I am a big fan of dinosaurs – I have dinosaur mugs, dinosaur notebooks and three dinosaur t-shirts – so the Esoterra print cotton from Art Gallery Fabrics is, let's be honest, a dream come true for me.
Despite my intense desire to watch Jurassic Park on repeat, I do try and resist the urge to spout out random dinosaur facts in the middle of a conversation, because I understand that not everyone has the same affinity for the cretaceous period as I do. This fabric is perfect for closeted (and not-so closeted) dinosaur lovers, because the print is a bit like an ink-blot test – you only notice that it's an incredibly rad triceratops print after looking at it for a few seconds.
I decided to go for pyjama bottoms – what could be more comforting than walking around with triceratops legs at bed time?! And used the Sew Over It Ultimate Pyjamas pattern for what feels like the millionth time. If you're new to sewing or are building up to making your first pair of trousers, I'd really recommend starting off with pyjama bottoms – you get a feel for how trousers are made without the whole fitting conundrum! My favourite PJ patterns are either the SOI Ultimate Pyjamas, or Margot Pyjamas from Tilly and The Buttons – Margot isn't a pattern that you can buy on its own, but comes with loads of other really great beginner patterns in Tilly's book, Love At First Stitch (definitely a good purchase!) Sew Over It and Tilly are both independent pattern companies, and go that extra mile in making their instructions thorough and easy to understand, with illustrations and photos to help you along the way if you get stuck.
The fabric is lovely and easy to work with – scissors glide through wonderfully, and seams can be pressed flat in a jiffy! Being 100% cotton, it also makes a great choice for sleepwear as it's so breathable, so there's no chance of waking up all hot and sweaty.
The background colour of the fabric is sort of a greenish-black (very technical description for you, there!) rather than being a pure, saturated black. The triceratops heads are a super punchy pink, and I think the green element of the background makes them stand out even more! I'm really glad that I paired the cotton with the pattern that I did, because I wanted the print to remain as full as possible rather than being broken up by panels and whatnot. In the end, I decided against adding ribbon to the waist just because I didn't want it to look too busy! All in all, I'm really pleased with my make, and I'll definitely be getting a lot of wear out of my dino-centric PJ bottoms!
Follow Harriet on instagram @hobblinghandmades, her sewing blog at www.hobblinghandmades.com & her brand new business that is all about caring for your clothes called ClothingCareCo
Insanely cute – I love these so much!