Mommy Solutions - Extending the Life of PJ's

Pajamas are something that I really don't like spending money on. All the kids do is wear them to bed. But, I guess they are kind of necessary...so, I try to get as much use out of them as possible. Take these two pairs of Isaac's pajamas for example:

They are both size 24 months. He wore them for 2 fall/winter seasons. Crazy, I know. But, he was a fat baby and has thinned out a lot. So, he can still wear the same clothes. Now the pants and sleeves on these are getting a little short. But, they are surprisingly in good shape and not stained. He's in need of some more summer pj's, so...I made them into summer pj's! I've done this with his pj's in the past. It is super easy! If you're working with knit pj's - which most pj's are (at least the ones that you'd want to use for summer pj's), then all you have to do is cut them into shorts/short-sleeve shirts. Because they are knit fabric, they will not fray or unravel in the wash. But, if you can sew, then you can make them look a little more professional if you'd like.

The green dinosaur shirt was really easy because it was a faux double-layer shirt. All I had to do was cut the lighter green fabric off. The way it was sewn, it didn't affect the seam of the sleeves. So, I just trimmed it close to the seam and that was it - short sleeve shirt. Can't get much easier than that!

Then I had him try on the pants to determine how short I wanted to cut them. I allowed a little extra for hemming. Then I just cut them, folded up the raw edge and sewed it. You can't even tell that these were not made like that!

For the second pair I had to hem the sleeves and the pants. I could have tried to match the thread with thread that was used on the original garment, but I didn't bother. I just used white. I still think they look pretty good and someone probably wouldn't guess that they had been altered. But, then again, who cares if they can tell???? They're just wearing them to bed!

And there you have it - a quick fix to get one more season out of these pj's. I think I've gotten my money's worth on these!!! :)

I've also made the shirts into tanks before as well. I took the trim from the cuffs of the sleeves or the pants and used it around the arm holes as trim for the tank. You could also use these tricks on regular clothes as well. Sweat pants to sweat shorts, t-shirts or long sleeve shirts to tanks. If you're a seamstress there are also some great repurposing or upcycling tutorials out there. I have several on my to-do list. I'll be sure to share them with you when I do! :)