This project has got to be one of my most successful upcycles. I started with a wool skirt that I made in 2012 and have only worn twice. I had kept the remnants from this project through several fabric culls, in spite of it being wool and my living in a hot climate for the last 20 years. I was able to combine those remnants with the fabric in the skirt to come up with enough fabric to make a shortened version of Jalie's 2889 Melanie Robe.
I do have a picture of me wearing the robe, although the details are obscured by my scarf.
A made a few changes to the pattern. Obviously, I shortened it. I also omitted the pockets. I did make a waist tie, but I find waist ties tend to come undone and I didn't like the bulky look of the tie in this fabric. Instead I added a skinny tie to one opening, which I loop through the belt carrier to keep the robe shut.
I used a new approach to finish the seams and hems on this robe. The Jalie pattern has 1 cm seam allowances. As I sewed the seams, I sewed in 1 cm wide rayon seam binding. Then I pressed the seam to one side, so that the binding was the top layer. I then stitched down the other side of the binding tape to enclose the seam allowances. I thought this would create a felled seam look on the outside, but in the wool fabric, you can hardly see the second line of stitching. This was much less fiddly and less bulky than either felled seams or a Hong Kong binding, and neater than overlocking.
I like the robe this length, and will probably keep to this same shortened length when I make a summer version in linen.
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