Personalized PJ Pants: Mix & Match Pockets!

Handmade pajama pants are the coziest

There's nothing quite like cozying up on the couch in a warm, comfy pair of pajama pants, and it's even more special when the pjs in question are personalized just for you! That's what I thought when I decided to make about a dozen pairs for my friends and family for Christmas. Making so many pants from scratch may sound crazy, but pajama pants are actually a fun, simple sewing project that makes wonderful gifts, especially in the cold, winter season.

To make the pants extra awesome, I made several sets with mix and match pockets representing special groups like my three college roomies. Each of the pairs of pants in the set wound up with one pocket of each of the other's fabrics. How cool is that?

And so it begins!

The first step in this project was finding a good pattern that included pockets and selecting fabric for each person. Since the roomies' favorite color is blue across the board, I decided to honor that with the fabric choices and pick patterns that further exemplified each person. As such, I found a Mickey Mouse pattern for the Disney lover, music notes for the musician and sharks for the marine biologist!

Pinning fleece is like sewing a marshmallow cloud.

While the majority of the fabrics I chose for these pants and others are flannels, I did end up opting for fleece for one of the roomies, partly because she lives in a colder climate, and partly because there were no good blue music-themed patterns available in flannel. 

The mix & match pockets come into play

Despite the difference in fabric, sewing the flannel and fleece together proved to be no problem at all. As a precaution for any sewing project, it's good to wash all the fabrics before measuring or cutting to make sure any shrinking and/or bleeding they plan to do gets done before the sewing.

da na... da na... da na da na da na da na!

Once sewn, I finished off the pants with matching ribbons and elastic. One of the reasons homemade pajama pants make such great for gifts is because you don't have to worry too much about sizing. Do make sure to measure though, as the "large" size on this pattern was definitely more of an XXL.

Musical Mouse Shark Pants!

With one trio of pants complete, and every other pocket a different matching fabric, I was excited to create my next set, this time for a group of sisters!

Pink pants in progress 

For these girls, I decided to make all the fabrics a shade of pink with different animals on each. The chosen fabrics ended up being polka dot and plaid Scottie dogs, green kittens and singing birds - perfect for each of the girls!

It's sewing cats and dogs!

Later in the game I realized I still had not made any pants for myself. Since that simply would not do, I set to making a matching set of two for myself and my best friend from second grade. 

Pattern Mash-up

When I asked what fabric she'd like and she said neon leopard print, I don't think she expected I'd actually find it! When all was said and done, both of these pants actually turned out to be some of my favorites.

Perfect for camping!

Along with the mix and match pockets pants, I also ended up making a few solo pants with normal pockets for other friends and family to keep everyone warm and cozy all the year long. They're so easy and fun to sew, I may even make some more for next year.

Even Batman likes pajama pants

For more crafty and cozy homemade gift ideas, learn how to arm knit the Literally Handmade Moebius Scarf or try your hand at the adorable Puff Ewoks!