It was rather satisfying to have filled my need for comfortable summer dresses, so I’m bravely embarking on the next project.

For years now I’ve wanted a nicer light-weight dressing gown. My current one is shiny and glossy and looks almost unworn after fifteen years of use – but it achieves all of that because it’s 100% polyester and feels like plastic against my skin. And it’s too short – I can walk around in it, but not lounge on the sofa without feeling half-naked.

It’s one of those problems that simmers in the background and never becomes urgent. I’ve ordered two potential replacements from a second-hand marketplace; both came with their own problems and ended up donated to a charity shop. Mostly due to fit: standard dressing gowns are straight in shape, which makes them gape around the knees as soon as I move around. And the problem remained.

Sewing those dresses was maybe not the most fun I’ve had, but the results were good. How much harder can a dressing gown be? Last week I went fabric shopping again, and found this beautifully soft double gauze. It caught my eye as soon as I entered the store – the light-weight summer cottons were displayed right on the counter – and nothing else could compare. Of course it turned out to be more than twice the price of the other gauzy cottons… Now the result will have to last me another fifteen years. Although since it’s cotton rather than polyester, it might actually wear out with time.