Skin. I don't use "sleepwear" at home, so I don't have to pack any. If I know I'll be sharing a room on a tour I take a long T shirt for getting in and out of bed, but I don't sleep in it.

Silk!

Cotton!!! It breathes!!!! Silk can be very hot and ugly for humid climates. A linen shift would be perfect! Get some fabric and make one up.

Maybe linen then. A thin linen would dry quickly, yeah? I'm imagining cotton would not but maybe thin cotton does okay if washed in the sink?

Skin! That does help lighten the packing but I just need something - too vulnerable without. I don't know exactly what I'm afraid of, spiders or something crawling on me. Yes, I get that a spider can crawl under a shirt, but a bit of a barrier gives me peace of mind somehow!

Well, although I said skin, I do often travel with a Dreamsack (http://www.yaladesigns.com/travel/dreamsacks ) - very lightweight silk sleep sack, for night trains and when I have doubts about the sheets. Unlike the poster above, I do not find silk hot, and in fact it was highly prized in east Asian countries for the purpose of staying cool in the summer heat.

I wear a shift made from pareo fabric. I assume it's rayon. I bought it in Mexico one time (it's like two sarongs sewn together). Nice because it folds/packs to nothing, and covers you up enough to answer the door if need be. The other thing I've used is a very lightweight cotton tank top and boxer style shorts.

(NOT silk, not linen, not synthetics - I HATE 'coolmax')

Hmmm, I always thought of rayon as a synthetic. According to wiki it's a semi-synthetic:

"Rayon is a manufactured regenerated cellulose fiber. Because it is produced from naturally occurring polymers, it is neither a truly synthetic fiber nor a natural fiber; it is a semi-synthetic[1] or artificial[2] fiber."

Have never heard of pareo fabric.

Maybe it depends on your level of maturity along the length of womanly years!!!

The younger you are you can sleep in anything....

Middle years...HOT HOT HOT.....want cool cool cool!!

Old age.....you are cold and want warmth and sleeves!!! I remember my mom.....always trying to find sleeves!!! I would tell her..put your arms under the covers! Jeez!

Anyway I am a warm sleeper these days.....so for me....I like something wafty and cottonish to sleep in!

This is my favorite travel nightgown: http://tinyurl.com/3db3lrf

It's actually a slip made out of light weight cotton, comes in 2 lengths (I like the long one), dries quickly, feels comfy and good coverage so if I have to run out of the room to a hall bath in the night I put a light jacket over and off I go.

Cotton does not equal linen. I do like linen clothing for its breathability. I haven't heard of linen sleepwear before, but and would be interested in checking it out. Any recommended brands?

For vacation (with spouse) I take 2 nighties - one old one that needs to be tossed which I wear for a few nights and then jettison, and one newer one. For business I have a set of lightweight cotton/poly navy plaid seersucker pajamas which can be washed out and dries overnight if I'm gone for a while. When I travel alone I need to be able to answer the door for room service in something utterly unsexy and practical, or something I cam run outside in if there's a fire.

Thanks for all of the suggestions!

I was also wondering about wool -- I've recently discovered the joy of smartwool and icebreaker and how non-itchy & soft some wool can be. And that it can work well in hot weather not just cold since it's so breathable. And it's quick drying when hand washed. There are camisoles that are very light & might work well. I guess I should try sleeping in one of my wool t-shirts to see how that goes.

Like ShelliDawn I'm interested in the suggestion of linen - is there a recommended brand/source? Am I wrong that linen doesn't really have give or stretch? What I'm envisioning with linen would be a bit stiff for sleep but obviously there are different weights of it.

Yikes, no way could I sleep in wool (I can barely stand it as outerwear, but maybe I'm allergic).

thursdaysd, I'm not against synthetic fabrics, only the ones that *feel* really synthetic and don't breathe well. Coolmax is one of those. I took 2 v-neck tshirts on one Europe trip and they were about the worst pieces I have ever traveled with... they were hot, stained, pilled, etc.

When I say "pareo fabric" I mean whatever that is they use to make sarongs/pareos like they sell for the beach in Hawaii, Mexico, etc. I think they're usually made in Asia. and are a very soft, smooth, thin rayon or cotton printed fabric.

I always travel with a couple sarongs because they are so handy and multipurpose (window curtain, table cloth, bathrobe, bed sheet, etc.)!

I would not think it would be too hard to make something from a light weight linen to sleep in and I do not sew!!

However.....think caftan and just sew up the sides, leaving room for your arms and cut the neck opening as large as you want it Use pinking shears and maybe even that new glue thread stuff and you would not even have to thread a needle.

Do you think this would work?

My favorite is a soft, thin, coffee-colored "dress"/coverup/nightie from JJill -- I think it was shown with leggings but I can't recall the exact line. Very comfy fabric -- cozy but not too hot.

It folds up into nothing and multitasks well.

If I didn't bring that I'd bring a cotton knit gown that has enough coverage -- opaque, sleeves, to the knee. Victoria Secret use to have these but they seem to be chasing a different demographic these days.

Come to think of it, it may have been Garnet Hill -- will check.

Tried sleeping in wool t-shirt. Not good so I don't think I'll buy camisoles. Unless you sleep in a bra...
T-shirts work well during the day tho' even in hot temps - very soft and breathable!

I sleep in a Jockey brand cotton tank top/undershirt. I have a couple dozen in all different colors; the oldest ones are the thinnest and dry the quickest, so I usually take 1 or 2 of those on trips. A sarong works the best as a coverup, and is so useful for so many other things, as Suze mentioned.

Modal! It's crazy soft and lightweight. Loose lounge pants can be worn in bed or around the room in the evening. A tank top can be worn to bed or out in public depending on the top and what you pair it with (it's a somewhat drapey fabric and can look great when tucked into black slacks if you get the right top).

I have nighties (think of a shift or slip), tank tops, t-shirts, long pants and capris out of this material and absolutely adore it. It folds up small and is so soft that it feels like a silk blend.

Iowa_Redhead - does modal dry quickly if handwashed? that's another criteria.

Modal, rayon, viscose, lyocell, Tencel - all made from wood pulp and virtually the same. If you have experience with one then you'll know the properties of all.

How long is the trip? And in what season?

(As far as how often you'll even need to wash out sleepwear & how long it would take it to dry.)

Leslie, I've not tried it but I think so. I've opened the dryer early and my jammies were dryer than everything else.

If you have a Kohls near you they almost always have various items in that fabric and you can feel it up.

In summer, I sleep in the nude at home. When traveling or in winter, I get pima cotton sleep tees from Lands End or men's 100% cotton v-necked tee shirts from Target.

We'll be in India & Nepal in November so it won't be hot hot but I tend to sweat in my sleep so I usually wear a different top every night. Or, rather, wash one in the sink every morning when possible. I've tried hand washing a very thin cotton Hanro tank top I have and it line-dried super fast. So I think that'll be one to pack. Maybe I'll try out a modal top too - I actually do have some t-shirts made from that and agree it feels great but have not tested the handwash/dry time.

I'm going to give my best effort to only packing carry-on this time!
Nude sleeping would help with that but it just feels to unprotected as I said above - nightmares of bugs crawling where they should not be!