Owl Pyjama / Pajama case ~ Free Tutorial on how to make your own pyjama case

Back in October I made this sweet little pyjama case for one of my Little People and promised I would do a tutorial on how to make your own. For those of you wondering what a pyjama case is (or a pajama case for those friends across the pond), it’s like a little stuffed toy, except without the stuffing – because that’s where your pyjamas go during the day. Simple!

I’ve said I’ll post every week in 2013 so this is a bit of a cheat as it’s an old project, but I’ve been meaning to write it up ever since, so here goes;

 

 

 

• Materials Needed

  • Owl template (I sketched mine roughly to fit the size I wanted which was about 13″ tall and 12″ wide) front and back. The back needs to be a couple of inches longer than the front to accommodate the pocket.
  • Fabric for the outside of the owl
  • Thin wadding or batting for the owl – the fabric I used was pre-wadded (?) so I didn’t need this but would definitely line another one to give it some form
  • Fabric for the lining of the owl (optional – it just finishes the case off nicely but isn’t strictly necessary)
  • Scraps of felt for the feet (dark brown), beak (dark brown) and eyes (pale brown)
  • Stuffing for the feet
  • Two big buttons for the eyes
  • Scraps of material for the wings – you can use the same for the front and back of the wings, but I used two different patterns
  • A large scrap of material for the tummy
  • Embroidery thread for the eyes
  • Coordinating thread for the tummy

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How to Make Your Own Pyjama Case ~ nearly all steps have a corresponding photograph so you can see what the step is supposed to look like.

1. Cut out your pieces of fabric for the front and back of the owl (one set for the outside, one for the inside and one for the wadding if you’re using it). See the second picture in the slideshow to see what you’ll need. Remember the back of the owl needs to be longer than the front of  the owl by about 3″ or 4″. From the top of the head to the bottom of the owl, my front piece measures about 13″, and it’s just shy of 12″ wide.
2. Cut out all the embellishments (14 pieces plus two buttons).
3. Place the wings Wrong Sides Together [WST] and stitch up all but a 2-inch gap on the straight side (ignore the fact that the photo shows I left the gap on one of the curved edges!).  Turn right side out, press flat ensuring the gap seams are pressed flat inwards too. Stuff loosely.
4. Take the beak rhombus and fold it in half. Close stitch the two open sides of the beak – I used a contrasting (red) thread to stand out against the (brown) felt.
5. Place and pin the tummy fabric onto the front of the outer fabric, and sew around the edges with either a blanket stitch or a zig-zag. I used red thread for this.
6. Place the outer eyes fabric onto the front of the outer fabric and pin in place.
7. Cut a smaller circle of paper and pin in place onto the large outer eyes fabric ready to make small stitches to sew the eyes to the front fabric with a contrasting embroidery thread. Use this paper circle template to keep the eye stitches regular and circular.
8. Decide where you want the buttons of the eyes to go – different placings make all the difference in terms of how the owl looks – I’ve included a few examples in the photos. Stitch very securely in place.
9. Pin the beak in place and attach the top flat side of it to the front fabric of the owl, but be careful just to catch the underside of the beak without the thread being visible to the front.
10. Place the two halves of each claw/foot together and sew around the wiggly edges (using the same coloured thread as you used with the beak). Stuff the feet leaving the straight edges unstitched.
11. Pin the wings in place and use a large zigzag stitch to secure the wings to the body just by the straight edge. This will also close up the gap you left for turning.
12. Taking the back halves together, place and pin the owl lining and the owl outer fabrics together, WST. Stitch along the two straight edges of the two back halves. Flip them over so that they are the right way round and press along the straight edge.
13. With the lining fabric face down, place the bottom half of the owl’s back down. Then place the top half of the owl’s back down on top of the other half, overlapping a couple of inches, ensuring that the two halves together make up the same size as the front piece. Pin these back halves together.
14. On the front of the owl, fold and pin the wings inwards (so that they’re out of the way of the edges that you’re about to stitch.
15. Place the feet with the raw edge matching the raw edge of the bottom of the owl, and pin them inwards too. Make sure you pin through both sides of fabric.
16. Place and pin all the pieces together, with the owl body facing itself and the lining on the outside.
17. Sew the hem all around the edges. Because of the flap at the back, there is no need to leave a gap for turning!
18. Trim the corners for pointy ears before turning right side out.
19. Ta Daah! You’re done! Made By Yours Truly.  Now stuff the owl with some pyjamas, sit back and admire your handiwork.

If you’re short of pyjamas, you can always go ahead and make your own like I did for my baby boy.

I feel like making another one or two for my other children, but can’t decide on which animal to use for them. What would you make?