08 Jul Soulmate/Sleepmate/Secura
Such a good feeling waking up in a lovely pair of PJs!
Greetings from the gazebo, a colorful escape and peaceful refuge to start my day. In April, I borrowed a pair of Julie’s Carolyn Pajamas by Closet Case Patterns. (She’s sewn seven pairs – seriously). At last I have my own. If you’re a Bedhead fan then you’ll love this pattern! (Check out Bedhead’s Liberty PJs here.)
I sewed the pajamas in Amy Butler’s latest fabric design, Soulmate (Free Spirit Fabrics). Amy’s latest collection features 24 designs in 3 color ways of garment-friendly poplin! Since Amy’s fabrics are color co-ordinated companion fabrics, I used contrast wherever possible.
For the shirt, I sewed the front and back bodice, lower pocket and arms in Soul Mate It Takes Two in bone.
The cuffs, collar, upper pocket and facings were sewn in Soul Mate’s Power Point, Cocoa. The collar, facings, pocket and cuffs were piped in turquoise.
As a newbie to embroidery, I’m exploring my new machine‘s capabilities and embroidered the pocket with my monogram.
(Hoping to order monogram software soon! ) The process took less than 5 minutes and I continue to be awed by the unlimited possibilities of the Creative 4.5.
Last but not least! ……
Have you heard of Secura?
Coats & Clark recently introduced me to its Secura Heat Activated Button Thread.
Available in six colors, this innovative thread is heat activated by steam which causes the thread to lock to itself. No more loose buttons or embellishments! Simply attach the button with the thread and steam with your iron.
My preferred taste is to use smaller buttons for shirts, unless I want a decorative look.
I love the outcome of the PJs so much, I ordered fabric to make long and short bottoms!
The bottoms are sewn in the reverse colors of the top. This time the main parts (legs) are sewn in the Power Point Cocoa and the contrast (waistband and cuffs) is sewn in It Takes Two. I piped the pockets and the cuffs for a polished result.
I think the two pieces go together just great and look forward to sewing the long bottoms as fall approaches.
The only downside of my new PJs is not wanting to get dressed 😉
Many thanks to Free Spirit Fabrics for providing Amy Butler’s beautiful Soulmate fabric, and a huge thank you to Coats & Clark for introducing me to the awesome Secura thread!
Happy Saturday to all!
Marion
Posted at 07:12h, 08 JulySo cute. I love it.
Happy weekend
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 07:15h, 08 JulyThank you, Marion!!
Vivian Katz
Posted at 07:12h, 08 JulyThese are too cute. I recently made the Kwik Sew pj’s, but they didn’t have a separate front facing or pockets. I love this pattern, It is now on my list.. Also love the accessorizing for your photo shoot with the earrings.
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 07:15h, 08 JulyThank you, Vivian! You’ll love the pattern. Doesn’t everyone sleep in gold earrings? 😉
Lisa Jones
Posted at 07:17h, 08 JulyI have made five pairs!!!! Just purchased some liberty of London for a sixth!! Enjoy your new name hide..
Lisa Jones
Posted at 07:18h, 08 JulyI autocorrect!! Enjoy your new machine.
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 07:25h, 08 JulyLOL – You and Julie need to meet!! Many thanks and hope to see a pic of those Liberty pjs 🙂
Irene Mischkinis
Posted at 07:41h, 08 JulyLovely pj’s! And I hope you have fun playing with the embroidery on your machine.
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 08:04h, 08 JulyThank you, Irene! I am having a blast playing ( and I mean that literally) with the embroidery on my machine 🙂 🙂
Julie Starr
Posted at 07:41h, 08 JulyLoved waking up to see your beautiful new Carolyns while wearing my own! (Pair number nine in Jennifer Paganelli “Sunny Isle” coordinates – my first sleeveless pair). Without a doubt this is my most ever sewn pattern, not counting tunics, of course😉 How fun to experiment with your new machine and add the pretty monogramming. Once you’ve slept in these PJs, nothing else will do!
Julie Starr
Posted at 08:03h, 08 JulyAlso meant to say that I simply cannot wait to try Coats and Clark Secura thread – I’m going looking for it stat!
