Sunday, August 18, 2013

Simplicity 9330 - Men's dressing gown

Sewing for others... excuse me, while I shine my halo... My Dad needed a new dressing gown (robe) and the criteria was make it warm as he really feels the cold now.  I tried on one I made many years ago for my oldest son and the only change requested was to shorten the sleeves as my Dad is not tall and has shorter limbs than those catered for in the pattern.

I bought some Coral Fleece from Lincraft on a recent sale and as lovely as the fabric feels... the fluff!  I sneezed 3 times before I got the fabric to the counter to get it cut.  When I got home I overlocked the raw edges and washed the fabric as I am sure all the dust and fluff in that store had been attracted to that roll of fabric!

3m of fabric is long, so I am glad that when we renovated our house I bought a really long dining table... a bit of a folly as mostly there is two of us sitting at it, but I do love it when the family comes for a meal... or when I need to cut 3m of fabric!

This pattern is OOP but I am sure there are new similar ones about.  A good basic robe and pj pattern.  Once you get one, you don't really need another one!


The resulting robe..


Of course, my model Diana isn't shaped like my Dad and definitely does not have his shoulders!  I put the softest side of the fabric to the inside.  

To deal with the fluffy fabric, I found I had to shake each piece out outside before dealing with it, similarly if I trimmed a seam... off outside to make a fluffy snowstorm!  I did not interface or press with the iron.  I only finger-pressed seams as I worked with them.

I found I had to put a larger needle into the sewing machine as otherwise the thread shredded.  I ended up using a denim needle and it seemed to sew fine.

The robe has inseam pockets.... I have tried to show it here by tucking in the sleeve.


The back...  obviously it should fit my Dad's shoulders a bit better!


This is an easy sew.  I am not sure it is a value for money sew particularly if you have to pay full price for the fabric.  But I am happy to make this for my Dad and it certainly is a nice, lush fabric and possibly better than some of the ones I saw in the shops.  Father's Day is at the end of this month, so I will be gifting it to him then... I hope he likes it!

Ciao.. Off to de-fluff my sewing studio and clean my machine!

14 comments:

  1. What a great Father's Day present. And the robe looks really professional. Well done, Queen of Virtue!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sue, your halo is already blinding, no shining needed ;). A custom made dressing gown is far better than a RTW one, all that handmade affection built in.., - and this looks beautifully warm, purchased dressing gowns are often very thin. I think they last longer when you make them too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Halo is VERY shiny! :D nice work - looks just like a RTW one my Hubby has.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The dressing gown looks very snuggly. Your father should love it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your Dad is going to enjoy this, it looks so cosy. Whilst a lot of things are not cheaper to make, the quality of the fabric and the finish is where the value is, as well as the satisfaction. It will not come apart at the first wash. Very well done!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well done. What a lovely daugther your dad has!
    -Sewingelle

    ReplyDelete
  7. Made with love as my son says! Very nice. I remember the fluff from the one I made... it is awful. Your Dad will love it. I do love the colour.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great dressing gown. I'm sure your Dad will love it even more knowing it was lovingly made by you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. OOOh that looks nice and toasty - very much needed on these cold morning. Great.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It looks great, and very warm and snuggly.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I know my Dad would have loved this a lot. Nice work Sue.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great looking robe for your Dad and I'm sure he will appreciate the warmth.

    ReplyDelete
  13. What lovely, unselfish sewing! He will think of you every morning when he snuggles into his robe.

    ReplyDelete

Love to hear what you think...