How much fabric for pajamas, including a family set
How much fabric pajamas take depends on the width, the size and whether the print has a direction. Here pants and top from free FreeSewing patterns are computed for two adults and two kids, on flannel and jersey widths, separately and as a family set in one layout.
The numbers at a glance
All lengths for 150 cm wide fabric, cut in a single layer, pieces without a one-way print, with 1 cm seam allowance:
| 150 cm wide | Pants | Shirt | Pajamas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women | 1.05 m | 0.71 m | 1.76 m |
| Men | 1.53 m | 1.06 m | 2.25 m |
| Child 140 | 0.85 m | 0.56 m | 1.37 m |
| Child 116 | 0.71 m | 0.47 m | 0.93 m |
For the whole pajamas the table shows the shorter of two ways: all pieces in one layout, or pants and top as two layouts one after the other. All four pajamas together in one layout need 5.88 m, four separate ones added up 6.31 m.
On 110 cm wide flannel the women's pants need 1.96 m and the men's pants 2.25 m. A one-way print, nap or plaid adds more, see below.
The patterns and the measurements
I computed two free patterns from FreeSewing: the pull-on pants Paco with an elastic waist and the T-shirt Teagan. Joost De Cock designed and coded both, both are under the MIT licence. Exported with FreeSewing 4.10.2 and 1 cm seam allowance, Paco without pockets and without elastic at the leg hems.
The pants have 5 pieces: front and back leg, each as a mirrored pair, and the waistband. The top has 5 as well: front and back on the fold, the sleeves as a pair and a neck strip, 6 cm wide and as long as the neckline. Teagan does not draw the strip as its own piece, so I added it as a rectangle.
| Measurements in cm | Chest | Waist | Hips | Waist to floor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women | 92.5 | 75 | 101 | 105 |
| Men | 110.5 | 88.2 | 108.4 | 120.9 |
| Child 140 | 71 | 63 | 75 | 86 |
| Child 116 | 62 | 57 | 66 | 70 |
The adults are FreeSewing's measurement sets cisFemaleAdult34 and cisMaleAdult42. For the children, chest, waist, hips, back length, arm length and outside leg of sizes 116 and 140 come from the OTTOBRE design size chart. European kids' sizes go by height: size 116 fits a child about 116 cm tall. The other measurements, like neck, upper arm and crotch, I scaled down from an adult set in the matching ratio. Paco and Teagan are patterns for adults. Drafted with kids' measurements they show roughly how much fabric it takes, but that does not make them a tested kids' pattern.
Pajama pants in flannel
Computed for 110, 150 and 160 cm width, once with pieces that may lie either way round and once with all pieces one way:
| Pants | Pieces | 110 cm | 150 cm | 160 cm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women | any way | 1.96 m | 1.05 m | 1.05 m |
| one way | 1.96 m | 1.61 m | 1.17 m | |
| Men | any way | 2.25 m | 1.53 m | 1.16 m |
| one way | 2.26 m | 2.06 m | 2.05 m | |
| Child 140 | any way | 1.19 m | 0.85 m | 0.85 m |
| one way | 1.49 m | 0.85 m | 0.85 m | |
| Child 116 | any way | 0.71 m | 0.71 m | 0.71 m |
| one way | 0.95 m | 0.71 m | 0.71 m |
The women's pants need 1.05 m on 150 cm. The mirrored legs lie turned by 180 degrees, so their wide crotch curves interlock. That way all four leg pieces and the waistband fit side by side in one row. On 110 cm only three legs fit in the row and the fourth goes behind them: 1.96 m, about two leg lengths.
Flannel is brushed, so it often has a slight nap. Look at the fabric from both ends. If you see no difference, the pieces may lie either way round. If the print has a direction, like animals, trees or lettering, all pieces have to lie the same way. Then the legs no longer interlock, and on 150 cm one leg moves back: 1.61 m instead of 1.05 m.
