It’s a 25° night the week before Christmas. The gentle chatter of a sewing machine awakens the Perz family’s Christmas spirit.
Samantha Perz, sophomore, works with her family friend, Marla Olish, to create holiday-themed pajama pants for the Perz family, a tradition she’s been participating in since she was 9 years old.
“It is heartwarming to spend time with Samantha,” Olish said. “We talk and laugh. I get to hear what’s going on in her life and, more often, she is a good sounding board for me.”
The sewing process begins by picking out a fabric and selecting a pattern for the pants. Perz and Olish then cut out two pant legs using the pattern. They flip the pant legs inside out and sew the open end together on each of them, which creates the inner seam on each leg.
After sewing the inner seams, one of the pant legs is stuffed in the other so that the matching sides of the fabric are facing each other. Next, the pant legs are aligned and sewn together. Finally, the waist and hem of the pants are sewn together with a strip of elastic threaded through the waist.
“It’s satisfying to know you made something from start to finish, and I always have a good time while doing it,” Perz said.
Since the tradition started, Perz and Olish have evolved from using cotton fabrics to fleece fabrics for warmth. They both said that complex patterns and plaids are difficult to sew, so they stick to simpler Christmas patterns that have an ideal amount of holiday shine.
This year, Perz and Olish are working with a gingerbread design.
Samantha’s younger brother, Daniel, freshman, said he enjoys hanging out with his family during the sewing process and playing Christmas music in the background. Daniel has received pajama pants for the last three years.
“They are quite comfortable and it has turned into a family tradition,” Daniel said.
Olish said she hopes to keep this tradition with the Perz family alive in the future.
“I hope that we keep a placeholder in our calendar each year and, who knows, maybe someday we’ll teach Samantha’s children too,” Olish said. “Sewing is a good life lesson about planning, making decisions, adapting when necessary, and living with the consequences. It is a pleasure of my life to be a part of this tradition.”
