What seamstress worth her salt doesn’t love the Great British Sewing Bee?  Unfortunately, it’s not aired in the US. Does the production company know it’s missing out on millions of American viewers?  Are there official DVDs of the latest GBSB season?That’s a serious question…

Well, on to the robe. “From Stitch to Style” — this version is the book affiliated with the show was published in 2016 — I was visiting the UK and got to watch some episodes in real time.  Then, I was gifted this book by Sarah Mirza Design and Brian Campbell Photography !

I won’t go into a book review here, but decided to make the Unisex Robe for a bit of unselfish sewing. It turned out to be easy and quick.

Certain details though, should be checked before sewing. Its a unisex pattern, and the length seems to be sized for very tall men and very tall women. For example, I installed the side in-seam pockets with an it’ll-be-all-right mind set. Well, the pockets started at my fingertip level — way too low.  The pockets are now sewn closed, and two patch pockets installed on each front, albeit a tad wonky since they had to be pieced together with scraps, and they are self-lined.

I discovered something new about the patch pockets — yeah, me, who brags about my sewing repertoire. Huh.  There’s a future blog post right there, where I’ll share some patch pocket discoveries with you.

Going back to the robe, its a kimono style piece (as are a lot robes), where all pattern pieces are rectangular, except a very slight curve at the front edge, along the bust/chest area.  Therefore, easy to sew!

In the interest of stash busting, I used a long-aged cotton terry cloth. The pattern guidelines recommend using a contrast front band and belt, but there was no suitable contrast in my stash, and the robe was a “use-what-you-have” project where buying new stuff was a self-imposed restriction.   To wangle out fabric for a belt, I cut away a few inches from the hem, because the robe was way too long for the wearer anyway and chopping of a few inches all the way around yielded a belt.

Folding the strip would have resulted in too narrow a belt, though.  In a stash busting move, I added a white woven “novelty” cotton on the reverse side. See image above. The cotton has been languishing in my possession.

There are other patterns in the GBSB book, just waiting to be sewn up.

If you have this book and the accompanying pattern pack, be aware that it’s like a Burda pattern; you have to trace out your size. Unlike Burda though, the seam allowances are included in the pattern.     

Just so you know — the perfect sewing days in Texas are the hottest summer days, when it is so hot that you leave the house at your own peril — of heatstroke.

Have a safe, cool summer.  Me? I am still reeling from the gun violence in my state and elsewhere. Be safe,my sweet friends.

Samina