For the men's pants the difference is biggest on 160 cm: 1.16 m with turned pieces, 2.05 m one way. For the kids' pants the direction costs nothing on 150 cm, size 140 needs 0.85 m, size 116 0.71 m.
Jersey top: single layer instead of folded
For the top I computed jersey at 150 and 160 cm width, in a single layer and, for comparison, folded lengthwise:
| Shirt | 150 cm, single layer | 160 cm, single layer | 150 cm, folded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women | 0.71 m | 0.65 m | 1.37 m |
| Men | 1.06 m | 0.99 m | 1.65 m |
| Child 140 | 0.56 m | 0.56 m | 1.10 m |
| Child 116 | 0.47 m | 0.47 m | 0.92 m |
Teagan has the front and back on the fold. Folded fabric has only one fold, both pieces need it, so they sit there one after the other: 1.37 m for the women's size. In a single layer both lie opened out side by side, the sleeves between them and the neck strip behind: 0.71 m.
In Single layer PatternNest opens fold pieces out to whole pieces by itself. In fold mode it takes the single-layer layout when that is shorter and tells you so. That is the case for all four tops, with a difference of up to 66 cm.
With nap, as on velour, or a one-way print the tops need at most 7 cm more.
Whole pajamas from one fabric
If everything comes from the same fabric, jersey for example, you put pants and top into one project. For comparison, two separate layouts one after the other, without a one-way print:
| Pajamas | Width | One layout | Two layouts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women | 150 cm | 1.83 m | 1.76 m |
| 160 cm | 1.63 m | 1.70 m | |
| Men | 150 cm | 2.25 m | 2.59 m |
| 160 cm | 2.18 m | 2.15 m | |
| Child 140 | 150 cm | 1.37 m | 1.41 m |
| 160 cm | 1.10 m | 1.41 m | |
| Child 116 | 150 cm | 0.93 m | 1.18 m |
| 160 cm | 0.90 m | 1.18 m |
Mostly the shared layout is shorter, for the size 116 child on 150 cm 0.93 m instead of 1.18 m.
In two cases it was the other way round. The women's pajamas on 150 cm need 1.83 m in one layout and 1.76 m as two. The men's on 160 cm 2.18 m against 2.15 m. PatternNest puts all pieces of a project into one layout and does not try splitting them into pants and top by itself. If it is tight, compute both ways: one project with only the pants, one with only the top.
Family set: four pajamas in one layout
For the family set I put all four sizes into one layout and compared it with the four separate ones. Separately means: each person their own layout, the lengths added up, for the whole pajamas the shorter way from above.
| Family set | Width | Separately | Together |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 pants | 110 cm | 6.11 m | 4.91 m |
| 150 cm | 4.14 m | 3.63 m | |
| 160 cm | 3.77 m | 3.50 m | |
| 4 tops | 150 cm | 2.80 m | 2.33 m |
| 160 cm | 2.67 m | 2.21 m | |
| 4 pajamas | 150 cm | 6.31 m | 5.88 m |
| 160 cm | 5.78 m | 5.59 m |
Together it is shorter on every width. Four pants on 150 cm need 3.63 m instead of 4.14 m, so 51 cm less. Four whole pajamas on 150 cm 5.88 m instead of 6.31 m.
Flannel pants and jersey tops are two fabrics and two projects: four pants need 3.63 m on 150 cm, four tops 2.21 m on 160 cm jersey.
With a one-way print four pants on 150 cm need 3.95 m together instead of 5.23 m separately, four whole pajamas 6.10 m instead of 6.61 m.
