1 dragon novelty button
+ 1 Simplicity Pattern # 5329
+ 1.25 Yards of Satin Ribbon
+ 2 sewing machines
+ 3 seamstresses
+ 4 bobbin refills
+ 5 Yards of dragon-printed brocade
+ 145 yards of thread
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1 Robe fit for a 6'6 man!
(I promise there are photos at the end of my long-winded write up!)
This project started all the way back in March, I think it was. I
was visiting my friend SA. He's a college student, and was living
in communal housing with a few other guys. I asked him if I could
borrow his robe to wear back and forth to th bathroom, and he told
me he didn't have one. I asked him why, and he explained it was
because any robe he's ever tried on has always been too short on
him (He's 6'6"). Wheels started churning in my head, but I didn't
really do anything about it until July, when I was hanging out
with Chris and J, and we went to Joann Fabrics. Chris and I
frolicked around the store (and had a great time in the tassel
section!), and we stumbled upon the Chinese inspired brocades.
The dragon printed fabric immediately caught my eye as something
that would look great on SA, but I didn't get it just yet. I
bought the fabric in August when my mom was visiting, and the
pattern as well, and sent her home with the fabric, intending on
making it when I was home for Thanksgiving. The woman at the
store assured me it would be "easy" to adjust the pattern, and
since the XL sized robe called for 4.25 yards, she advised me to
get 5 yards (even though I'd have preferred 6!)
We won't rehash why I moved back home in September, but I was home,
and in October I asked mom about helping me with this robe. We
finally cut out the pattern and laid it out on the fabric the
weekend before Halloween. Panic ensued as we tried to add extra
length to the pattern and decide which size to make. I had poor SA
measure so many parts of his body, he had no idea what I was
making for him!
The decision was finally made to make the Size Large robe as
opposed to the medium, since we figure BIGGER was better than too
small, and added 15.5" onto the length of the robe, and 2" to each
sleeve. We also moved down the pocket a few inches, as well as the
belt loops and inside tie. The robe called for two pockets, but
to conserve fabric, I decided on one. I also decided I wanted to
give him a loop to hang it on a hook, which I made out of the hem
of a pair of corduroys we had shortened. I also found whimsical
dragon buttons, and just for fun, I added a button onto the front
of the pocket.
All-in-All, i think it took us about 20 hours between laying out,
cutting, and sewing. Not too bad, really.
The original pattern states that the finished project is 45" long
from neck to hem. I had SA measure down on his body how long 45"
was, and that fell around his knees. Then, I asked him to add on a
foot onto that measurement, and THAT landed around his calves, a
much better place for a robe to end. The finished project was 60"
before the hem was added, and we put about an inch to two inch hem
on it.
What really helped with the pattern was taking pieces we weren't
using (the little boy's pattern, mostly), and cutting pieces out to
add to the length instead of just eyeballing things.
The most frustrating part was working with the fabric - I'm a small
person (barely 5') and the robe itself was as big as me! Also,
the brocade made it a bit slippery.
As far as the pattern goes, the worst piece to work with was the
sleeve, since they were practically square pieces of fabric. We
actually sewed on the one sleeve sideways the first time and caused
about an hour of confusion as things didn't line up the right way!
We wound up using my aunt's ping pong table to do a lot of the
laying out/pinning/pressing because we simply didn't have enough
room anywhere else!
Here's some photos of the finished project hanging up. I'm
visiting SA on Tuesday and plan on giving it to him then, so I'll
post photos of him modeling it (as long as I get his permission)
sometime on Tuesday or Wednesday.
I promise, the sleeves ARE even, it's just not hanging on the
hanger properly. Hopefully I can take some photos of SA modeling
it.
Just because I needed to make it a little on the whimsical side, I
saw this adorable dragon button and couldn't resist it!
Incredibly blurry shot of the hanging tag - Made from the hemline
of a pair of my corduroys we cut off when we hemmed them. I
figured the corduroy would be better able to hold up the weight of
the robe over using a piece of robe fabric.
Hanging loose, again, uneven. You can see the inside tie ribbon
hanging in the front, and the belt tie hanging at the side.
all tied up and ready to give!