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 08:08h, 08 JulyNine pairs of Carolyn pajamas?? You’ve got this pattern nailed! This thread is a game changer 😉
Joyjc
Posted at 07:42h, 08 JulyVery nice. Also love the color combinations.😊
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 08:09h, 08 JulyThank you so much, Joy! The other color combos are equally as lovely – hard decision for sure 😉
Susie Hamlin
Posted at 08:30h, 08 JulySo cute – I wish I had time to make some before a trip out west with sorority girlfriends from the 70s! Much better than the old ADPi tee. The Tunic Bible was just delivered to me this week ANOTHER garment I wish I could pull together before I leave – we’ll see. I’ve enjoyed following you these last few years, our daughters both were married about the same time (made my dress of course – and used my wedding dress to make her rehearsal dress) and now she’s having our first grandchild, (a boy)., I see a lot of sewing ahead!
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 08:52h, 08 JulyHi Susie! Many thanks for your comment 🙂 I know the feeling of wanting to sew before a trip and just not being able to do it……Thank you so much for buying The Tunic Bible and please send a pic of your tunic. Best of luck with the arrival of your first grandchild and I also hope you have a great trip!
peggy leah
Posted at 08:40h, 08 JulyPerfect! Absolutely perfect. Looks very time consuming, all
the work involved. Do you have a time estimate? They look
very expensive. Very!
peggy
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 08:56h, 08 JulyThank you, Peggy! This is not fast sewing for sure. I’m hesitant to give a time estimate because I made the bottoms several weeks ago (quickly). I re-ordered some of the fabric after deciding to sew long sleeves which interrupted the process. Also, I’m just learning my new machine and played around with the monogram.
I will say after figuring out CCF’s method for the notched collar it went together issue free 😉
Kimbersew
Posted at 09:19h, 08 JulyBeautiful PJs!!! My concern with the button thread would be that it would soften up again in the heat of the drier and not hold up over time- give us another testimonial after a dozen washings! gorgeous work as always!
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 06:23h, 09 JulyMany thanks, Kimbresew 🙂 I can’t imagine that it will soften up, but will give a follow up as I know the pajamas will have their share of trips through the washer and drier!
Make it Any Wear
Posted at 09:40h, 08 JulyI have a 30ish year old piece of Liberty Tana lawn from my mother’s stash destined for a pair of Carolyn’s.
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 06:24h, 09 JulyPerfect!
Lucy
Posted at 10:05h, 08 JulySo glad you li,e your Pfaff. I love mine! No need for embroidery software which costs hundreds because our Pfaff is already preloaded and you can find extra monograms you like on Etsy and download. For $5-15 you can get whatever monograms you like already digitized in multiple sizes. Then you just download them and sew. You will get lots of variety and there are really gorgeous ones. My latest obsession. Enjoy!
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 06:25h, 09 JulyLucy~ Your comment is so helpful. I’ve added this to my list of ‘to-dos’ to for the machine. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Becky Thompson
Posted at 10:05h, 08 JulyThose are beautiful! I’ve had the pattern for several years. Wasn’t it part of a SMS challenge? I think that’s where I first was introduced to the pattern, but I’ve never made it. I really need to. I’m going to get some of that thread – thanks for the tip!
Since you are new to machine embroidery, have you checked out blastostitch.com? They have entire font sets and monograms for a dollar and every once in awhile they’ll put them on sale for .25 cents. Truly. These are the same fonts you find elsewhere for $5-$10 each. I’ve downloaded almost everyone of them and they all stitch out without any trouble at all. https://blastostitch.com/product-category/fonts-monograms/ Their fonts all work with Embrilliance if you have it. I can also highly recommend any of the designs from UrbanThreads.com. They are hip & trends and “ain’t your grandma’s embroidery”. Anything from there you make for your kids and grands will be loved. Also, recommend doing yourself a favor and get a Personal Alignment Laser from Designs in Machine Embroidery (you can find it on Amazon too). I have the small one and while it’s not cheap at $50, it allows you to hoop the un-hoopable. Also, to resize embroidy designs, check out this post on my blog. There’s some free software that does a very good job of it. https://powertoolswiththread.com/2015/08/23/resizing-digital-embroidery-design-files/ The freebie software from Wilcom is at the top of their page. I’ve haven’t taken the plunge into their full version software because I don’t do this for a living. Enjoy your embroidery journey! I love it.
