**** This post has been edited on 20 May 2019. This post previously referred to the pattern as the Suki Kimono, which was what it was called at the time of purchase, sewing and posting of this blog post. The name was subsequently changed to Suki Robe, in response to concerns that the original name constituted a form of cultural appropriation: you can read more about the re-naming and issues surrounding it over at Helen’s Closet.  In full support for this renaming, the references to Suki Kimono in this blog post have been updated to “Suki Robe”****

Today I’m sharing a couple of Suki Robe by Helen’s Closet – a summer and a winter version!

You know, I’d never really given dressing gowns much thought. It certainly had never truck me as the type of garment to me-make.

But then I was struck by a thought. I’ll spend hours constructing a me-made garment that I will wear a few times a month. But, a dressing gown, I will literally wear everyday. Maybe I need to pay attention to the me-made potential!

And so, I turned to the Suki Robe.

The winter Suki Robe is made out of 2 tones of merino jersey from The Fabric Store. I’d noticed that my standard over-the-top-of-pyjamas loungewear was this merino jersey cardigan. So, I thought, let’s take the merino coverage cosiness up a notch!

Although the Suki Robe is designed for wovens, I didn’t make any adjustments for sewing it in jersey, except for reinforcing my shoulder seams with clear elastic. It was only after I finished and went to tie it up for the first time that I realised I really should have used a knit interfacing in my ties as well…

Oh well, you live you learn.

Merino should be holy not hole-y

Unfortunately, I had a bit of a nasty surprise when I pulled this fabric out of my stash (it’d been in there for more than a year). Some kind of insect had gone munching at it and it was full of small holes. There were too many to cut around. My choices were to either decide to live with holes or trash the fabric.

And, well, the latter was not an option.

So, there are sections of the back of this Suki Robe which are filled with small holes.

Oh well, it’s still just as warm…

Have you ever had this happen to your fabrics?

I blame a colleague.

I have started sharing an office with a lovely colleague who, although not a sewist, really knows fashion and fibres. She often asks me to explain the origins of the fabrics I use and she asked me “how do you stop moths from getting in to all your merino and cashmere fabrics”.

I proudly replied that I’d never had that problem. It was literally that very same evening that I proudly declared this to be a non-issue that I discovered my hole-y merino.

I blame her for sending the moth-vibe my way. I’ve pulled out the rest of my stash and, so far, haven’t seen any damage to other fabrics, so here’s hoping this is an unfortunate isolated incident.

Should I be doing something specific to protect my stash from moths and insects?

What do you guys do?

And a summer Suki Robe

The summer Suki Robe is from the well known ‘Sun Girls’ rayon, part of the Amalfi collection from Cotton + Steel. I bought this fabric in a wave of Sunday-night insomnia because it is truly beautiful. But, I had no purpose in mind. And I worried that it would come across a bit ‘novelty’  in day wear.

In the end, I think a lightweight Suki Robe is a perfect match for it!

But more on this version below…

Sewing the Suki Robe

The Suki Robe starts out with my two most despised sewing tasks. First, stay stitching and then, making a bunch of loops.

Ughhhhh!!!

Luckily, it improves pretty quickly from there. Also, no matter how much you hate stay stitching – DO NOT SKIP IT. The curve of the neckline and the weight of the pieces means that there is a lot of pressure placed on the neckline while sewing. This one will stretch out if you don’t stay stitch.

If I can bring myself to stay stitch – you can too!

The instructions for sewing the Suki Robe are flawless, something I’ve come to expect from Helen’s Closet patterns.

I must admit though, that I did find the Suki Robe a tad more challenging to sew than I expected. Which is not to say that it is challenging. I think I just had an idea in my head that “oh, this is loungewear, it will be really quick and easy”.

The reality, is that the amount of meticulous detail the Suki Robe has thoughtfully included meant that, while not difficult, the project did take a little longer than I had anticipated.

The one step which I did actually find genuinely challenging, was sewing in the neckline. On both my jersey and rayon versions, I had a lot of trouble turning the final corner of the square neckline. There was much unpicking. But I have to commend the instructions here. The way this step is explained and illustrated is outstanding.

Just not necessarily easy to translate into reality.

Suki Robe: Pros and Cons

There are certain things that I absolutely love about the Suki Robe.

It kind of has every feature that I never knew I needed in a dressing gown.

Seriously, Helen has thought of everything!!! A hanging loop, big roomy pockets, inside and outside ties. And those outside ones are anchored!!!!! So there aren’t going to get lost in the wash and you will not be forever having to remind yourself to find the belt and thread it through the looks.

Honestly, anchored ties alone is a revelation to me!

I did move the position of the ties at the back closer the centre. There is supposed to be a gap of a couple of niches between them but I thought this looked a tad odd with my choice of contrast colour.

There are, however, I few tiny little details of the Suki Robe that I don’t like. The first is that the square neckline feature, requires that you place some small l-shaped pieces of interfacing on the inside, to reinforce the corners of the neckline. But, particularly on my winter Suki Robe, both white and black interfacing stand out like a sore thumb! The collar flops open sometimes (especially on the hanger). And so I somehow feel that I find myself staring at those little bits of interfacing way more than I’d like.

The other element I’m a tad unconvinced about is the sleeve. I find that the sleeve is a bit short and leaves my forearms and wrists a bit cold on chilly evenings. At the same time, I see why this length was chosen. Any longer and it would get in the way, for example, while cooking. So it does seem to be a feature inherent to the nature of a kimono-style sleeve. But the chilly wrists were a tad unexpected!

Nonetheless, I must say, I’ve definitely been living in my merino Suki Robe since I finished it!

Gifting the Suki Robe

Since my own climate doesn’t really justify a summer-weight dressing gown, the Sun Girls Robe was a christmas gift for my wonderful, creative Aunt.

I just wanted to do a quick shout out for what an awesome gift sew the Suki Robe makes.

There is flexibility in relation to the size, it’s simply not a big deal if you don’t get it perfect.

Further, I feel like a kimono is precisely that kind of everyday luxe item that not everyone has (or would buy for themself), but when it’s gifted to you, it becomes a bit of a special spoil-yourself kind of item! Also, since it’s primarily for indoor wear, I feel like some of the ‘sewing for others’ pressure is taken off. If, in the worst case scenario, you pick a print that just isn’t right for the person you’re sewing for, they’re still probably going to wear it because it’s low-pressure just-around-the-house-wear.

So I think the Suki Robe will be a gift sewing staple for me. Do you have any favourite patterns to sew as gifts?

Oh and, finally, a little P.S! If you like to get your blog hits through Bloglovin’, feel free to follow me over there: you can find me here. And you can find me on Instagram here.