The Craftiest Workshop

Having four males in our family, we have had a lot of plaid pyjama pants purchased over the years. Even I like wearing plaid pj bottoms. Some of the favourite pairs get worn until one of two things happen: the groin area gets ripped beyond repair or the waistband elastic dries out and breaks. I have found a few uses for these unwearable bottoms.

After years being on Pinterest, I have pinned a number of plaid projects I wanted to try . I decided to see how many of them I could recreate using one pair of PJ pants.

1. Plaid Star

Take a wire hanger. If you have the flimsy white ones, they work better.

Using a pair of needle nosed pliers, open the top of the hanger.

Using your hands and the pliers create a rough star shape and wrap the loose ends around the hanger.

Cut one of the pyjama legs off. Try to stay as close to the seams as possible. Cut along the inseams to get just a front or back panel of the one leg.

Cut strips following the plaid lines. For my stars, I used the light sections for one and the darker sections for the other. I started where the star was joined using my hot glue gun to attach the end of the fabric strip. I wrapped it around gluing as I went so it would not slide. I kept adding strips until the entire star was covered. These would make nice outdoor decorations or hung in a window.

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2. Plaid Mitten Ornament

For this one, I drew a mitten on a piece of cereal box cardboard. I folded a large piece of the fabric. I placed the cardboard cut out over the fabric trying to keep the lines so they went from cuff to mitten tip. Holding the folded fabric tightly, I cut out the shape and had two pieces the same size. I pinned them together in a few spots and sewed them using a running stitch. Just before I was done sewing, I kept a small hole and pushed in some batting. I then sewed the rest of the mitten closed. I decided to add a felt cuff, some red buttons and a burlap string bow.

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3. Rustic Star Ornament

Using a star cookie cutter, I traced it on cardboard and on my wider burlap ribbon. Using a smaller star cutter, I traced a star on the fabric. I glued them in layers and added a button to the middle and a burlap string for hanging.

Note: I discovered after that adding modge podge to the edges of the burlap, prevents it from fraying as you work. I will try that next time.

4. Plaid Christmas Tree Ornament

I have these large copper cookie cutters and rarely use them because each one is about six inches long. I used my tree cookie cutter for this next project. I traced the cutter onto the folded fabric keeping the plaid lines from tree top to bottom. I pinned the two pieces together, sewed them using a whip stitch adding batting just before I was done. I sewed different coloured buttons onto the tree; it was a bit tricky to hide the knot. I looped the burlap string through a hole on the back of the star button then sewed the button to the tree top.

5. Plaid Heart Ornament

I made use of my cookie cutters again and traced a heart onto the folded fabric. I pinned the two pieces and sewed a running stitch around leaving a bit of an edge. Just before finishing, I pushed in some batting. I just cut the edge a bit all the way around to make it look frayed. I sewed the button on, right through the heart. On the other side I glued the ribbon and another button to hide the knot.

6. Mason Ring Wreath Ornament

I have a few wide mouth mason jar rings so I decided to try to make a mini wreath like my recycled wreaths. I tied strips of the fabric (alternating light and dark), about 1/2 ” wide and 5″ long placing the knot on the outside of the ring. After tying a full knot, I trimmed the pieces down until I was satisfied with the look. If the strips are too short initially, it gets hard to tie a knot. I glued on a burlap bow and a button then tied a burlap loop for hanging.

7. Plaid Acorn Garland

I am not sure how many of my readers will have access to acorns but this next project is so cute. My mother in-law gave me a bag of acorns along with a variety of pine cones. Each acorn is separated with bottoms and tops. This is one project I have had in my plans for awhile. I used the same strips as in the mason ring wreath. Using my hot glue gun, I glued the burlap string to the acorn top, added more glue and then put the top of the acorn on the bottom; this secures the acorn on the string. I then tied on one fabric knot and continued the pattern. I eyeballed how long to make the garland but it turned out a perfect length for me to tape it above our fireplace. We don’t have a mantle per say, just a ledge about one inch deep. I taped the ends on the ledge and let it hang down.

8. Plaid Hand Warmers

These are a super easy project as there is no tracing. All you have to do is cut out the same pattern twice using the plaid lines as your guide. After cutting, you pin and sew together. For this one I used a whip stitch. I created a funnel with a piece of paper and poured in some rice. Once I liked the weight of it, I sewed up the rest. It is a perfect size to keep in a pocket to warm up your hands on a cold day. 45 seconds in the microwave is all it takes.

9. Neck Warmer

Using the same plan as above that I used for the hand warmers, I created a large version of heat pack. Same idea as with the hand warmers, cutting it out using the plaid lines. I sewed it this time using a more decorative type of stitch (not sure what it would be called). I thought it was a blanket stitch but have since figured out it is different; maybe a reverse blanket stitch??

After a bit of research, I have discovered that flax seeds work better in these heat pads as they hold the heat for longer.

COLD PACK…We always had a cloth pack in our freezer when our kids were small. It had material with bees on it and any time one of the kids fell or was upset, they always wanted “the bee”. In the freezer it does not get as cold as an ice pack but can still provide relief, especially for an upset child.

After making these nine different things, I hadn’t used much more than one full leg of the pyjama bottoms. I plan to make a plaid pillow and table runner using squares from a few different bottoms. Next time you think about throwing away plaid PJ bottoms, ask yourself if you would first like to try to repurpose your PJ’s.