The skirt is two rectangles. Width of each: three-quarters of H plus 2 cm – together that makes one and a half times the hip, which gathers into soft, even folds (a fuller skirt uses twice H in total; a slimmer one, one and a quarter). Length of each: L + 9 cm, which allows 5 cm for the waist casing and 4 cm for the hem.

The pyjama is two rectangles, one per leg. Width of each: half of (H + 16 cm of ease) plus 4 cm for seams. Length: L + 9 cm, as for the skirt. Each rectangle is folded in half lengthwise, the fold becoming the outside of the leg – so a pyjama has no side seams at all. One shallow curve is then cut for the seat: on the open (raw) edges of each folded piece, measure down from the top by the rise, D = a quarter of H + 5 cm (+ 2–3 cm for a low, relaxed fit). From that point draw a gentle J-curve up to the top edge, ending about a tenth of H in from the open edge, and cut through both layers. If a well-fitting pyjama already exists in the house, fold it in half and lay it on: its curve checks yours.

Cut everything on the straight grain, after pre-washing and pressing, with the plan chalked on before the scissors touch the cloth.

The skirt

1. Seam the sides. Pin the two rectangles right sides together and sew both side seams at 1 cm, backstitching at the ends. Press the seams open and finish the edges (Module 6, Seam finishes without an overlocker). Look for: the two panels exactly the same length at both seams – trim level now if not.
2. First fitting. Tack a quick 2 cm fold at the top, slip the tube over the wearer and pin to a comfortable waist height. Check the length, standing; mark changes with chalk, then remove the tacking. Look for: a hem parallel to the floor.
3. Make the waist casing. Press the top edge down 1 cm, then 3.5 cm. Stitch close to the lower fold all round, leaving an 8 cm opening at one side seam. Stitch a second row 3 mm from the top fold. Look for: an even casing – chalk a guide line as you did in Project 3.
4. Fit the elastic. Stretch-test it round the wearer’s waist – comfortable to breathe, firm enough to hold cloth – and cut at that length plus 2 cm for the join. Thread it through with the safety pin, flat. Look for: no twist – pin the free end to the skirt so it cannot slip inside.
5. Join and close. Overlap the elastic ends 2 cm and sew a firm square of stitching through both. Let it pull back inside, even out the gathers, and stitch the opening closed. Anchor the elastic by stitching vertically through casing and elastic at both side seams, so it can never twist in the wash. Look for: gathers spread evenly, no bunching at the opening.
6. Hem. Try the skirt on once more, confirm the length, then press 1 cm and 3 cm to the wrong side and stitch the double-fold hem (Module 6, Hems by machine). Press the whole skirt. Look for: an even hem depth, and a pressed edge – the press is half the hem.

The pyjama

1. Sew each inner leg. Fold each rectangle right sides together along its length and sew the open edges from the hem up to where the J-curve begins, at 1 cm. Press open and finish the edges. Look for: both legs finishing at exactly the same point below the curve.
2. Join the legs. Turn one leg right side out and slide it inside the other, right sides together, matching the curved edges and the inner-leg seams. Sew the whole rise in one U-shaped seam, front waist to back waist, at 1 cm – slowly on the curve (Module 4, Your first seams: lines, corners and curves) – then sew it again 2 mm inside the first: this seam carries every sit and squat. Look for: the two inner-leg seams meeting exactly at the bottom of the U.
3. Clip and finish the curve. Snip the curved allowance every 2 cm, not through the stitching, zig-zag the edges together, and pull the legs apart into trousers. Press. Look for: a rise seam that lies smooth, not strained, when the trousers are held up.
4. First fitting. Tack a quick fold at the waist and try them on the wearer. Check the rise (can they sit comfortably?), the width, and the length, standing. Look for: ease to sit and squat – a pyjama that only fits standing up fails its one job.
5. Casing, elastic, hems. Exactly as the skirt, steps 3–6: press 1 cm + 3.5 cm, stitch leaving an opening, stretch-test and thread the elastic, join, close, anchor at the two side folds – then confirm length and sew a 3 cm double-fold hem on each leg. Look for: both legs hemmed to the same length, measured from the rise seam.

• Measure the wearer the same day you cut. Measurements from memory are the biggest cause of poor fit.
• Write W, H, L and D on a card and pin it to the cloth until cutting is done.
• Hem last, always. Waist height changes the length; a hem sewn first ends up wrong.
• Stretch-test, don’t calculate, the elastic. Rules of thumb (waist minus 3–5 cm) start you off, but elastics differ; the wearer’s comfort is the measurement.
• Quarter-mark the elastic and the casing with pins before closing, and match them – gathers come out even by construction.
• Anchor stitches are not optional. Ten seconds of vertical stitching at each side stops a lifetime of twisted elastic.
• Sew the rise twice. No single seam on a garment works harder.
• Cut children’s versions from the same plan – the letters do the resizing. Add 2 cm of growing room to L and let the hem down next year.

