Mon Espace Créateur - { My Creative Space }

Oh what a mission I've been on! Over hill, over dale, in nook and in cranny, down the garden path ....to end, up a creek without a paddle! Such an adventure chasing not a pot of gold but a wee little dressing gown for my little honey bunny. That is, a dressing gown with a few requirements: buttons instead of a tie so that I don't have to spend all my time doing it up to keep her snug, no and I repeat NO leopard print in any shape or form (I mean really Kmart people, who would?!!!) nor glitter, nor "coz I'm cute" slogans. You get the picture.... a dressing gown for a little girl not a bouffant haired , black eye liner-ed strumpet!

Did I find one...no! Did I make one for about the cost of a coffee...YES! With a little under a metre of the least zany printed fleece from my beloved Spotlight (tongue pushed firmly against cheek), a rip off pattern from a Mr.P Patch jacket and a few hours and mon petit poppet is toast-y! Because it was so cinchy I thought I'd show you how.....

1) Find a suitable jacket with a collar to copy. Cut around sleeves leaving extra for seam allowances.
2) Do the same for the back. Make the dressing gown whatever length you need.

3) Fold the jacket sleeve out of the way and use the curve as a guide to cut the armhole (again leaving a seam allowance)

4) Fold the collar out of the way and cut straight across the neckline. Repeat on the other side.

5) Et voila! One back piece.

6) Do the same for your front piece.

7) When you reach the front armhole, remove the jacket and align your back piece over the top to ensure a perfect match on your armholes. Repeat for the other side.

Make sure you have a left and a right piece.

8) Do the same for your collar - cutting two pieces. With right sides facing, stitch them together along the curve. Turn the right way out.

9) With right sides facing, sew the fronts and backs together at the sides and shoulders.Sew sleeves together also.

10) Turn sleeves the right way out and put inside the jacket. Match the shoulder seams and side seams and pin. It should look like this. Stitch.

11) Turn jacket right way out. It should be starting to resemble a little wee dressing gown!

12) Pin and stitch the raw edge of your collar to the wrong side of the dressing gown.


Make sure to leave a hem allowance for the front pieces either side of the collar.

12) Inside the jacket, on the back piece, measure about 9 and a half cm in from the left side seam and pin an 11cm piece of 3/4 inch elastic. This is to pull in the back a little so place it roughly where the small of the back would be.

13) Measure about 9 and a half cm from the right hand side and make a mark.

14) Pulling towards the mark as you go, stitch the elastic in place. I did a row of stitching on each side of the elastic.

15) Hem the front edges so that they align with the collar join. Hem the bottom edge.




16) Turn the collar out so that it is facing the right way and top stitch close to the seam. Go slowly because it is quite thick.


17) Overlap the front pieces as they would sit when done up and pin where you would like the buttons to go. Make button holes and sew on buttons.

C'est Fini!!!

I'm off to have a bath, pop on my dressing gown and have a lovely trawl through all the delightful creative spaces at Kirsty's lovely blog.