Hi!
So all the while I have been whipping up dresses and what else, I didn´t notice that the one garment that I start and end my day with is literally falling apart – my morning robe! Even my 2-year old started pointing out that it looks “broken” and commented that “daddy will have to buy you a new one!” I loved the last idea, but then I realized I could also make it myself and love it even more because of that. And “daddy” can always spend his money on something else I like but can´t make, right?! But good thinking baby girl 😀
So it seemed like a piece of cake – just find a pattern out of a gazillion patterns out there, but the first obstacle emerged as I realized if I wanted a shawl collar like the old one had, there are not so many patterns at all. There were some that were not in my size range and others that looked good but just without the shawl. Ok, so I finally found Simplicity 8804 that seemed to be perfect until I received the pattern and looked at the back of the envelope. Finished chest circumference 128 cm. 128 cm? 128 cm! So that was about 20 cm too much and the shoulders were also way wider that the original robe had. One thing is that I don´t want to be lost inside my morning robe but the other also that I had bought 2,3 m of cotton velvet for the purpose already and the huge robe would have needed 3,3 m.
So I ended up doing what I had never done before – since the original robe was so worn, I just cut it into pieces and used the pieces as a pattern. It would have been a good idea to create a proper pattern and make everything symmetrical and match up on paper but I just went with it. Even my husband asked: “Didn´t you make a paper pattern first?” Nope.
Actually, being a simple thing as a morning robe is, there was not that much trouble sewing it up per se, but it took me a week because… well… children 😀 Baby Lennart turned 4 months old and I guess he was going through what they say is the 4 month sleep regression because while he has been sleeping tight every night since birth, he pretty much kept me awake all through the past week. Not crying, thankfully, but just sniffing around in his crib, nursing more often than usual and waking up earlier than usual. However the past two nights have been normal again, so let´s hope we are done with this! But the robe… The most complicated part were the pockets where I accidentally didn´t consider the nap of the fabric and one of the pockets would have looked darker than the rest of the garment. But I realized it relatively early… relatively is emphasized here…. so at least I didn´t sew it on yet but I had to create a new pocket and it took some time since the lace, the piping and the bias tape had to be sewn again on top of the pocket.
So what I made differently in comparison to the original robe is that the original did not have the piping feature but the front edge was overcast with bias tape. I figured I could never make the silky tape look pretty and since it runs all over the edge, it would have to be perfecr for sure. So instead, I put a silky piping between the two layers and I love the result. I am telling you, if you contemplate whether or not to use piping, usually “yes” is the correct answer 😀
In the end, although it took me that long, I am happy with the result. The original robe was made of bamboo velvet, the new one is cotton velvet, but they feel very similar, cosy and not too warm. And the shawl collar is a must, it keeps the neck toasty. Initially I tried finding a matching shade of lace an other trimmings, but no luck. Now looking at the photos, I think the cream details are actually even better! And did you notice that the robe has no side seams? So nice against the skin!
I guess you can tell how much I like it 😀 Just loads of photos! By the way, the fact that it matches my bedroom is purely accidental. I ordered the fabric and only realized it later! I was actually looking for a peach shade as the original, but couldn´t find any and now it seems like it had to be this way!
Happy sewing and until soon!
The Late Night Sewist 
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