Plaid flannel with pattern matching
With plaid, the cross stripes should sit at the same height on both legs. So I computed PatternNest's pattern matching as well: a plaid with a 10 cm repeat in length and width, all pieces one way, and the hems of all four legs on the same cross line of the plaid.
| Pants | Width | Any way | One way | Plaid matched |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women | 110 cm | 1.96 m | 1.96 m | 2.00 m |
| 150 cm | 1.05 m | 1.61 m | 1.90 m | |
| 160 cm | 1.05 m | 1.17 m | 1.60 m | |
| Men | 110 cm | 2.25 m | 2.26 m | 2.26 m |
| 150 cm | 1.53 m | 2.06 m | 2.16 m | |
| 160 cm | 1.16 m | 2.05 m | 2.08 m |
For the women's pants on 150 cm that means 1.90 m instead of 1.61 m one way without matching and 1.05 m with turned pieces. On 110 cm matching costs little, 2.00 m instead of 1.96 m, because the pants already need about two leg lengths there.
A plaid with another repeat gives other numbers. The plaid pants download holds the settings, and you change the repeat to your fabric under Fabric pattern. I did not compute matching for the kids' pants or the tops.
Work out your own pajamas
- Export pants and top in your size with seam allowance, as SVG, DXF or vector PDF. For a family set, each size on its own.
- Prewash the fabric, flannel and cotton jersey often shrink. Then measure the usable width from selvage to selvage.
- Open PatternNest and pick every file that comes from this fabric with Choose files… under Pattern pieces. Set pairs with Cut as pair (mirrored).
- If the fabric has a one-way print or a nap, set the direction of every piece to one-way (nap).
- Pick the width and Single layer and click Calculate layout. PatternNest opens fold pieces out by itself.
- If it is tight, also compute pants and top as two projects and take the shorter way.
- For plaid, set the repeat under Fabric pattern and use Match pattern to say which points should sit on one line.
Download and check
The .pnest projects hold the pieces and settings, not a finished layout. Open one in PatternNest with Open .pnest and click Calculate layout. They are set to Single layer. The SVG files are layouts at 1:1 scale, as PatternNest exports them. The pieces are outlines with seam allowance for computing, without markings and without instructions. To sew, get Paco and Teagan in your measurements from FreeSewing.
- Pajamas, women, 150 cm: project (.pnest)
- Pajamas, men, 150 cm: project (.pnest)
- Pajamas, child 140, 150 cm: project (.pnest)
- Pajamas, child 116, 150 cm: project (.pnest)
- Family set, four pants, 150 cm: project (.pnest)
- Family set, four tops, 160 cm: project (.pnest)
- Family set, four pajamas, 150 cm: project (.pnest)
- Plaid pants, women, with pattern matching, 150 cm: project (.pnest)
- Pants, women, 150 cm: cutting layout (SVG)
- Family set, four pants, 150 cm: cutting layout (SVG)
- Plaid pants, women, 150 cm: cutting layout with plaid (SVG)
- FreeSewing MIT licence (text)
How the numbers were checked
Every layout passed PatternNest's check on the real outlines: no overlap, at least 1 cm spacing, everything on the fabric. On top of that come 425 cross-checks: narrower fabric is never shorter than wider, one way never shorter than any way, plaid never shorter than without matching, the family set together never longer than the separate layouts added up, and no length is below the pieces' area divided by the width. For the single-layer layouts PatternNest's nesting ran to the end, and the final result counted. Computed with the version of PatternNest that went online on 5 November 2026.
Further reading
Chinos with all their pocket pieces on four widths are in How much fabric for pants. How far a conversion between widths can be off is in Fabric width conversion, what nap costs in One-way fabric. How to lay out pieces without any tool is in Lay out pattern pieces, and a general overview in How much fabric do I need.
Sources
FreeSewing Paco and Teagan: design and code Joost De Cock, MIT licence, exported with FreeSewing 4.10.2, 1 cm seam allowance. Measurement sets cisFemaleAdult34 and cisMaleAdult42 from FreeSewing. Kids' measurements for sizes 116 and 140 from the OTTOBRE design size chart, read on 5 November 2026, other kids' measurements derived. Layout computation and article: Cayan / Madegrain.