A Side Trip Down Easy Street - Kwik Sew Bed(?) Jacket

Well, it was supposed to be a bed jacket...but I like it so much I think I'll be wearing this one out & about!

On those mornings when I don't need to jump out of bed, I enjoy a few minutes of sitting up in bed and "beditating". On those chilly winter mornings, however, this usually means crawling out of bed to put the fuzzy warm robe on, & then crawling back in bed with the ungainly robe, and it doesn't even cover those cold ears anyway!   The solution?  A warm, fleecey, hooded bed jacket!

I meant to make this Kwik Sew last year, but never got around to it.  A couple of recent below freezing (OK, ok, maybe below 55, but still....COLD for these tropical-loving old bones!) mornings convinced me that it was time to whip this puppy up soon.

After a session with the Peony Vest that involved a few too many trials and errors figuring out the hem/lining details,  I decided it was time for a quick & easy side trip to rejuvenate the mojo - the bed jacket was just the ticket!

I dug into my fleece stash & selected this nice, thick, soothing green Polartec 200, traced off a Small, and cut out the 2 pattern pieces w/ no alterations, looked through the instructions, & decided this was probably about 30 minutes of needle time.  Including sewing on a button!

Well.....almost it was.

I serged the first 3 (out of 4) seams, & decided that the serged seams were entirely too bulky for this thick fleece.   So I finger pressed the seams to one side & sewed over them with a decorative stitch to flatten them.  The last seam (underarms & sides) I just sewed with a straight stitch.

I also had an issue sewing the corner where the hood attached to the back - going over clipped corners with the serger is not a technique I've figured out yet.

If you look closely, you can sort of see the clipped corners
 - on the wrong side of the serging
- this was definitely a case where the sewing machine is preferable, at least for me!

The small ended up being a tad on the too small side, so instead of making a buttonhole & button, I braided 3 thin strips of the fleece together to make  a button loop - this allowed the front to be a little bit looser.   Then I did a decorative stitch around all of the edges (the pattern calls for hand sewing a blanket stitch around the edges, but for a one hour top?  I think not....)

Here's a close up of the deco stitching & buttons:

Can a project be too easy & still produce results that are this much fun?  I'm happy to add a few more sewing projects like this to my repertoire!

I love that the collar can lay flat, or sit up....lots of options!

Being all warm & cozy

The collar as it fell when I pulled the hood down - fun!

Materials: 1.5 yards of Polartec 200 Fleece, 2 vintage pleather buttons from stash, thread.
Time:  About 3 hours, from pattern tracing through button sewing.
Rating:  Two Thumbs Up!

I'll definitely make another variation (or two) of this one!

The question still remains:   will I be wearing my bedclothes out on the street, or will I be wearing street clothes in bed?   And does it matter?

May your dreams be pleasant, and your mornings be full of promise :)