I have been pleasantly surprised at how versatile the Dressing Robe is during my pattern development phase. I have experimented with dresses, cover-ups, jackets, and tops. I love when patterns can be made into more than their intended purpose with a little tweaking. The shape of the bodice and sleeves lends itself well to many applications, and with a some pattern hacking, I've managed to create a suite of Dressing Robe things to share with you on the blog!
In this post, I will cover how to make your own dress using the Dressing Robe pattern.
How to make the Dressing Robe Dress
- Replace the front band with a front facing
- Use the sleeve cuffs as sleeve facings
- Add a hem facing
- Create your preferred waist closure (snaps, buttons, ties, obi belt, etc).
First things first, we need to eliminate the front band by tracing a new, curved line from the neck down to the hem. It is best to trace the original pattern piece and make a new one with this new curve.
Next, we need to make a front facing using our new front pattern piece. Trace the front curve and measure out 3-4" to create a facing piece.
We also need a back facing. Trace the back neck and shoulder and measure out 3-4" to create a back facing piece.
I also created a hem facing to match the front facing. Trace the bottom of the front and back pieces and measure 3-4" to create the facings. Sew front and back hem facings together at the side seams.
Use the provided sleeve band piece, but only cut it to be 3-4" wide to match your other facings.
Now, we can construct the robe. Follow the instructions to attach the fronts and back at the shoulders. Do the same for the facing. Sew the facing to the body and understitch it. Press the facing to the inside and finish the raw edge.
Attach the sleeves as in the instructions and sew the side seams closed. I left out the pockets and inner ties for this version, but you can put those in if you would like.
Sew the sleeve bands on with right sides facing, understitch, fold the raw edge in 1/2" and sew the facing down on the inside of the sleeve.
Attach the hem facing to the dress.
Now, you can add any kind of waist tie you want to close your new Dress!
I really love wearing this dress. It feels so glamorous and I especially love it in this Ojos Flame fabric from April Rhodes for Art Gallery Fabrics. I hope you try a Dressing Robe dress for yourself! Let me know if you have any questions about this pattern hack.
FAQ: Does your bra show when you lift your arms up? I find that with this drapey fabric, it doesn't show. If I stood perfectly still and held my arms out in a T shape, someone could peek in there (unlikely, haha). With the movement of everyday life, I never feel uncomfortable. I wear a pretty bralette just in case!
Now, here are a bunch of pics!
Note: This pattern has been discontinued.
The use of the Japanese word ‘Suki’ for this pattern is cultural appropriation. We apologize for using the name and will continue to strive to do better. You can read more about this decision here.
