Laura’s Stella Hoodie and Juno PJs

Laura went for a full set of cosies with November’s tie dye cotton jersey in the Luxury Box and made a Tilly and the Buttons Stella Hoodie paired with the Juno Pyjama Bottoms from the books Stretch and Make It Simple

We all know the importance of self-care, although most of us are often guilty of neglecting it. If you’re reading this, then like me, sewing is probably one of the ways that we have our “me-time”, even if just a snatched moment at our machine or pinning a seam.

For my make this month, I wanted to make a cosy loungewear set – perfect for those lazy days and chilly evenings under a blanket watching tele.

Inspired by many talented makers, I had wanted to try the ice-dying technique with some fabric, but such is life, I have ended up not quite getting around to it. So, I was absolutely thrilled to get this amazing jersey that saves me the job! The colours are just so vibrant and joyful.

I went for a Tilly and the Buttons double whammy with the Stella Hoodie from the Stretch book, paired with the Juno pyjama bottoms from the Make It Simple book. I think it is often easy to forget the patterns that we get in books, so it was nice to rekindle these.

I started off with the hoodie, the first time I am making something with a hood! As we all come to expect from a TATB pattern, the instructions were excellent, holding your hand through every step.

I decided to up the funk factor and make the hood lining out of a couple of fat quarters from September’s box. In my head the blue brushstrokes and watercolour theme on the FQ’s were akin to the tie-dye effect of this jersey. It took a little manoeuvring to manipulate the curves of the side pieces to the straight centre piece (kind of like princess seams), but it wasn’t too much bother and I love the contrast.

There is an optional kangaroo pocket piece which I of course added on – I need somewhere to store my snacks! I lined this piece with some snuggly fleece (leftover from my snood tutorial a few months ago) to keep my hands cosy.

The sleeves are finished with cuffs that I made in the main fabric, but you can easily substitute with cuffing fabric. For the hem however, I have kept raw as when I tried it on, I didn’t want to sacrifice any length. An extra inch would have been perfect so I will adjust that on my pattern for next time – yes, there will be lots of “next times” with this pattern. I love it.

I picked out some lilac cotton drawstring cord from a random shop on eBay for the hood. And of of course, a dreamy hoodie such as this wouldn’t be complete without one of the Little Rosy Cheeks labels that were in last month’s box.

The Juno pyjamas are already a tried and tested pattern in my repertoire, so this was a quick and easy make.

The only change I made was to the waistband construction. Instead of sewing the elastic straight onto the fabric, I made a channel instead. I find this method much easier and I can adjust the length of the elastic as needed without any bother. It also gives a neater finish.

I probably wouldn’t wear the bottoms out of the house, but the hoodie is far too good to not be seen! It will double-up as a layer to wear on dog walks and the suchlike.