Simplicity 2116 – a smashing sewing pattern

Simplicity 2116 pyjama’s pattern review. This is a sewing pattern for men and women. It includes elasticated pants, T-shirt for him, and a tank top vest and elasticated pants for her. I can say that this is easy to put on and take off if you are an older person.

Table of Contents

Simplicity 2116 is part of the It’s so easy range.

This pattern is sadly no longer available as part of the Simplicity range, however a good replacement in the current range will be Simplicity 1563. Simplicity 2116 is however still available on Ebay.

It is suitable for men and women.
Value for money as it includes, pants, t- shirt and tank top.
Size ranges from size 8 through to size 18 – USA Check sizes on the pattern back include a picture
Recommended fabrics include: stretch knit for tops, flannel, gingham, laundered cottons for the pants.

What views I made and what fabric I used.

I made view B, the t shirt, and view C the pants.
I used a printed jersey for the top and a plain jersey for the pants. How to sew with jersey fabric.

How did the fabric handle?

The jersey was a double knit and so it did not roll along the edge as some single thin jersey fabrics do. Buy jersey fabrics here.
It was perfect for this pattern and as I am writing this after I had finished them, I can say they are comfortable to sleep in.

How did they fit according to the size I chose?

This is a loose-fitting pattern as you need room in them when you sleep.
The t- shirt is boxy in shape so more suited to a man’s shape. – Changes I made:I cut out the tank top in my size and used it to alter the sides of the T-shirt, so it had a bit of shape to it.
The pants were a bit long, so I altered the length to fit me.

Overall assessment for Simplicity 2116.

Would I make it again?

Yes, this was a super easy pattern, I have in fact made myself more.

What skill set would this pattern suit?

This is suitable for anyone. The hardest parts would be the binding around the neck and the armholes if you were making the tank top.

How good were the instructions, fit and size.

The size I choose was perfect for me, it is loose fitting and that is how it fits, loosely but very comfortably. I completed a pair of these in one day.

To sew the pants – simplicity 2116:

Place the back of pants wrong side down. Lay the front of the pants right sides down on top of the back, matching the inner leg from crotch down. Sew it together from the crotch to to the leg hem. Repeat, so you have two panels of back and front leg pieces.
Lie one panel wrong side face down, place the other panel on top match around the crotch. Pin together matching the centre seam. Check you have back leg to back leg and front leg to front leg. Sew around the crotch to make the center seam.
Put right sides together and match up the outside leg seams. pin and sew from top to the hem.
Your pants now need a waist casing for the elastic and the hems turned up. I measure and press with my iron before I sew. I use 8 cord elastic and sew casings around to thread them through. This gives me a nice finish.
Sew the main waist casing down around the edge to the inside of the pants. Leave a section either side of the back centre seam open. The opening will be sewn closed once you have thread the elastic through.
Starting at the top of the sew a line of straight stitching all the way around matching the start and stop space left for threading. These lines must be wide enough apart to easily, by snuggly fit your elastic.
Measure your waist, take out about a quarter so you have to have a bit of stretch to hold the pants up. Cut your elastic to that measurement. I used a safety pin through the elastic to thread it through.
Thread a piece of elastic through each casing. This takes time and can sometimes be fiddly. use pins to anchor the elastic so you don’t pull it through and loose an end. Sew each end to its other end by hand. Make sure you have no twists. Once sewn together, you can sew the line to join and complete the casing. repeat till all lines have elastic.
Stretch the waist band out a number of times to evenly distribute the elastic evenly around the waist. Result, a nice waist band with an easy fit.

To sew the simplicity 2116 t- shirt.

Lie the back of the t-shirt wrong side down, lie the front right side down on top of the back. pin one shoulder right side to right side.
Cut a piece of ribbon or tape the length of the shoulder. place it across the shoulder and sew the shoulder seam. The tape or ribbon helps prevent the neckline from stretching out of shape.
Press the seam flat once you have finished sewing it. Sew the shoulder seam edge flat across the shoulder about 5mm away from the main seam line. At this point we have only sewn 1 shoulder seam.
Cut a straight strip of fabric about 7 to 8 cm wide from across your stretch fabric for the neck binding. Make sure you have too much rather than too little. Sew the strip around the neck edge starting at one side of the open shoulder. right side to right side. Gently pull the the strip as you sew, do not pull the t-shirt.
Fold the strip over and sew it down. trim all excess fabric. Sew up the other shoulder in the same way you did the first one.
With your neck completed, lie the t- shirt wrong side down and pin in the sleeves matching the mid point of the sleeves with the main shoulder seams and underarm. Sew the sleeves in.
Once your sleeves are sewn in put right sides together and pin from the waist to the sleeve cuff and sew each side seam up. All that is left is to fold the sleeve and waist hem, gently press and sew.