Polar Bears and Little Girls

Polar bear pajamas

I was oh so lucky a few weeks ago to receive a message from fabric designer Laurie Wisbrun (of Tufted Tweets fame!) asking me if I would like a chance to work with her newest line Brrr! Twist my arm….I GUESS I could do something. 😉 Uhm. Yeah. I jumped at the chance.

Polar bear pajamas
( fabric photos courtesy of Laurie Wisbrun)
Polar bear pajamas
( fabric photos courtesy of Laurie Wisbrun)

It was like a little Christmas present to me when the fabric arrived. But I knew right away that I needed to make something for my little gal. And even though I was already making her a pair of pajamas, this fabric was just begging to be made into some pajamas as well. So out came the Oliver & S Sleepover pajama pants pattern again.

Polar bear pajamas

I took the girlie out on a warm winter day when the snow was starting to melt and let her play a little. Remember, she’s super cooperative for pictures right now. 😉 Eating a little snow helped keep her distracted.

Polar bear pajamas

I thought it would be too much to make a whole top in the polar bear fabric (isn’t it the cutest!), so I opted to do an applique on a simple white t shirt. I’ve actually never done that before and I’ve been wanting to try it for a long time. I made sure to use a jersey needle because I was working on a knit…I was too lazy to find my tear away stabilizer (I honestly don’t even know if I have it where I’m currently living) but it still worked pretty well. I would like to try this technique with the stabilizer though because I think it would be even better.

Polar bear pajamas

Here’s a little tip for the applique. I knew that I was putting the cut fabric onto a white t shirt and appliqueing it with white thread. So when I cut out the polar bear, which is also on white fabric, I left a little edge of white around the bear…maybe an 1/8″ of white. That way that applique blends more seamlessly into the t shirt and the polar bear isn’t covered in thread itself.

Polar bear pajamas

I have a few more tricks up my sleeve for playing with Laurie’s fabulous fabrics (due out in June I think!) and I’ll share those as I do them. But I wanted to show off my cute girl and her new fab pjs. Oh she’s sweet!

Polar bear pajamas

What do you all think of Laurie’s fabric line? I love that it’s wintery and not Christmasy.

Stay tuned because we will be having a giveaway of a fat quarter bundle of Brrr! (but I have another fun giveaway to do first!) So a couple of fun giveaways on the horizon.

44 thoughts on “Polar Bears and Little Girls”

  1. It is delightful fabric, isn't it? I used to love making PJs and little shirts for my boys when they were little! I have to wait for grandchildren now! The 'stripes' would make great little boy PJs with another of the fabrics for the trim! Great job and cute little one!

  2. Adorable pajamas! The fabric is super cute too! I love that she won't stand still! That was how my kids were at that age too! Can't wait to see what else you do with this line!

  3. The Brr fabric is delicious! I love winter – and this fabric is going to have to find it's way into my house. Please let us know when it's released!~!!
    Your little girl is precious. She's such a good model!

  4. those pj's are so freaking adorable! and i love the photo of her cramming the snowball in her mouth, lol. i can't get over how big she's getting!

    i wish June would hurry up and get here because I'm DYING to get some of this fabric! i already designed a block that looks like a bottle cap so I can make a Coke themed quilt with it 🙂

  5. Oh, my goodness! This is so cute. I'm lucky enough to have some of the same fabric and keep thinking of more possibilities, but I never thought about pj pants. That is too cute!

  6. How stinking cute is that fabric and those pajamas! And that was a very creative way to turn a plain shirt into a matching shirt. Absolutely adorable! I'll have to give that applique trick a try. Thanks for sharing.

  7. What an adorable project you made! I have a shirt that I want to cut out the design on an applique it to a new shirt. This is giving me an idea. I may try to do the reverse applique process. 🙂

  8. What a perfect project for this project. I love that you left a little white around the fussy cut polar bear to hide the stitching. You are very clever. The model if fabulous.

  9. Hi Angela. I have been poking through my book Modern Blocks. You sure are credited with a lot of blocks. I love the it's a stretch block. Thanks for inspiring.