The husband has wanted a new dressing gown and pyjamas set for a while now. He was prepared to pay a great deal to get a comfortable and good looking one, but I told him no, I can make one for him. We browsed through men’s pyjama patterns and this Vogue pattern was the one he was most pleased with. It has a wide collar, pockets and interesting piping details for the dressing gown, and the pyjamas were what pyjamas for a man should be like.

Then there was the fabric. He wanted a dark colour for the dressing gown and a lighter one for the pyjamas. Looked around, and I gave him suggestions on what type of fabric would be suitable for the project according to the information o the pattern. All this was in November. It was pretty hectic before Christmas, but he is a patient man, so he didn’t complain all that much. After New Years I promised him that I would get it done before Valentines Day. Not because we usually celebrate that day, but since it was a nice suggestion, and that I got my Si & Am combo the weekend before for Minerva Crafts Blogger Network. So now we can lounge around at home in our new loungewear together!

I sewed up the dressing gown as suggested. We went for the size that was closest to his measurements – and since it was all a pretty loose fit, I didn’t think it needed any alterations. I was pretty pleased with the dressing gown, it looked very stylish and comfortable. The pockets were big enough to contain phones and what not, the sleeve was long enough (we actually had to test it first since he has longer arms than what RTW clothes has, but with the cuff, it was long enough), and the length was perfect just below the knee. I lined the dressing gown with a crepe gingham since he wanted a more coarse(?) surface to his back so it will automatically scratch it.

The pyjamas could have been a more slim fit in my opinion. I could see from the pattern that there was no correlation with the width and the length of it. The length is the same for all the sizes, only the with of the pattern changed. For instance, if I would have made these pyjama pants for my father in a smaller size, it would have been too long. But I’m very pleased with the pants itself actually! It was more complicated but elegant than regular two pant legs stitched together. It has a fly front with a button to hold it together, and the waistband has elastic and drawstring. The pyjama shirt was pretty too. I did cut the pocket band and sleeve cuff on the bias to break the pattern a bit, and husband liked it. He agree’s with me that even though the dressing gown and the shirt fitted him over his broad shoulders, it could have been taking in a bit at the waist.

We will definitely be taking that into consideration next time! Have you made a lot of menswear? What do you think about the sizing? You can read about my other menswear here.

• Pattern: Vogue 8964 from Vogue patterns
• Fabric: Navy cotton poplin and crepe black and white gingham for the dressing gown and pale blue mini gingham check brushed soft cotton for the pyjamas from Minerva Crafts

Sophie Bach Meuche