Cozy Winter Sewing A Blouse And A Robe

Happy Fashion Friday friends! This post has double the delightful content! It was fun creating Cozy Winter Sewing A Blouse And A Robe.

Cozy Winter Sewing A Blouse And A Robe

My fabric stash has gotten so out of control. Much of it was lovely donations from friends. But it has now outgrown my closet and is spilling into bins on the sewing room floor. That is not working for me. So I am currently on a fabric diet.

In trying to use up fabric I am having to get creative. Some of my cotton calico pieces are just 1 yard so I need to combine them with a second fabric to make anything of use. A peasant style blouse is a lovely solution. I have now made two blouses from the New Look N6671 pattern. 

I would classify it as an intermediate pattern. This is due to the front neck closure which is a bit fiddly. Otherwise it is a great pattern. 

The old adage that if you buy what you love then it will work for you seems to hold true with fabric. I purchased both of these vintage cotton calico fabrics at two different estate sales a few years ago. They were less than $3 each. The color and scale of the designs work well together. For a bit of pizzaz I used some vintage scalloped trim on the sleeve.

The blouse is very comfortable and I can easily layer a long sleeve t shirt underneath. 

If you’re curious about why I am using an under construction space as my backdrop please read this post HERE. 

If you missed the story about our sweet little Pony you can find it HERE. 

The Robe

Last year I had found a twin sized vintage chenille bedspread at an estate sale.  I thought I could repurpose it as fabric for a robe. 

Given that it was vintage fabric I paired it with a vintage pattern, Butterick 5556. It is a fantastic pattern. A beginner could use it with a bit of assistance. I used the body of view A with the neckline of view C.

Now before anyone voices strong feelings in the comments about cutting into vintage (or antique) textiles or fabrics please let me share my thoughts. 

I am not opposed to repurposing mass produced vintage or antique fabric/textiles if they are in “cutter condition”. This means the fabric is basically useless for it’s intended purpose due to stains, rips, holes, etc. 

This bedspread fit the criteria on all counts. 

Indeed it was so FULL of holes, rips, and stains that it took me two hours of laying out the pattern pieces to try and find a workable layout. I think that is why it became mine for $5 on the last day of the sale. NO ONE wanted it. It was destined for the landfill. 

This image provides a good view of many of the stains. 

This Week’s Video

Even with careful cutting I had to cut out some of the leftover floral designs and applique them over some of the bigger stains and rips. You can see this process first hand as well as the finished robe in this week’s video. 

I understand that some of you might not want to click over to view the full YouTube video. However, there is just no way to really show via photograph all the fun details. Particularly when you see what I did with the leftover fringe! 

Plus as a BONUS FEATURE you get to see live action puppy shots! LOL

I’ll see you on Sunday!

Laura