It's the start of September, it's still blazing hot outside, but all the shops are demanding that we prepare for la rentrée  and Starbucks has brought out their syrupy sweet autumnal concoctions and it would take a stronger mind than my own to resist the allure of new books and sweaters and things made from apples.

As a child I loved to get lost in the detail of a book - I always found plot to be of secondary concern.   I think this was partially because my books were always purchased from charity shops, and as a kid in the 80's this meant that I was reading the abandoned books of children who had grown up in the 50's and 60's.   Fantastic books, like Charlotte Sometimes and Swallows and Amazons, but also the Chalet School series and Enid Blyton.   Plot was secondary - I was not interested in the capture of more smugglers by the Famous Five - they did that every holiday.   These books captivated by describing a vanished world, and nothing interested me more than the descriptions of what children packed to go to school, what they ate, the rooms they slept in and the clothes they wore.

So, while it's still too hot outside to pull a plum merino sweater over my head, I can indulge my desire to change with the seasons (to go back to school like a Chalet girl) by pulling on my favourite pyjamas.

I love the pyjamas from Toast - I'm currently lusting after the vintage stripe.  I can easily imagine Darrell Rivers sneaking out of dorm in them, or wearing them while I look at the distant lighthouse through my binoculars.   Of course, sexy they are not, but I feel that the spirit of la rentrée and sex appeal are somewhat incompatible.   The smell of a freshly sharpened pencil awakens many things in me, but desire is not one of them. 

Alas, I cannot (and would not, even if I could) spend the best part of $150 on pyjamas. 

My tried and true PJ Pattern is Simplicity 2317.   I like it because it has a stretchy singlet pattern included.  I use thrift store sheets for my pyjamas - not the beautiful sherbet daisy 70's sheets, daisy, but the small floral spray and lurid lilac tea roses from the early sixties.   The crispness of the sheets is lovely to sleep in and I enjoy the fact that they look a little strange, especially when compared with the sleek jersey that you find in the shops now. 

The pattern itself works - it goes together easily and nothing is a challenge.   Because it is unisex, it fits a wide variety of body types - but perhaps would not work very well for someone who is very petite. 

I would really like to make a pair of 1940's pyjamas, the sort with a neat little jacket.  Hopefully I'll find a pattern soon!