Tools to measure and cut your ruffles
  • Your usual sewing supplies
  • Iron and ironing board (for super neat ruffles!)
The width of one of my Jaimie legs is approximately 22in (55cm), to get my desired ruffle I like to double the length. So I'm cutting my ruffles approx 44in (112cm) long and (after a couple of tests to see what I preferred) 4in (10cm) wide. The ruffles are folded in half, so the 4in will become an approx 2in (5cm) finished ruffle.

If you've cut your ruffle strips out of scraps or fabric narrower than your total ruffle length, you'll need to pin and stitch the ruffle strips at the short ends, right sides together, to form one long strip. Press the seam allowances open. 

Luckily my fabric's width was similar to my desired ruffle length, meaning I already have one long strip - woo!



Press the two remaining short ends under 15mm (5/8in) to the wrong side (this will create neat ends to your ruffles). 



Then fold your long ruffle strip lengthways, wrong sides together, and press.

Now to gather the ruffle. Set your sewing machine to a long (4-5mm) straight stitch. Sew 2 lines of gathering stitches along the length of the ruffle, close to the long raw edges, leaving loose thread tails at either end. For some extra guidance on sewing gathers, we've got just the blog post for you!



Grab hold of the two threads at one end of the ruffle, and carefully pull them to gather up the fabric. This step may take a while, but don't rush as you don't want to snap your threads! Pull your threads until the ruffles look even and measure approximately the length of the leg hem. 



Pin the ruffles to the hem of your PJ leg, bringing the raw edges together and with the folded bottom edge of your ruffle pointing to the waist of your PJs. When you reach the point where the ruffle ends meet, slightly overlay them to close any gap.




Stitch around the leg hem. Finish the seam.



Press your ruffles away from the leg.



Topstitch the ruffle seam allowance to the PJ leg. Repeat the above steps on your other leg. 



Give your garment a final press and you've got yourself a sassy pair of finished ruffle PJs! If you try this Jaimie PJ hack, you've got to tag us on Instagram @tillybuttons using #SewingJaimie - I can't wait to see your take on this ruffle hack (pssst imagine how good this would look on Safiya too!)


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Author: Abi Dyson