How to make anywhere your 'happy place'. Even hospital.

When I found out my friend Rosa wasn’t just sick, but a-couple-of-months-left sick, I felt helpless. Everyone did. But there was one thing I could do: make pyjamas.

Althought she was in a sterile, scrubbed-clean hospital, I knew I could make something that’d help Rosa feel like she was still ‘her’ – a yoga-teaching, novel-writing, thatched-cottage-dwelling, 70-something free spirit.

I wanted to make her smile and help her feel elegant, even if she couldn’t get out of bed.

And I thought that every time she wore the pyjamas, it’d be like I was giving her a hug.

So I got sewing.

If someone you know is in hospital right now, please do it too. They're pretty easy to make and I can guarantee your handmade pyjamas will make them feel special, comfortable and happy.

Before she became a writer Rosa was a textile designer for Liberty, so I picked out some fabric with a William Morris print. Rosa was anything but chintzy though, so I whipped up some neon orange piping to punk it up (just a tiny bit).

To this day, those pyjamas are probably still the most important – and uplifting – thing I’ve ever crafted.

As I made them, every snip and stitch made me think about Rosa, and all the ways she inspired me.

In those hours, I thought about the conversations we’d had and all the advice she’d shared.

Ordinarily, I’d make something that on my own. But I’m also kind of slow at sewing and didn’t have any time to waste, so I asked by boyfriend to help – he knew Rosa too.

As the pyjamas took shape, we laughed and chatted about her. We got a little teary too. Making them brought us together in a new way, and we felt a warmth in our hearts knowing we were doing something that would bring her joy in the months she had left.

We had enough fabric for pyjamas and a matching dressing gown – so Rosa would have something to sleep in and something to lounge in too. We made them all from start to finish in a weekend, then wrapped them up and posted them to her in hospital.

I think Rosa was probably expecting flowers, a card or maybe some chocolates. The pyjamas were a better than all of those put together. They made Rosa feel seen and loved and cared for. And we felt happy, ‘there for her’ and heartbroken – all at the same time.

When Rosa passed away, I knew I’d shown her just how special she was in the best way I knew how. I also realised that if someone else I loved was ever in hospital, I’d know just what to do.

What I didn’t know is that I’d be using those crafting skills again sooner than I thought.

A short time later, my boyfriend (the same guy who’s helped me with Rosa’s pyjamas) needed an operation, then another, and another.

At first he was only meant to be in hospital for a week, but that soon turned into a couple of months – with no end in sight.

When visiting hours were over, I’d go home and cut around the same patterns I used for Rosa. This time I used a wild, colourful print I’d found in a market (which suited by other half perfectly). When he unwrapped them, his face lit up.

Those pyjamas couldn’t cure him – even his doctors couldn’t do that – but damn did they make him happy, which made me happy. Having a bit of fun and colour on the ward made the nurses happy. And that made the hospital a happier place to be.

Since then, I’ve realised making pyjamas has become my ‘happy place’ too. I sew them when people are sick, if they’re having a big birthday, or if they just need cheering up.

As I sew I think about all the reasons why the person I’m making them for is special, and amazing and wonderful to me – just like I did with Rosa.

Crafting them means I get to spend hours being grateful for the people in my life, and that makes me happier than anything.

So here’s my advice: if you want to make someone feel loved, try making pyjamas. It’ll brighten up their life and might even change yours too.