Okay, this make is a bit far removed from my usual taste, but I love this mad fabric.

Ages ago, during my first experience of online fabric shopping, I bought this fabric from Modes4u with the intention of making a birthday present for my sister. She loves french bulldogs and it just seemed too hilarious and cute to pass up.

I ordered 1.5m, knowing very little at that point about how much fabric it takes to make a garment. My order arrived, and was promptly shoved in the fabric cupboard, where it stayed until last week (sorry Lizzie).

Lizzie’s birthday is on halloween, and as I had failed miserably to make her something last year, I felt the time had come to bring out the bulldogs. 

I took a long time to decide what to make with this fabric, novelty fabric garments can be tricky to pull off.  My first thought was to make a dress, but I felt it was unlikely she would find many occasions to wear it. I eventually decided night-wear would be most appropriate considering the fabric choice.

I fell in love with Heather’s Carolyn PJs pattern the moment I saw it. I am a massive fan of Closet Case Files, and this is my favourite of her patterns, although they are all fabulous. I have been meaning to make a pair for ages, but have never managed to find the time. Finally I did, and man am I hooked. I see many pairs coming my way. I have some brushed cotton polka dot fabric waiting in the wings for this pattern. I love a good pair of PJs.

Anyway back to the Bulldog PJs. The fabric is 100% cotton and therefore nice to work with, however it does fray a lot.

I found these came together really easily with the help of Heather’s instructions. They were an extremely satisfying make as the construction was relatively simple, but the finish looks really professional. I especially love the addition of the cuffs and the faux fly front.

It was tricky pattern matching this garment due to the size of the bulldog pattern. This is an area I need to work on.

If I’m being fussy, the waistband seam was slightly uneven on the inside, so I will make sure to rectify that with my next pair, but as it’s on the inside, it won’t be visible anyway.

I hope Lizzie approves of these shorts, I would have loved to make the matching top, but unfortunately didn’t have enough yardage this time.

I really enjoyed this make and thoroughly recommend this pattern. Happy Birthday Lizzie! 🙂