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 06:48h, 09 JulyOh my goodness, Becky – I have SO MUCH TO LEARN! Will do all of the above – many thanks!
GayleMI
Posted at 10:25h, 08 JulyAnother beautiful job Sarah!
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 06:48h, 09 JulyThank you, Gayle!
brenda morton
Posted at 10:32h, 08 JulyThose have to be the most beautiful pj’s I have ever seen.
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 06:49h, 09 JulyThank you so much, Brenda! Click on the link I provided to see Julie’s PJs – they are gorgeous 😉
MaryEllen
Posted at 10:33h, 08 JulyThese pj’s are beautiful! What a fun way to try out Embroidery . You will be hooked by the way with a grandbaby to embroider for . I’m a Bernina Embroidery gal , but love seeing what other machines do as well . Check out pickle pie designs – so many great Embroidery projects for gifts & using scraps .
Happy Sewing g & embroidering !
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 06:50h, 09 JulyThank you, Mary Ellen! Did you say ‘will be hooked’? It’s already happened 😉
Karen Helm
Posted at 10:43h, 08 JulyThese PJs are fabulous, Sarah! Isn’t beautiful sleepwear the best? Enjoy!
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 06:51h, 09 JulyMany thanks, Karen! Agree – beautiful sleepwear is the best every 🙂 🙂
Connie Turner
Posted at 10:54h, 08 JulyThat thread is genious. Putting a bit of glue on your button also is a good trick for holding them in place. Love the pajamas, the fabric choice is stellar.
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 06:52h, 09 JulyThank you, Connie and what a great tip! I might add a drop to glue to all of my previous buttons today 🙂
Cissie Wellons
Posted at 11:44h, 08 JulyYou look way too pretty to have just gotten out of bed! Love your Carolyn PJ’s. I have 3 pairs of the shorty version and 1 as a nightshirt. But thanks for reminding me that I need to make the long version for fall and winter.
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 06:53h, 09 JulyHa, ha, ha – I always wake up looking fresh as a daisy 😉 I look forward to making more.
Maggie ecger
Posted at 12:36h, 08 JulyOh so cute!
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 06:54h, 09 JulyThank you, Maggie!
Faye Lewis
Posted at 12:43h, 08 JulyThey are beautiful!
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 06:54h, 09 JulyMany thanks, Faye!
Alice Elliot
Posted at 15:52h, 08 JulySo much work for pjs but totally worth it!
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 06:55h, 09 JulyT O T A L L Y worth it, indeed!
Becky Bagwell
Posted at 18:13h, 08 JulySo cute!
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 06:55h, 09 JulyThank you, Becky!
Mary Funt
Posted at 22:02h, 08 JulyWonderful PJ’s. I also have a few Liberty cottons that would work for this pattern. Enjoy your new machine and playing with all the features, especially the embroidery.
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 06:56h, 09 JulyThank you, Mary! Out of curiosity – do you have an embroidery machine?
Lauren
Posted at 11:44h, 09 JulyLove the PJ style, especially the top. I don’t think I would wear a long sleeved and shirt collar top with short pants in the summer, but for winter it would be lovely with the long pants in a nice soft cotton like a Liberty lawn. I find quilting cottons too heavy, especially with covers. I love the coordinating cuffs and piping. So nicely made.
goodbyevalentino
Posted at 12:33h, 09 JulyThank you, Lauren! The pattern offers any number of combinations for personalized comfort 😉 Also, Amy’s latest fabric is poplin and much lighter than quilting cotton. I recommend it, but nothing upon nothing beats Liberty for sure!!
Margo Bergman
Posted at 11:20h, 10 JulyYou look so cute and relaxed in your new PJ’s! I have this pattern on my list to sew in a cozy fun flannelette for winter. Maybe I should consider some light cotton ones for now.
Nieves
Posted at 20:47h, 10 JulyYou did a great job, very inspiring. Love, love all the details. Will definitely have a look at this pattern. You have made them look very glamorous,
Leitner Winstead
Posted at 20:52h, 14 JulyGreat job! Pretty fabric selection and I love the piping. It is great fun to see what you are up to. Thanks for sharing!