Family love-in

After the two fairly intensive projects, ie the coat-dresses (not yet shown) and easy-peasy Missoni sweater-dress (ditto), I turned to some at-home sewing.  It all started with a realization that my son, formerly the family's tiniest Baby Boy, recently redubbed Gentle Giant, has completely outgrown the last pj I made for him.  Time for a new one!

My approach to nightwear aims for maximum simplicity and comfort:  a loose pull-on top with no buttons to press into your skin, and minimal seaming.  Here, the fabric is folded over at the top, so there is no shoulder seam.  There is a straight flat-felled seam across the chest to allow for a clean finish of the kimono neckline.  The top's full width is the whole width of the cotton batik (110 cm).  The curved armhole seam prevents stress points.

The top, a lovely cotton batik, has side slits, plenty of room for GG's future growth, and is long enough to ensure modesty even if not worn with its matching shorts. Boys, you know....

At about the same time, it became evident that my winter dressing gown has outlived its long-ago, original beauteous self.  So I went on a dressing gown making spree.  For all of us:

 GG's is forest green to match the greens of his new pj; Hubby's is wine coloured; mine a nice dark teal.   Though the gowns look pretty identical, there are minor variations to account for height, preferred sleeve length, and the male vs. female front lap differences.

A couple of years ago I'd created two kimono style light cotton dressing gowns at my daughter's behest, one for her and one for me.   After barely a couple of years of light wear the sleeve-body 90 degree angle on mine is showing signs of stress, so I re-engineered the design with a curved body-sleeve transition (and used it in my son's pj, above).

The fabric is cotton velveteen, and its full width is used over the shoulder (as in the above pj, the shoulder is a simple fold with no seamline).  Full sleeve length is created with the add-on piece, which has a very deep, luxurious fold-over that's stitched in the ditch.  Each robe consumed 4 meters of fabric.

Here's the obligatory on-body shot of GG, looking quite Raphaelite: