The Bed Jacket Revisited

 

In winter my standard sleepwear outfit consists of a pair of tartan flannel pajama bottoms that I sew myself, and a thrift shop long-sleeved t-shirt in a coordinating colour. It costs me under $25 and a few hours of work to put together a new pajama set, and I usually have three sets on hand, each of which will last for years. The pajama bottoms usually wear out first, and if my replacement pair of bottoms isn't the right colour to go with the shirt that went with the last pair, I can reassign the shirt to the dresser drawer that holds my daytime wear long-sleeved t-shirts. Sometimes, if I have one in just the right colour, I'll take a long-sleeved t-shirt from my daytime wear drawer and pair it with the new pajama bottoms I've just sewn. In other words, my pajama bottom and t-shirt combination is a cost, material, and work-efficient sleepwear choice. The one drawback is that it isn't is quite warm enough for a 1912-built house in Toronto winter weather.

I spend most of my evenings sitting up in bed knitting or working on some other needlework and watching movies or TV shows on my laptop, and during the winter months I was finding myself becoming uncomfortably chilly at the above-blanket level, and sometimes had trouble staying warm enough when sleeping too. I tried wrapping an afghan around my shoulders but it wouldn't stay in place owing to the kind of arm movements my needlework efforts entailed. I began wearing my bathrobe, which worked better, but given its length it was awkward to sit up in bed and to sleep in it. I could have worn a hoodie or sweatshirt, of course, but their hoods, strings, and/or zippers irritated me when I was trying to sleep, and the ill-assorted look of them bugged me whenever I caught sight of myself in a mirror. I decided that I wanted a warm, comfortable layering piece to put on that coordinated with my pajamas.   

I began thinking about bed jackets. Bed jackets are one of those quaintly charming articles of dress and appointment that have all but fallen by the wayside (see also: dress clips, hat pins, chatelaines, pocket watches, muffs, cloaks, parasols, and train cases). These days, most people just wear a hoodie or a sweatshirt or their bathrobe over their pajamas if they want an extra layer.

In Marjorie Hillis's classic manual for the single woman, Live Alone and Like It, originally published in 1936, she prescribes in detail what nightwear a woman should own:

 

We would also like to say a few words about your bedroom wardrobe. This is no place to be grim and practical. Don't worry about whether your nightgowns will wear if you are sure that they will flatter. We can think of nothing more depressing than going to bed in a washed-out four-year-old nightgown, nothing more bolstering to the morale than going to bed all fragrant with toilet-water and wearing a luscious pink satin nightgown, well-cut and trailing.

Next, of course, you'll need negligees -- at least two, one warm and one thin, and as many more as you can afford. Have them tailored or chi-chi according to your type, but have them becoming. And don't think that four bed-jackets are too many if you belong to the breakfast-in-bed school. A warm comfortable one for every-day use and a warm grand one for special occasions. A sheer cool one for summer mornings, and a lacy affair to dress up in. You can make the last two yourself out of remnants in practically no time at all. For the others, have one of quilted silk or Shetland wool, and another of padded satin or velvet in the shade that makes you most beautiful. 

 

I prize my copies of Hillis's two books Live Alone and Like It and Orchids on Your Budget, and often re-read them, mostly for their bracing tone, which has an excellent effect on me. Her practical tips offer food for thought, but usually take some adapting to make them usable for life in 2025. I totally agree with Hillis's dictum that attractive and comfortable bedroom attire is important, even if it's only seen by its wearer. Worn out, ugly, and/or unflattering lingerie is demoralizing, and who needs that? 

However, I do differ with her on what my nighttime wardrobe should look like. While I'm sure that Hillis wouldn't approve of my pajamas, they're standard sleepwear these days. I do concur with her stance on negligees, or what we more commonly call bathrobes, housecoats, or dressing gowns. It's a sound idea for a woman who lives in a four-season climate to have one long, warm, plush bathrobe (for winter) and one short, light, silky one (for summer and "special occasions" all year round). As for her prescription for bed jackets, I don't want any summer bed jackets, as my short cotton nightgowns are all I can bear to have on me in hot weather, but I agree that I could definitely use a few nice warm bed jackets for winter wear.

