I have a *thing* where if I don’t take pictures for the blog – then I can’t wear my completed garment. It’s silly, but it’s supposed to be my motivation to take final pictures of my makes. Sadly, I made this kimono robe at the beginning of the summer and it has yet to be worn – since no blog updates yet. Me and my silly rules. heh
I looove this kimono styled robe.
I started with the Kimono Robe by AtelierJoy via craftsy then via etsy. This is a one size fits most pattern so I then just hacked it a lot to make my current version.
Before I get ahead of myself talking about the robe…
I was on a sewing hiatus from like November 2013 to April/May ish in 2014 while I did all sorts of house stuff. I didn’t anticipate not sewing (silly me.) As a result, I felt like my sewing prowess had gotten a bit rusty. I wanted to make an easy pattern with minimal fitting as I got my feet wet (and back into the deep end of sewing). This pattern was perfect for that as it was a bunch of squares, typical of a kimono-like robe.
So… Pears and kimono robes don’t really go hand in hand, not in my opinion anyway. I need extra width at the hem to balance out my hippy hips. I hacked the pattern to make it much wider at the hem, curve at the waist and more petite on the upper half. As a result – it still looks like a kimono styled robe. LOL
Apparently, I needed to add even more width at the hem (ie more flare) to make it more swishy. Ahh well, I still love it.
I didn’t really follow the instructions fully, but I did make all of the seams french seams. When it came to the facings, I prefer to have them finished on the insides rather than on the outsides – so I hacked that part too. (This will make sense if you go to make this pattern for yourself.)
Let’s talk fabric.
This is my very first time sewing up a garment from a synthetic material, in this case it was polyester. You see, I really do prefer wool, cottons, silks, and any blends of these three. (Rayon is not included in this since it’s technically a natural fiber. But I even sew minimally with rayon – more now so as I’m delving into knits.) This does lead to an expensive fabric habit – but I’d rather have 1 yard of lovely silk crepe than 3 yards of well… anything else. heh
I say all of this because that is how much I love this fabric. I loved it so much I didn’t care it was a poly. It’s a light aqua color, with digital looking squares of white all over, combined with this slightly pixelated looking floral pattern.
I found that sewing with 100% poly is very different than sewing with a natural fiber. There was no stretch whatsoever and any small blips during sewing couldn’t be pressed or steamed out at the iron. Everything had to be very precise as I came to learn while sewing up this robe. Good thing there wasn’t too many curves to sew beyond the waist.
Sewing a robe has always been on my to-do list, ever since I started sewing (pajamas too). But it always took a backseat to other projects – namely those that will be worn out of the house and seen by others. I think there’s nothing better than walking out of the house in a handmade project and frolicking out and about in it. But as we bought our house, I’ve come to sing a different tune. I now can’t think of anything better than swishing about my (completed) house in silk charmeuse like Phryne Fisher does. This feminine kimono robe gets me one step closer to that reality even if my house won’t be completed for some years to come.
I now want to dig out my 1950’s bathrobe pattern and make that up. It has the 100% full skirted swish factor that is lacing in this kimono robe.
*Hint of what’s to come*
While it’s been months since I finished this kimono robe, guess who is now in the midst of sewing up her very own set of 1940’s silk pajamas in the most loud, geometric print?! I can’t wait to sew them up and swish some more. (As of today, the muslin work is all done and I’m now cutting out my silk charmesue.)
In: Sewing
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