This is one of those posts I’m glad I waited on to write. By the time I got to photographing and writing about this top, I already decided I didn’t like it. Here’s the story:

You will recognize the fabric from the unicorn hoodies I made and also as leggings for my daughter’s doll. I somehow bought way too much, but loved the colour so it wasn’t a problem at all. It also magically matched the pyjama pants I made in the fall so I figure this was the perfect opportunity to finally make a dedicated sleeping shirt.

I had tons of fabric left, so I had a lot of room to pick a T-shirt design I liked. I knew I wanted something with dropped shoulders (or at least oversized) that wouldn’t necessarily need to be graded. I also knew I wanted some kind of rounded hem for the same reason. This Jalie pattern I found seemed to fit the bill and I guessed it was time I get around to actually making a Jalie anything. I know, I know.

I liked, in theory, how many sizes came with the pattern. Instead of an easy S, M, L sizes went up in 1/8 inch increments. That said, I did not find the sizing on this shirt to be appropriate. I went with the size the chart recommended, but I find the shirt ill-fitting instead of slouchy.

The shoulder seams fit at my shoulder, but I find the sleeves the worst part. The armscye dips very low and I find restricts movement somewhat. I often sleep on my stomach with my arms hugging the pillow and wake with drag lines and wrinkles all over the sleeves where the fabric has been pulled. The coverstitch seams on both sleeve gems have popped from stress.

I shortened the shirt my standard 1.5 inches, but still find it hits at the wrong spot. It dips too low in the front still, but comes up quite high on the sides and shows a bit of skin when I move. These seams also popped at the sides. I maybe should have used wooly nylon thread, but I also just think that the rounded hem couldn’t take all the movement that happens during sleep.

Even though the fabric matches perfectly with my pyjama pants, I don’t often wear them together because I find both so big-looking on their own that together they don’t make me feel like the put-together PJs I was hoping for. Depending on how badly the seams continue to disintegrate, this may get cut down to kids clothes this spring.