Simplicity 2738

Logan is nearing the upper size limit for his usual PJ pattern, so I thought I'd try out something new for him. The only thing I don't love about the Butterick pattern I always use is that the facings tend to fold up over the buttonholes. It's a minor annoyance, but after making Myra's PJ's with the stitched down facing, I thought it might be a nice thing to try for Logan, too.

And so we have Simplicity 2738, with a faced V neckline. The pants are still Simplicity 2290. They are perfect, so why mess with a good thing. There are a couple of things I like about this pattern. Since I was looking for this neckline style, I am happy with that. The facings are nice and deep, so even without topstitching them down, they'd have probably stayed in place. The fit overall is quite slim. This is a size 5, which is the same size I used for his last pair of PJs, but these are much smaller over all. I suspect this is due to the "unisex" nature of the pattern. They always seem to be drafted more for girls.

You can see a little better here the details off the boy. The top is also quite short. Combined with the snug fit elsewhere, he won't be wearing these for long. I also noticed that the sleeve cap is quite high. Like girlie high, and difficult to ease into the armscye. The sleeve length is good though, so I'm not sure going up a size would solve my difficulties.

On the plus side, I really do like this neckline. The Simplicity directions call for topstitching 1/4 inch from the edge of the neckline and omit understitching, I prefer the look of a facing when it is understitched, even if I am topstitching as well, so I did that. I placed my topstitching so that the line would be continuous with the pocket edgestitching. This was 1 1/4 inch from the neckline edge. I really like the way it looks and the facing is very secure.

Aren't the buttonholes pretty? My Singer has a 5/8 keyhole buttonhole template, so I decided to get fancy. That machine makes the nicest buttonholes. Since it was threaded for the buttonholes, I did most of the  topstitching on the singer as well. Now that she lives in the same room as the rest of my machines, I'm really going to get to sew with her more.

Overall, I think this is a reasonably decent pattern. For Logan, I prefer the fit of the Butterick. He has his daddy's broad shoulders. I also think that for any child it should be lengthened. Logan is pretty average height and it lands right at his waist. I really do like the neckline though, so I may morph this neckline onto our Butterick TNT.