Recently I went through the stuffed linen closet with the goal of getting rid of extra sheets and towels. In particular, I needed to inventory the flannel sheets, which had multiplied for the simple reason that flannel sheets gradually go bald with use and then we end up getting a new set.

However, the top sheets—the flat sheets—take much longer to go bald than the fitted bottom sheets. So while I had several fitted sheets that were worn enough that I didn’t want to give them to the thrift shop, the matching flat sheets were still pretty nice.

Having a big piece of still-usable fabric sets me thinking about what I can make out of it. Flannel—I don’t want flannel pajamas, because flannel pajamas plus flannel sheets equals difficulty turning around in bed. Flannel pajama pant bottoms? I know people are wearing them, but to me they look like someone didn’t bother to get dressed yet.

A bathrobe! I have three bathrobes already, but I could use a lightweight summer robe. Plus, it wouldn’t be too complicated. I was going to use the sheet with the multicolored sheep, but the sheep were scattered too far apart for the best effect. Instead, I would use the sheet with the dragons.

After browsing some of the simple patterns available that were made mostly of rectangles, I decided that as long as I was going to sew a robe, I might as well make one with more shaping. I chose the Arbutus robe from Helen’s Closet. I downloaded the file, decided on size 8, and printed out the I-forget-how-many pages of pattern.

In future, for any pattern with large pieces, I think I will have it printed at Staples on big sheets and then transfer it to pattern material. I hate piecing together all those pages, even with the nifty Scotch tape runner adhesive that let me quickly overlap and stick sheets together faster than regular tape.

Then I needed to adjust the length. Oddly, after a section on lengthening/shortening, the pattern had a heading “How much should I add/remove?” in which it said “Generally, you want to add/remove the difference between your height and the height for which the pattern was drafted divided by two.” I puzzled over this—surely I should just shorten it by the difference?—and unfortunately decided that maybe I was missing some subtlety and went ahead and did as instructed. It was only after I was halfway through sewing and draped the robe over my shoulders that I discovered I could barely touch the pockets and it was ankle-length. On puzzling some more, I noticed that the section in question was next to a picture of the sleeves, which also needed shortening, but not as much as the body. Of course!

I do think the pattern should have been more clearly worded in that section, but I should also have had the basic sense to realize that I needed to shorten it the full five inches difference. D’oh!

So I had to unpick and re-place the pockets, and unpick the facing so I could cut 2.5 inches off the bottom. At least I discovered it in time to fix.

That wasn’t my only mistake, but the others were basic stuff like putting the wrong sides together before sewing. The shawl collar was particularly confusing for me, but in the end it worked out.

I also dislike the interfacing I used. It was pellon sheer-weight, and I thought it would be light enough, but it came out feeling very stiff compared to the very limp feel of uninterfaced flannel sheet. Next time, I’ll test the combination of fabric and interfacing ahead of time.

I took notes as I went, so if I sew another bathrobe, or use the pattern for some other purpose (there is a jacket version), I will hopefully not make the same mistakes. And I’ll know to make the sleeves even shorter than difference/two, so I don’t have to roll up the cuffs.

Here is the finished bathrobe. I like the dragons!

Till next post.