Compose Robe

 

Pattern - Love Notions Compose Robe
Skill Level - Confident Beginner
Fabric - Bamboo Fleece from Discovery Fabrics
Skills - pocket corners

I've been wanting a good robe pattern for a while and Love Notions has come out with a great robe pattern!  It can be knee or calf length and you have the choice of a hood or a banded edge.   Of course, the pattern for women comes with the full bust option.  Not only that - you can make the Compose Robe in knit or woven fabric!  How versatile is that?  And wait - there's a children's pattern, too!

I chose to make my calf-length robe using luscious peacock green bamboo fleece from Discovery Fabrics. The fleece is light, yet warm and oh, so cosy!  The face is smooth with a fuzzy inside.  I'll be making hooded robes for my grandchildren in this fabric, too!

There are lots of the perfect little features we've come to expect from Love Notions patterns. 

There's a loop for hanging up your robe built into the neckline.

The band around the robe ends in a nice clean finish.

Loops at the waist hold the lovely, long belt above the pockets which are perfectly placed.  We need pockets, right?

Perfect Pocket Corners

And speaking of pockets, I like to see nice crisp corners on my pockets, so I've developed a process to get what I need.

After you've created the hem at the top of the pocket, press the edges in 3/8".

Now open the bottom corners and fold them in to create a diamond shape, the edges of which stay inside the pocket edges.

Steam press it flat.

And once you've stitched your pocket in place (remember to use lots of pins!) you won't see any edges peeking out at all!  Pocket perfection!

Adding Ties

Want to make sure your robe stays closed?  You can add ties and do it discretely so that they don't show.

First, put on the robe to establish where you want to add the ties - you'll want 2 sets - one near the outer edge and another at the inside edge.  I marked mine with safety pins, then put the robe on to make sure any outside stitching marks were hidden by the belt.

Then I replaced the safety pins with chalk marks for where the ties would be attached.

Next - what to use for ties.  I had an old roll of seam binding inherited from my mother-in-law's stash.  How old?  Well, you can see it's marked with 15 cents!  I cut what remained on the roll in 4, giving me ties about 8" long.  A bit longer would have been better, but I used what I had.  I cut a forked tongue in one end to prevent fraying and folded over the other end which would be stitched to the robe.  You can use a fine ribbon - or anything that's not going to be too bulky. 

I pinned the ties in place and then stitched them down.  If your robe's material is fine, you might want to reinforce under the ties.

 Now I can wear my robe with confidence knowing that it's not going to accidentally come open!

Love Notions' newest pattern, the Compose Robe is the pattern I've been waiting for.  It's comfortable, can be made in knit or woven fabric and has the clever features I've come to expect from well-made Love Notions patterns.  Available in women's and children's sizes, it's a pattern that belongs in all pattern libraries.  You can get the patterns from my affiliate links below.

Love Notions Compose Robe for Women - sizes XS - 5XL

Love Notions Compose Robe for Children - sizes 2T - 16