Nightshirt

As a little kid I always wore a long flannel nightgown to bed.  You know the kind:  red plaid with a lacy color that screamed '80s.  Then I discovered flannel sheets; so much warmer than normal sheets.  Alas, flannel sheets and flannel sleepwear don't mix.  It's a little like veclro - get into the bed and don't move until morning because nothing's gonna budge.

Then I discovered a long nightshirt that was made of flannel back satin.  Perfect.  Fuzzy warm without the velcro.  But it's amazing how hard it is to find as just a nightshirt.  Stores seem to carry two-piece sets and I didn't want the pajama bottoms. <sigh>

I was folding the laundry a few weeks ago and realized my old night shirt was very similar to a button-down shirt I had made.  I loved the shirt pattern and have been meaning to make another.  Hmm... find some flannel back satin, change the cuffs, add about four inches and it would be the perfect night shirt.  Right.  Why look for a new pattern when I can hack apart and modify an old one?

So I gave it a try and it turned out just as I envisioned.  Working with the flanneled satin wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared.  The whole thing whipped together in a few hours.  I admit I totally cheated.  I simplified the cuff and sleeve to remove the button.  I didn't bother interfacing the front or collar.  I skipped most of the top stitching for both the cuff and the front of the shirt.  I rolled-stitched the bottom hem.  And those five buttons down the front?  There's no button holes.  I sewed buttons and both sides together in one fell swoop.  It's a pullover that looks like a button-up.

It's so comfy!  I think I need to buy more material and make another one.