Are you ready to put your Dressing Robe together? We will be doing a lot of steps today, only because in order to finish the pockets, we have to get all the way to the side seams! Feel free to break things up a bit if you need to.
You can view all the posts in the Dressing Robe Sewalong here.
To begin, finish the curved edge of all four pocket pieces. You can use a serger, zig-zag stitch, or pinking shears.
Question: Why are the edges of the pockets finished separately? I love a good, clean finish. By finishing the pockets and side seams of the robe separately, we can have the cleanest finish possible. If you prefer to finish the edges at the end, you can feel free to wait.
Pin and sew the pockets to the front and back of the robe. Match the notches.
Fold one of the tie loops in half.
We want to pin the loop to the upper marking on the robe front.
the tie should be facing inwards towards the robe.
Finish the sides of the robe front and back separately. You can use a serger, zig-zag stitch, or pinking shears.
Press the pocket and seam allowance out on the robe fronts and back.
Understitch the pocket to the seam allowance. Repeat for all four pockets. This helps to keep the pocket nicely tucked away.
With right sides facing, attach the fronts to the back at the shoulders.
Press the shoulder seam towards the robe back.
Finish the two sides of each sleeve separately. You can use a serger, zig-zag stitch, or pinking shears.
With right sides together and matching notches, pin and sew the sleeves to the robe. This can be a bit tricky to navigate, but if you have your notches marked, you will get through it! Start by matching the center notch to the shoulder seam.
Next, match the single notch on the sleeve front to the single notch on the robe front.
The two notches on the sleeve back match with the two notches on the robe back.
Fill in the space between the notches with as many pins as you need to feel comfortable.
Sew the sleeve to the robe and repeat for the other side.
Finish the seam and press it towards the robe sleeve.
The next big step is to sew the side seams and sleeves closed in one fell swoop. With right sides facing, match the robe fronts to the robe back and pin along the sleeve and side seam.
If you are missing the pocket pivot markings, you can add it in now. This marking indicates where you will pivot to sew around the pockets.
Sew the side seam, pivoting to sew around the pockets. Continue to sew the sleeves.
Depending on your fabric, you may want to clip into the seam under the arm (at the armpit). This will help if there is any bunching of the fabric here.
You can place a bar tack at the top and bottom of the pocket, just to the front of the seam. This helps the pocket bag to fall to the front of the robe and also stabilize this stress point. If you do not have a bar tack stitch on your machine, you can do a series of zig-zag stitches. Try disengaging your feed dogs and slowly guiding the fabric through manually.
Lastly, we will attach one of the inner ties. We will sandwich it between the seam allowance, right below the outer tie loop on the right hand side.
Pin and sew the tie in place, sewing a few lines of stitching back and forth to secure it in place.
You should be able to try on your Dressing Robe now!
On Monday we will go over the hidden seam option for the cuffs. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments or via email at support@helensclosetpatterns.com.
Happy sewing!
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.
