sewing project: Amy Butler kimono robe

Leading up to Christmas, I had the bright idea to make my mom a robe. And what better one to make than the kimono robe from Amy Butler‘s book, “In Stitches”? I knew I would need to watch the sizing after making the extra huge pants a few weeks ago.

I spent over an hour searching for fabrics, and bought everything i needed in early December. And the week before Christmas, I cut the pattern pieces out, which obviously didn’t leave much time for sewing since we also went out of town that week. So I got to sewing this past Sunday. As I was laying the pieces out, I realized that I cut the back piece 10 inches too short. A quick trip to Hancock Fabrics was in order (and I found a piece – 2 inches longer than what I needed – as a remnant, so I got it for more than 75% off.)

I was SHOCKED at how easy this pattern was! The sleeves were WAY too long, but I hemmed them. I had to keep in mind that my mom is several inches taller than me, so she probably needs longer sleeves than I do. I think I spent about 3 hours sewing on Sunday, two hours on Monday night and an hour tonight. Kind of sounds like a lot of time, but it’s a piece of clothing! Tonight I added two pockets to the robe (because I puffy heart pockets.)

I haven’t given this to her yet. She has no idea that I was even making anything for her. I think she’ll be somewhat impressed.

And now for a poor quality photo:

By the way, my husband doesn’t understand short robes. He said that he’s never heard of one. I figure that this robe will be used in the spring and summer. So there’s no need to worry about a longer robe, right?