I wondered if there could be a modern equivalent to the bed jacket, and I did some googling, and fell down something of a rabbit hole. Amazon does offer a reasonable selection of bed jackets, ponchos, and capes in fleece, velour, and flannel, but of course I'm trying to avoid shopping on Amazon, given how they treat their workers and Jeff Bezos' compliance with Trump. I looked on Pinterest, and after realizing that bed jackets could be knitted, on Ravelry.

 

 

 

I found some exquisite examples of the bed jacket, such as the one above, which dates from the 1930s and would definitely meet with Marjorie Hillis's approval, but one like that wouldn't work with my pajamas, or even one of my cotton nightgowns. However, by the time I'd climbed out of the bed jacket research rabbit hole, I knew what I wanted in a bed jacket: it needed to be warm, it needed to be comfortable for both sitting up in bed and for sleeping in, it needed to go with my pajamas, and ideally it should also elevate the look of my pajamas a little. 

 

 

 

I decided I would need to sew a bed jacket, and visited Simplicity.com to see what patterns they had that would fit my criteria. I wound up selecting the pattern depicted above, Simplicity S9210, deciding that the cowl- necked top would do very well if made in a fleece or velour. It wouldn't be a bed jacket exactly, but something that could be more accurately described as a "pajama pullover". I decided to make three: one in cream, one in dark brown, and one in a colour. I bought cream fleece and spring green fleece, and ribbons to go with each. I couldn't find a brown fabric I liked in any of Toronto's fabric stores, but then I got the idea of scouting the household linens in thrift shops to look for fleece or velour blankets that could be used to make the brown pajama pullover. 

 

 

I soon found a large brown plush throw for $7.50.  

I made the cream pajama pullover first, and have been wearing it awhile. I'm wearing it right now as I type these words. It's been very satisfactory. It looks well over my pajamas and over my one flannel nightgown. I am now quite warm when I sit up in bed in the evenings, and while simultaneously eating breakfast and writing in bed in the mornings, and I can sleep in it very comfortably at night. I found the ribbon needed constant retying, which annoyed me until I got the idea of hand stitching the centre of the bow. The ribbon stays in a perfect bow now.

The brown pajama pullover got made next. I opted not to put the ribbon in this one. I like it even better than the cream one, as the colour is better on me. Wearing it over my tartan nightshirt and pajama bottoms makes me look and feel more like some sort of half bear, half hunter hybrid than an elegantly attired bachelorette, but then Canadian winters can make the most stalwart stylist care more about warmth and comfort than fashion. I used less than half of the brown blanket to make this, but I suppose I can use the rest up gradually by making some cuddly stuffed bears and bunnies for baby shower gifts.

I ended up deciding not to make the spring green pajama pullover. It would have only gone with one pair of my pajamas, and what happens when those wear out? Also, the knitted bed jacket patterns I had browsed through when researching bed jackets were calling my name. I have picked one out and plan to knit it in 2026. The spring green fleece fabric can instead be used to make a zippered jacket for daytime wear around the house in winter, as it will go very well with the five pairs of dark brown yoga pants that I basically live in during the cold season.

So, I now feel that I have winter sleepwear that is, if not quite Marjorie Hillis-approved, certainly Marjorie Hillis-informed, and also comfortable. 

Misguided Misadventures With Alpaca Yarn

For some years, my father has kept mentioning wanting to buy me some alpaca yarn from Alpaca Time, a little alpaca farm, mill, and yarn store located in Harriston, Ontario, where Dad's favourite cousin's son's wife worked until her retirement last August. Dad is fascinated with knitting and takes an especial interest in different kinds of yarn, in much the same way as he likes using as many different kinds of wood for his woodworking projects as possible. When he and my mother travelled to the Yukon back in the early 2000s, he brought me back some Qiviut yarn. He wanted the two of us to go to Alpaca Time together, but we never got around to it on my occasional visits to my parents' place. Finally last August he and my sister went there together to carry out the mission.