The elastic twisted inside the casing.

1. Feel along the waistband, work the twist to the casing opening (unpick 8 cm if you closed it), straighten, and re-close.
2. Then anchor through casing and elastic at the sides so it cannot twist again.
3. Prevention: keep the elastic pinned flat while threading, and anchor-stitch before the garment is ever worn.

The waist is too tight or too loose.

1. Unpick the casing opening, pull the join out, re-overlap the elastic shorter or add a piece with two firm joins, and re-close.
2. If the cloth itself is too narrow at the top (it strains over the hip going on), the casing is not the problem – see the next fault.
3. Prevention: stretch-test on the wearer before cutting the elastic, and remember the garment must pull on over the hips: the waist opening, relaxed, is elastic plus gathers, so the cloth width must exceed H.

The skirt gathers bunch in one place and lie flat in another.

1. Open the anchor stitches and shuffle the cloth along the elastic until even, then re-anchor.
2. Check nothing pinches the casing – a too-narrow stretch holds gathers in place; re-stitch it wider.
3. Prevention: quarter-mark elastic and casing and match the pins before closing.

The pyjama cuts in at the seat, or the rise tears its stitches.

1. Unpick the rise over the strained section and re-sew it 1 cm deeper into the curve – a deeper scoop adds room exactly where it is needed. Test by sitting before finishing the edges.
2. If stitches popped, re-sew the whole curve twice with a slightly longer stitch and zig-zag the clipped allowance.
3. Prevention: use D = H ÷ 4 + 5 cm honestly, check against an existing pyjama, and do the sit-and-squat fitting before the casing goes on.

The hem dips or rises at one point.

1. Unpick the hem over that stretch, re-press to a chalk line measured from the stitched casing seam, and re-stitch.
2. Re-check on the wearer with the garment at its real height – a hem can look uneven only because the waist sat askew.
3. Prevention: mark hems on the body, standing straight, with a second person helping – never on the folded cloth alone.

The two pyjama legs come out different widths or lengths.

1. Different lengths: level both hems to the shorter leg, measuring from the rise seam.
2. Different widths: unpick the wider leg’s inner seam and re-sew it to match the narrower one, then re-finish.
3. Prevention: cut both rectangles together, one on top of the other, and chalk the J-curve through both at once.

• For women: the skirt at ankle length in soft cotton is an everyday petticoat-style skirt; at knee length in a print, a summer skirt.
• For men: the pyjama in checked cotton is the classic lounge pair; cut L to just below the ankle. A nada drawstring through the same casing (Project 3) instead of elastic gives the traditional finish – or both: elastic for hold, nada for ceremony.
• For children: shorts are the same pyjama stopped at D + 25 cm or so; a twirly skirt uses twice H of width. Elastic 2 cm wide sits softer on small waists.
• For gifting: lounge pyjamas, rolled and tied with nada, folded into the Project 3 bag made from the same cloth – a complete handmade gift set. Take W, H and L quietly from a garment the person already wears if the gift is a surprise.
• Festival wear: the skirt in a shot cotton with a deep contrasting hem band (a folded strip caught into the hem seam) dresses it up without a single new technique.

• Cutting from guessed measurements instead of W, H and L taken that day.
• Hemming before the waist is finished, then finding the garment short.
• Cutting the elastic to the waist measurement exactly – unstretched elastic holds nothing up.
• Skipping the tacked fittings to save ten minutes, and unpicking for an hour instead.
• Sewing the pyjama rise once, unclipped – the first deep squat finds it.

• Give the finished garment a full press: seams first, then hem, then waist with the gathers settled evenly.
• Wash as the pre-washed cloth taught you it behaves; dry elastic waists in shade – sun ages elastic.
• When the elastic eventually gives, unpick the anchor stitches and the opening and thread a new one: ten minutes, because you built it to be repaired.
• Keep the measurement card with the offcuts; next year’s pair starts from this year’s card.

• Did you measure the wearer, in person, before cutting?
• Did the wearer sit and squat in it before you sewed the casing?
• Is the elastic flat, anchored, and comfortable?
• Was the hem the last thing you sewed?
• Would you let the wearer leave the house in it? (Honest answer required.)

Five yeses: you have made clothing. Module 8 shows where that skill can take you.