“I don’t do trends”, I say and normally that would be true. When a hot new trend arrives it always takes me a while to decide whether –

a. I like it

b. whether I think it suits me and

c. whether this is a look that could last.

I still have items in my wardrobe that are 30 years old, both self-made and RTW and I want my clothes to last more than a season. For that reason, I’ve often avoided trends. I also baulk at the idea of having something just because everyone else has it. One of the reasons I started making my own clothes was because I knew no one else would have anything exactly the same as I have made.

However, a current trend that I very much like is the loungewear look. I guess the last 20 months of leaning towards comfort has permeated my consciousness and the ‘everything made in sweater knit’ vibe is one I find attractive.

I bought three metres of this camel coloured Slub Sweater knit from Minerva last year with a sweater dress in mind. I never got around to making it as I had a load of other projects on the go last autumn/winter but in the interim, I did start to see these looks which were like jogging pants and sweatshirts but instead of being made in fleece or French Terry, they are made of Sweater Knit fabric. I always like it when a trend switches things up a bit – it’s why I like jeans wear made in anything but denim. See here and here. There’s something amusing about it to me.

I liked the shape which is very pared down – a simple boxy top and slim but not skin tight leggings. I really like this silhouette. I also thought this would be an easy make. I used the Peak T-shirt from Wendy Ward to make the top and drafted a pair of joggers by tracing an RTW pair that I had.

In order to get the most out of this piece of fabric, I decided I wanted a skirt as well. To leave enough for a simple tube skirt meant that I needed to be a bit creative about my cuts. I made my sleeves in two pieces to get sufficient length and did not put a cuff on the bottom of the sweater.

I sewed the entire set on my coverlock machine, serging the seams and attaching the neckband with the coverlock setting. I still have to perfect my neckline technique as despite measuring my band 2cm shorter than my neckline, it still came out quite loose and baggy. I will wear it, as it was instant love but depending on how much it bugs me I might redo the neck later. This was a case of done is better than perfection. I also think I need to learn to do that binding trick on the inside back of the neck that makes it look tidy.

I zoomed through making these so quickly, I forgot to take any progress photos but it was very straightforward and I took lots of pictures in our lovely holiday let near Glastonbury.

This set is so comfortable, we had a few days in the West Country and it was perfect for snuggling up after a day’s walking or birdwatching and it also fended off the cold as we did a bit of sightseeing around Dorset.

I’m now a complete loungewear lover and may even make more sets like this. How is your loungewear looking?

Thanks for dropping by,