 

Dad bought the three hanks of yarn you see above, then gave them to me for my 51st birthday in

August 2024. (Along with five bags of sawdust, which you shall hear about in a later post.) There was no fibre content or gauge information on these hanks, but they're fingering weight, and judging from the yarn products listed on the Alpaca Time website, they could be 100% alpaca, or 85% alpaca and 15% bamboo, or 90% alpaca and 10% nylon. The skeins were 113 grams each, for a total of 339 grams. This was a little on the low side for me to make a sweater of (a fingering weight sweater in my size usually takes about 380 grams), and when I searched Ravelry for suitable patterns that evening, I had to rule out a number of patterns because they would take more yarn than I had. I toyed with the idea of adding a second yarn, but decided that I preferred this sweater to be a solid neutral tone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After some pattern browsing, I narrowed my choices down to three, and then selected the Aptenia pattern, designed by Coraline Kerisit, that you see depicted above. I didn't know the yardage of my skeins of yarn, but looked through the pattern pages of other site members who had made the Aptenia design, and it seemed to me I would have enough. I set happily to work on it in early September with the idea of getting the sweater done long before Christmas, so that my father would get to see me wear it during my holiday visit to my parents' place. 

I hardly ever have gauge problems, and as a rule I don't bother to swatch. But I had gauge problems with this one pattern. The yoke turned out huge, and I had to redo it several times, ripping it out, cutting down the number of repeats on the second take, finding the yoke still too big, and then ripping it back and cutting down more repeats. On my third attempt I found the yoke still a bit on the big side, but decided to leave it the way it was. Then I had problems with the gauge on the body. At one point I made a swatch, but my work didn't seem to knit to gauge even after that. Finally I finished the body, weighed the remaining yarn because I was concerned I was going to run short of yarn for the sleeves, knitted one sleeve and weighed the remaining yarn again... and found I was going to run 20 grams short for the second sleeve. I should have made sure that yoke was exactly the width it was supposed to be. I've done plenty of ripping out in my knitting life and have gotten quite hardened to the necessity of it, but I don't think I've ever found it harder to rip out a piece of work. I must have worked on that sweater for six weeks, and it was lovely. 

Back to Ravelry I went to pick out a second pattern. This time I looked at designs that involved two colours, with the idea that once I picked one out, I'd go shopping for a second coordinating yarn to piece out the fawn alpaca. (I did check my stash but didn't find anything suitable.) I didn't so much pick out another pattern as get a concept for another design. I got the idea of making a sweater that would have a flat collar, buttoned placket, cuffs, and waistband that was striped in the fawn and a coordinating colour, which I intended to design myself. I went to Michaels to see what kind of contrast yarn they might have, and purchased a skein of Patons Kroy Socks FX in Clover Colors, which is a variegated fingering. I thought the extra 50 grams plus the alpaca would surely be sufficient yarn for that sweater, and if not, I could buy a second skein of the Patons Kroy and make longer cuffs or something. I also bought some buttons for the placket.

I began again, and made the body of the sweater, knitted in the placket and the flat collar, then began knitting the first sleeve... and discovered that I was, again, going to run short of the fawn yarn. I think the problem was that I knitted the body in too small a gauge, and it consequently soaked up more yarn than necessary. Oh, these misguided misadventures in knitting! It is to laugh! It is to stab oneself in the head with a knitting needle!

 

But there was nothing for it but to go back to Ravelry again, and pick out another design. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This time I zeroed in on Lea, by Marzena Kolaczek, as pictured above. It was one of the three original patterns I had been considering the evening of my birthday celebration. The amount of fawn alpaca yarn I had should have been more than enough to make it, but by this time I was so paranoid about running short again that I decided I'd use the Kroy sock yarn to do the yoke in order to be absolutely certain I could finish this third take.

And here's take three, finally finished. I had to go back to Michaels and buy another skein of the Patons Kroy Socks FX to have enough for the yoke. Ultimately, I used an extra 90 grams of the contrast variegated fingering, and then had 88 grams of the fawn alpaca left... which means I could probably have done this entire sweater in the alpaca, as I made the sleeves slightly longer than necessary. Again, this sweater was one of the three patterns I picked out originally, so if I'd just decided on this pattern in the first place, I could spared myself a lot of extra work and frustration, not to mention the expense of two extra skeins of yarn, an extra pattern, and buttons I now have no use for.

