FP Inspired Robe

I can't tell you how long I have wanted a "kimono" style, silky robe. I think I saw a woman in a movie once who had one and I just thought she looked so beautiful, so elegant and yeah, a little bit sexy. Ever since then I have kept my eye out for the perfect one. I think I am doomed to being awkward and dorky for the rest of my life, but I always wanted to at least pretend to be elegant. Google searching "kimono" only brings up the true Asian kimonos, which was not exactly what I was going for and the Free People ones that I coveted were usually around $200. Plan B. Make my own. I can't tell you how nervous I was about making this. I bought the fabric weeks ago but I couldn't take it out of the bag for fear of ruining it. Whatever type of fabric it is, (silk chiffon? rayon?) its very delicate and would not be forgiving if some idiot attempting to make something out of it messed it up. But after having a few projects where I came up short for supplies, it was my only option. Deep breath!!!

Here is the inspiration for this project.

Free People. So pretty with the ruffle!
 
Another Free People. This is the basic style I was going for, but I wanted something with a more colorful print.


This one I found on Pinterest. Love the print, but I wanted mine to be a little less "robe" like.


Love that this one is so long! Anyway, now I think you get what I'm going for here.

What you will need:
3 yards of (I honestly don't know what it is, silky chiffon, rayon something like that. Whatever you want the texture of your robe to be)
36 inches of shear, delicate ribbon (for the ties)
Cream or matching colored thread
Sewing machine
Pins
Scissors
A lot of patience for all the pinning you will be doing!

The gorgeous fabric that I found. Note: This fabric is normally $37 per yard! Lucky I got it at half off, but if it had not been on sale I wouldn't have been saving as much money by making my own. Getting it on sale allowed me to make my own for 1/4th of the cost. So if you want to make your own, I suggest waiting for a sale. Mine just happened to go on sale right as they were taking out "Summer" fabrics and replacing them with Fall stuff.  

1. Try on the piece of fabric as if it was finished already to get an idea of how long you want it all to be. Its pretty much in the shape it needs to be already, so we are just making some seams. I will give you directions for the way I did it. But remember, I am 5'8", so I may be taller than some! So try it on several times throughout to make sure its fitting. Cut off 11 inches from one of the long sides of the piece, which when put on is the back of the robe. I would have cut a little bit less in a perfect world. Probably 9 inches, but once its cut, its cut!

 Make sure that you measure the entire way, so that it is an even cut.

2. Then fold both long sides over about 1/4 inch, then fold another 1/4 inch and pin. This takes a long time and a lot of patience because you are pinning down 6 yards of fabric and the material is so flimsy! But its worth it I swear! Don't iron if you have a similar fabric to mine because you will melt the fabric.

 3. Sew the seams on both of the long sides. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the short sides of the fabric.

4. Try on again and hold your arms out so that the fabric falls on where you will want the "sleeves" to be. Place a safety pin through the front part of the robe to the back part of the robe, making a small hole (just large enough for you to put your hand through) for your wrists.

5. Here is an example of one. The loops I made ended up being about 10 inches from the front bottom of the fabric (if you are wearing it). But it is all preference and where you feel like your arms will be most comfortable. Sew a small stitch to close both of the holes. Make sure you reverse as well so it doesn't unravel.

6. Then decide where you want the ties to be. Again, trying on is a good idea. Place a safety pin where you want the ties to go. I put mine 17 inches from the top.

 7. Burn the edges of your ribbon so that it doesn't fray and sew on either side of the robe.

Now you have an elegant robe for lounging and looking gorgeous around the house. Note: Do not wash in the washing machine. This is not the type of robe you are going be stepping out of the shower into, so you shouldn't need to anyway. But I would dry clean if necessary.

 Here's the front.

By the way, I am totally wearing shorts!

 The back. See how I would have kept like 2 inches on it?

 The side. Don't mind our taped up bathroom!

 The length of the front.

I felt like I needed to give you a profile shot, because I am always taking pictures of my babies and no one ever sees me! And its my blog! So here you go. Me happy in my new robe!

Hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know if you have any questions! Happy Friday and have a great weekend everybody!