A Bevy of Bed Jackets

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 just a few hours of work to make myself a new pajama set, and I usually have three sets on hand, each of which will last for years. The pajama bottoms always 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 put the shirt in the dresser drawer that holds my daytime wear long-sleeved t-shirts. Sometimes, if I have one a long-sleeved t-shirt in the right colour in my shirt drawer, I'll 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 while I watch movies or TV shows on my laptop, and during the winter months I find myself becoming uncomfortably chilly at the above-blanket level, and sometimes have trouble staying warm enough when sleeping too. I've tried wrapping an afghan around my shoulders but it won't stay in place owing to the kind of arm movements my needlework efforts entailed. I've resorted to wearing my bathrobe, which works better, but given its length it is awkward to sit up in bed and sleep in it. I can wear a hoodie or sweatshirt, of course, but their hoods, strings, and/or zippers irritate me when I'm trying to sleep, and the ill-assorted look of them bugs me whenever I catch sight of myself in a mirror. I want a warm, comfortable layering piece to put on that coordinates with my pajamas and my one tartan flannel nightgown.   

Identifying this gap in my sleepwear wardrobe led me to think about bed jackets. These days most people just wear a hoodie, sweatshirt, sweater, or their bathrobe over their pajamas if they want an extra layer. 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, pocket watches, muffs, cloaks, parasols, fans, and train cases). 

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 on living a happy single life and living in style on a tight budget offer food for thought, but usually take some adapting to make them usable for life in 2026. In this instance, I wholeheartedly concur 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 Hillis mightn't approve of my pajamas, they're standard sleepwear these days. I do agree with her stance on negligees, or what we more commonly call bathrobes. It's a sound idea for a woman who lives in a four-season climate to have at least one long, warm, plush bathrobe and one short, light, silky one. As for her prescription for bed jackets, I don't want any summer bed jackets, as my house does not have air conditioning and my short cotton nightgowns are all I can bear to have on me in hot weather, but I agree that I could definitely use at least one nice warm bed jacket 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 while I'll do some comparison shopping research on Amazon, I'm trying to avoid actually buying anything from Amazon, given Jeff Bezos' treatment of his workers and his support of Donald 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 at least 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 would also elevate the look of my pajamas a little. 

I decided I would have to sew my own modern version of a bed jacket. I researched available sewing pattern options, and sewed myself a pair of fleece pullovers using a Simplicity pattern. But then it turned out that I didn't really like them that much. They were warm, they were reasonably comfortable, they went with my pajamas and my one flannel nightgown, but they felt too bulky and weren't terribly flattering. They're now in a bag that I have mentally labelled as "remnant fabric to be used in future sewing projects" and packed away in the attic blanket box.

Though I'm back to wearing my bathrobe or a sweatshirt when I need a layering piece, I haven't given up on the idea of making a satisfactory bed jacket for myself, and I've found some nice knitted options on Ravelry which I'd like to share with you all. Let's take a look at them now, shall we?

 

 

 

 

This is the Bed Jacket pattern, designed by Joan McGowan-Michael. McGowan-Michael is known for her fantastic lingerie-inspired knits, and she ran true to form with this piece. It's romantic and beautiful without being too frou-fou to look well over pajamas or a nightgown. It's my favourite of all the bed jacket knitting patterns I looked at, and would be my pick for the bed jacket I intend to make myself, but I'm afraid it isn't the best choice for my particular figure. This isn't a style that will look well over a well-endowed chest, especially when said chest is not supported by a bra, and alas, the Boob Fairy was far too generous with me. DAMN YOU TO HELL, BOOB FAIRY.

 

 

 

 

The Indulgence Bed Jacket, designed by Amanda M. Williams, is another romantic and beautiful bed jacket. But this bed jacket doesn't just stop at bringing beauty and romance into your life, because it also brings the drama. This is a bed jacket one can wear while swanning around one's living room with a drink in hand as in the sample photo, and/or while receiving late night callers and proposals of various kinds (marriage, indecent, etc.). It also looks light and soft and cosy.

 

 

 

 

This is the Breakfast Coat No. 488, by Bernhard Ulmann Co., and it's another bed jacket that's romantic in style and yet simple enough to wear over ordinary nightgowns or a t-shirt and pajama bottoms. Can you guess when this pattern might have been published? Do you have a year or decade in mind? If so, was it October 1945? Yes, this pattern is 81 years old as of this writing, and it looks completely current and wearable by today's standards.

 

 

 

  

This is the Helen Dressing Jacket, published by Patons & Baldwins. There's no publication date listed for this one, but judging from the rest of the patterns in the booklet this pattern was published in, I would say it's probably a 1930s-era pattern. It's pretty and femme in fairly restrained, wearable way and should work on any type of figure.

This is the Bed Jacket #G-100, which was published by The Spool Cotton Company in January 1949. It's quite fetching in its way if you would like to make or wear something a little flirty and girly. 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

The Beautiful Bed-Jacket, published by Australian Women's Weekly in April 1965. Very pretty and wearable. I also note that it's the ribbon ties and the colour that make it seem like a bed jacket rather than a fairly standard summer cardigan, so there's no reason why you can't adapt any ordinary cardigan pattern that you like to make a bed jacket, or for that matter to make any of the bed jacket designs in this post for daily wear. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This design is Pink as a Rosebud, by Susan Crawford. At the simpler end of the spectrum, we have another vintage-style bed jacket that looks totally up to date. It's another one I wish I could wear, but cropped-length tops or sweaters don't work on me. I can't be too thankful I wasn't born in the Regency period, with all its spencers and empire-waisted dresses. 

 

 

 

 

The Lace-Edged Bed Jacket, by Teva Durham. Here's a contemporary-style bed jacket that I can imagine working on any woman's figure, with most nightgowns, and over a t-shirt style pajama top. I say contemporary though this was published in August 2008, which technically makes it two years shy of being vintage, but I stand by (and cling fervently to) my belief that 2008 just wasn't that long ago when one thinks on a grand scale, and fashion hasn't changed much since then. 

 

 

 

 

The Lacy Bed Jacket, by Susan Crawford, was derived from a knitting pattern from 1940. You can kind of tell from the squarish shoulders. It's another bed jacket that's pretty but still practical and unfussy in style. 

 

 

 

 

This is Bed Jacket #193, designed by Hilde Fuchs, and published in 1947. It has a simple, smart look to it that I like, and it will be much better about not catching on things than all the lacy numbers in this post. 

 

 

 

 

This is 218 Bed Jacket, designed by Elizabeth L. Mathieson, which was published in January 1947. It's another neat, tailored-looking number with its flat collar and pearl buttons, and would add a little style and polish to any plain nightgown or t-shirt and pajama bottoms. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the Ladies Bed Jacket set, published by Robin Wools. I don't know when this pamphlet was published, but my best guess is that it's a 1960s pattern, as the beehive hairdo was not invented until 1960. And I think this is the bed jacket pattern I want to use for making my bed jacket, though having just revisited the other designs I selected for this post, I'm not entirely sure. But I do like this design a lot. It sits very well, it has a certain classic style, and it will definitely suit me. I'll stop short of knitting the matching bed socks (they would wear out too quickly to be worth it), knitting a matching hot water bottle (I don't have one), or of adopting the beehive (my hair would utterly refuse to cooperate).

I won't get to the bed jacket project this year, or maybe even in 2027, but I will eventually, and then I shall have winter sleepwear that is, if not quite Marjorie Hillis-approved, certainly Marjorie Hillis-informed.