But I mustn't dwell on that, as it makes me feel stabby. I do like the result, and while that first all-fawn sweater would have been lovely, this version is probably more flattering on me, as that fawn colour isn't so great next to my face. This skirt doesn't quite go with the tartan wool skirt you see here, but it will go with jeans and olive khakis. I just had to have something to pair the sweater with that would go on my dress form. 

I have 88 grams of the fawn left, and 10 grams of the Patons Kroy variegated. I'm thinking socks, but not this year, as that alpaca yarn has left me a little too battle scarred to work with it again for the time being.

A Sweet Sixteen Sweater

 

My grandniece Cauliflower will turn 16 this summer. She's getting to the age now where she's more or less full grown and may be wearing the sweaters I make her for some years to come instead of growing out of them in a year or two. She's also gotten to age at which she wants to pick out her own clothes. However, I still want to make her sweaters for a few more years yet, so play it safe by gravitating towards classic designs when picking out a pattern for her annual birthday gift. Even the pickiest people with the most specific tastes don't tend to object to a gift of classic knitwear.

When I searched Ravelry for a suitable pattern for Cauliflower's birthday present, I came across the Holly design you see pictured above, from Marie Amelie Designs. It's classic, wearable, and flattering, with a nice bit of texture to give it some distinction. 

As for the yarn, I visited Romni Wools during Boxing Week 2024 to see what they had. Last year Romni Wools was forced to close their main store on Queen Street because the rent had gotten too high to make the location financially viable, and now their only Toronto location is their Weston Road store. It's much smaller than the Queen Street store, so Romni Wools' selection is now less than half what it was. When I looked for a machine washable DK wool for this sweater, I only really had one brand to choose from -- Garnstudio Drops Karisma -- and not a lot of colour selection. I ruled out the blue yarns, because Cauliflower's 15th birthday present sweater was blue. I ruled out pink, as Cauliflower hasn't liked pink in years. I ruled out some other colours as being too drab or unflattering or unattractive, and that left me purchasing 450 grams in shade 39, "Dark Old Rose", which I think is more of a plum, and hoping Cauliflower would like it.

The completed sweater. I think it turned out quite well, though I'm afraid I might have gotten the sleeves a little long. 

I am much more confident of the other component of Cauliflower's birthday gift. At Christmas I asked her what subjects she was taking that semester, and which was her favourite? She told me her favourite course was Food Studies, and that she really enjoys cooking. I asked her what her favourite thing was to cook, and she said, "Pizza." So, when I saw this good-as-new cookbook on artisanal pizza baking at my local Value Village, I snapped it up for Cauliflower. 

Sixteen is a milestone for a teenager. In Ontario, a kid who reaches sixteen is eligible to get their driver's license, which is a big step forward in terms of greater freedom and independence. My gift isn't at all as exciting as that prospect and it won't open any new doors for Cauliflower, but it just might serve to keep her warm and comfortable on cold days, and take her pizza baking skills to the next level.

A Particular Poncho

 

This knitting project, my first of 2024 (though I wasn't able to post it until Christmas Day 2024 because my sister Alanna is the one person in my family who might read my blog), began when I stumbled across a pattern I thought I really ought to make for my sister. 

Several years ago I searched the Ravelry database for Celtic-themed or inspired patterns with the idea that I might find some patterns that would be perfect for my mother or sister, since they both like Irish things. I soon came across the pattern you see above, which is the Portree Poncho, designed by Bridget Pupillo, and surprised myself by taking the time to consider it carefully. I'm generally no fan of the poncho and would probably never have even thought of making my sister one unless I had stumbled across this particular one. Those of you who have read my knitting blog The Knitting Needle and the Damage Done may remember that I could be quite scathing about poncho designs in my pattern reviews, with my most common criticism probably being that they looked as though they belonged on a couch rather than on a person. But I liked this one. It had style! The stitchwork is excellent, and it has such a polished shape and sits so well on the model -- and this isn't a case of it just looking good in one sample shot, due to professional modelling and artful photography. When I clicked through to the Ravelry user project pages for this poncho, I found it looked really good on every single person who had made it. 

