Being able to put Freya in mummy-made pyjamas always fills my heart with joy. It's so nice to put her in the cosiest fabric, cutest prints, and "tailor make" a new set following a growth spurt.

I also like to try out different patterns for this, too, for a few reasons. First of all, most PJ patterns are required to be pretty tight-fitting due to various fire regulations, and they don't always fit Freya "comfortably". Secondly, it's a great opportunity to try out new patterns! It doesn't hurt that it is so easy to adapt, too: take a regular T-shirt or leggings pattern, add some cuffs, and you have a new PJ set.

How funky is this racoon print? With the floral shirt, the lei around its neck and the straw hat, I'm almost certain that they are Hawaiian racoons! How could I resist the chance of putting Freya in a Hawaiian racoon PJ set?

And you know what the best part is? It is a non-directional print, which means that I can get more projects out of the fabric.

For the top, I used the Poppy & Jazz Elm T-shirt pattern (https://sewoverit.co.uk/product/elm-tshirt-sewing-pattern/), as I've been wanting to try the popper shoulder opening. I've been a fan of Poppy & Jazz since its launch, and am really pleased to try out a new-to-me pattern from the adorable range.

The pattern has two sleeve lengths, curve and straight hem, narrow and wide neckbands plus this press stud shoulder option. It also contains a good amount of ease, which is perfect for my little chubster. I chose the long sleeve and straight hem option, and made it in 2-3T (for a 2 year + 2 month old).

As excited as I was when it comes to the shoulder closure option, I struggled a bit to follow the instructions (steps 5 to 7 in particular). In case this helps anyone else, I'll try and explain this in plain English: Like a "normal" T-shirt, you will be trying to sew the neck band to the neckline the usual way (i.e right sides together at the raw edges, so that the seam allowance will flip down on the inside, and the band will flip up and add height to the neckline). Two exceptions: 1) it is done on the flat, starting from the left shoulder and finishing there, too, rather than in the round, and 2) the short ends of the band (i.e. the start and finishing points) have already been pre-finished first.

Other than that, the instructions also refer to notches at the left shoulder (where the poppers go) but on my version of the pattern, these notches are missing. Fear not - it's easy to identify where they are supposed to be anyway.

Once I got my head around the shoulder construction, mainly by looking at some ready-to-wear clothes with similar construction, the rest came together really nicely. I added some rose gold Prym poppers, because, you know, if anyone could pull off rose gold poppers, it would be those cool Hawaiin racoons!

For the bottoms, I used the free Lightning leggings by Made by Jack's Mum (https://madebyjacksmum.com/shop/lightninglegging/). I still can't believe the pattern is free, given the whole host of options it comes with! I went with a size 3T, relaxed fit legs with fluffy bum, a fabric waistband and ankle cuffs. I didn't follow the instructions for these, though -- I'm set in my ways when it comes to legging construction, and prefer the "shove one leg inside the other" method. The leggings took no time to come together.

I'm super pleased with how these have turned out, and it looks like little Freya agrees!

#minervamaker #minervamake #hawaiianracoon #sewingforkids #sewingfortoddlers #sewingjersey #poppyandjazzelmtshirt #mbjmlightningleggings