'Sewn in' for winter ??

[groom]

To have a shower, the water would just go in-between the pyjamas and the stitches, and come out again. To dry, we would just have to wait until the clothes were dry (hence why mother had us have shower in the early mornings on the rare occasion that we had them).

I would have thought that you'd stand more chance of catching pneumonia in this way than if you hadn't been sewn in. 

I think what has astounded most people here, is that the custom was still carried out, at least in your house, in the 1970s. That was the time of bell bottom trousers, track suits, mini skirts. Easy to wash and wear clothing.

[1l2e]

@groom I agree completely about it being very unusual to have done this in the 1970s. I think my mother was simply quite traditional and was only doing to her children what had been done to her, her parents, etc.

[Ruskie]

Clothes were figure hugging too Groom. Bulky underlayers would have not gone unnoticed.

I'm not sure that I understand how water goes between stitches and pyjamas when having a shower ... Wouldn't it be quicker and easier to just strip off?  You must have  beeen late for school on shower mornings if you had to wait for your clothes to dry before going out. 

[groom]

Hope you didn't follow the same tradition! 

[1l2e]

@Ruskie Of course it would have been quicker and easier to strip off, but the pyjamas were sewn together so this of course was not possible without having to resew them shut every week when I had a shower (which would have taken enormous amounts of time and effort). The water would be able to trickle down through the sewn stitches as there tiny holes where the sewing had been done. And also when we did do the rare shower, it was either on weekends or in the holiday period.

@groom Yes, Im glad I didn't follow the tradition myself 

[Rena]

And I thought it was bad enough wearing a liberty bodice when I was at infant school. 

lol, I had the same thought.  According to my mother she threw over the traces of the older generations and her mother was horrified that from babyhood to toddlers we weren't dressed in several under-layers.  For the life of me I can't now recall the names of those garments, one of which was rather complicated to put on and which fastened with ribbons - I can just recall one phrase addressed to my brother of "where's your shimmy?" (night shirt/chemise?).  I think scarcity in WWII had something to do with wearing less clothing.     

[josey]

According to my mother she threw over the traces of the older generations and her mother was horrified that from babyhood to toddlers we weren't dressed in several under-layers.

Nothing changes - I wondered [although not horrified ] why my grandchildren didn't wear vests!!

[Greensleeves]

"As a 70s child, every year until I was 18 years old, I was sewn in for the Winter. "

Try as I may, I cannot imagine a 17 year old standing there letting mother sew him into his clothing for the duration of the winter.   And at 15 you would not have been wearing a school uniform, you would most likely have started work on the day after your 15th birthday.  Was this still in the 1970s, or have we managed to move onto the 1980s by then?

Sorry, but I don't believe a word of this story.  Although there is a parallel in The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff set in the Dickensian era, when the character Smalcolm is sewn into his clothes at a very young age, and eventually manages to burst forth from them a fully-formed man at the age of 25.  That is a comedy programme...

[Ruskie]

@Ruskie Of course it would have been quicker and easier to strip off, but the pyjamas were sewn together so this of course was not possible without having to resew them shut every week when I had a shower (which would have taken enormous amounts of time and effort). The water would be able to trickle down through the sewn stitches as there tiny holes where the sewing had been done. And also when we did do the rare shower, it was either on weekends or in the holiday period.

@groom Yes, Im glad I didn't follow the tradition myself 

I'm finding it difficult to understand how water trickles through tiny holes in stitches .... wouldn't the entire garment get soaking wet?