Though I've never seen Alanna wear a poncho or capelet or anything of that kind, the Portree Poncho struck me as a piece that might be perfect for her. She likes Celtic designs and contemporary-style clothing, and if I made this poncho in her favourite colour black, it would be an item that would tick all those boxes. And it would be very practical, as it is guaranteed to always fit, and she could wear it over almost anything and nearly anywhere: over a dress when on her way to church, over a blouse and trousers to the office, over jeans and a t-shirt to the grocery store, or over her beloved thrift shop snowman print onesie while sitting on the couch watching TV. I put this pattern on my knitting project list for 2024 with the idea that it would be her Christmas present for that year. 

The completed poncho, made in size Large. For this project I wanted a good quality, hard-wearing, easy care black worsted wool. I purchased nine skeins of black Estelle Yarns Worsted, which is 40% wool, 10% nylon, and 50% acrylic, an ideal blend for my purpose, as wool makes for warmth, feel, and quality, nylon makes for durability, and acrylic makes for ease of care. I used just 751 grams of the yarn to make the poncho, and returned the unused skein to Romni Wools for store credit. 

The project went pretty smoothly. It was very slow going at first as very textured pieces such as this one tend to be, but once I had the pattern repeats memorized and didn't have to refer to the charts every three or four stitches, the work moved along much more quickly, and the assembly was a snap -- just two straight seams to sew, for which I used a black fingering yarn from my stash, in order to make the seams less bulky. I'm pleased with the result and I'm reasonably confident Alanna will be too. 

And do I categorically like the poncho better now now that I have actually made one for the first time ever? Maybe a bit. I still dislike most of the poncho patterns I see, but there certainly are those occasional ones that I must admit look quite attractive, and even stylish. I have even found one poncho pattern that I am very tempted to make for myself, though I'm holding off on that for the time being, as I don't think I need it, given that I have plenty of jackets, so many sweaters, and a knitted coat. 

 

The Sufficiently Animal-Themed Gift

My honorary niece Olivia loves animals and wants to be a vet when she grows up. When I was looking for a pattern for her 2024 Christmas present sweater, I looked for one with an animal theme.

I soon found the one you see depicted above, which is 59 Sweater with Cat's Head, by Bergère de France. I liked the idea of making Olivia a hat in the same colour yarn as the cat's muffler, but not the hat shown here, which makes the child model look like one of the Snorks. I searched for a suitable basic child-sized tam pattern in a DK weight, and soon found this one.

As for the yarn, I was able to pull some pink and dark brown DK yarn from my stash, and I bought some oatmeal-coloured Drops Karisma from Romni Wools for the main colour. I looked in Fabricland for heart-shaped buttons for this project, and found some in a dark pink instead of the red the sample used, but the two pinks worked together and that was good enough for me. 

The completed sweater in a size 10. I'm actually not a fan of making picture knits (so slow and fiddly!), and this was my third one this year, but it was worth it for the pleasure it will give the three children they are going to. I did hit a snag when I ran short of the oatmeal yarn by *two* skeins. I had to order more, and it took months for the order to come in, and then the dye lots weren't the same. The new dye lot proved to be not an exact match but fairly close, and I was able to work the two extra skeins in without the difference showing. 

When making this sweater and tam, I used 47 grams of the pink and 3 grams of the brown from my stash, and had 21 grams of the newly purchased oatmeal left over, so that's a net stash decrease of -29 grams.

Making the tam was quite straightforward. It should look very cute with this sweater.

Whenever I'm assembling a birthday or Christmas gift for Olivia, I always give her "something to wear, something to read, and something to play with". The something to play with in this case was a crystal unicorn kit from the clearance section at Michaels, and the something to read was a copy of Kate DiCamillo's Tale of Despereaux, and also a copy of The Daring Book for Girls. I've actually had this copy of The Daring Book for a year or more, and I think it's figured in at least one photo of Olivia's gifts before, but ultimately I ended up holding it back because I added something else to the gift. This Christmas she will actually receive it. I just hope this gift will be sufficiently animal-themed for her liking. 

