If you’re one of those people who like to begin the day quietly

Do people still wear housecoats? I know pyjamas for day-wear are fashionable, and maybe younger people still wear onesies, and most people have dressing-gowns for first thing or last thing at night… but housecoats?

In the marvellous seventy year-old book, Knitting for All, there is a whole section on housecoats, knitted housecoats… I can’t imagine it, wouldn’t they be very heavy? Wouldn’t they be difficult to wash before most people had washing machines? I suppose in the cooler months in houses without central heating and double-glazing, it was important to keep warm, and a woollen housecoat would be very much appreciated.

The fashionable housecoat pattern requires yellow, brown, rust, blue and grey wools so I guess it would be quite cheery – and maybe those colours were what were in fashion that year, or maybe were what were available since wool was rationed. At the end of the chapter is a short section:

You’d prefer something quieter

If you’re one of those people who like to begin the day quietly, you may prefer a less vigorous colour scheme for your housecoat….(it can be) knitted in two colours instead of five; (for example) the borders in garter stitch and stripes are in maroon, and the background in stocking stitch is in grey.

This ‘quieter’ colour scheme sounds really nice, but I’m still not sure I’d like a knitted housecoat!