A Three Penguin Gift

 

When it came time to pick out a pattern for my grandniece Holly's present for Christmas 2024 (that is, in the early fall of 2023), I browsed Ravelry with the words "cute dress for a toddler" on my mind. 

I soon found the pattern you see depicted above, which is no. 33 Robe Jacquard M0717 by Bergère de France, and thought it qualified, with its simple picture knit that a toddler could identify and understand. 

I went through my stash to see what I had that would be suitable for such a project. I found some black and off-white DK very quickly. I had no yellow, and I was also skeptical that penguin feet are actually of a shade remotely resembling the sickly greenish yellow used in the sample. I googled for images of real penguins to see what colour their feet were exactly, and found their feet to be typically more of a yellowish orange, which was fortuitous, as I had a small amount of some nice orange DK on hand. I didn't have enough of the orange to do the ribbed edges in it, or anything that was suitable for the ribbing in my DK box, so I looked through my fingering box, and found a leftover variegated I'd previously used for my grandniece Cauliflower's sweater earlier this year and that I could use double strand to make it the right weight. I had nothing for the main colour, so I made a sampler by knotting together some short strands of the other colours, and took it to Romni Wools, where I chose some Drops Karisma in pale blue that went well with my contrast colours. I also thought the dress looked too short, and decided to lengthen it by two inches, and I bought an extra skein of Drops Karisma for the purpose.

The completed dress in a size 18 months. Holly turns two in May, so she should be able to go right into at Christmas and wear it until spring. I think it would look sharper and more pulled-together if I had been able to knit the ribbed edges in orange, but it's not bad as is. The variegated has a little rust-like orange in it, which helps. 

I used 1 gram of the orange, 6 grams of the off-white, 44 grams of the variegated, and 10 grams of the black to make this dress, or -61 grams of stash yarn total, and I had 35 grams of the pale blue left, which works out to a net stash decrease of -29 grams for this project. 

In my experience, toddlers don't tend to care very much about their clothes, or for that matter even to wear clothes at all, so I bought something to go with the dress to make the gift more fun. This plush penguin toy came from Dollarama, and it amuses me that it's leaning into the dress like it's photobombing it. 

I think Holly will like playing with a penguin toy that matches her dress, and she may even learn to say the word "penguin" for the first time because of this present. 

A Frugal But Quality Gift

 

My grandnephew Bug turned 11 in the summer of 2024, and of course a sweater must be knitted for the occasion. 

 

 

 At least fifteen years ago, a woman who worked at the company where I then worked gave me three bags of Bouquet Sock & Sweater fingering yarn in burgundy, blue, and gray, saying she would never use it. In the years since, I had made two boys' sweaters and three pairs of socks from that yarn. When I happened to catch sight of it in my box of fingering yarn late in 2023, I realized the colours of that nice quality yarn were just right for Curtis, and decided to browse Ravelry for a pattern that would use up the last of it. I soon zeroed in on the handsome pattern depicted above, which is 50-06 Fana genser, by Sandnes Design. 

The finished sweater. I didn't have the right quantities of the three colours to make the sweater as it was designed, so I had to tweak the colour scheme a little, but I was quite satisfied with the result. I think I like it even better than the sample photo. But I did not use up all of that sock yarn as I hoped. I used 104 grams of the blue, 61 grams of the burgundy, and 50 grams of the gray yarn, for a net stash decrease of 215 grams. After making three boys' sweaters and three pairs of socks out of that yarn, I still have 180 grams of the blue, 136 grams of the burgundy, and 105 grams of the gray left. Oh well, it will keep, and in fact I am currently working on a project for which I am using some of the gray yarn.  

Along with the sweater knitted out of gifted yarn, Bug also received the mechanical dinosaur kit (purchased from Dollarama), and the packet of Harry Potter buttons (purchased at Value Village) you see in the photo above. (As I wrote last year when Bug got a thrift shop Harry Potter notebook as part of his birthday present, I won't buy new Harry Potter merchandise because J.K. Rowling is a transphobe, but I think buying it at thrift shops is fine.) So this was a frugal but quality gift.