A Vintage House Coat - McCall's Pattern 2696 + Fabric From 1977
The robe pictured above was a labor of love. While it was actually a simple make, I decided that I needed to hand sew the entire lining in. I spent most of my weekend parked on my bum in my office in front of Outlander streaming on Netflix hand-sewing this together.
I’ve had the shell fabric for some time and was deciding on either using it or selling it. It’s a heavier weight cotton, think a soft denim fabric from 1977 made by Riverdale. (I will upload the selvage notation image up on to my flickr soon.) The background is a brighter navy blue with vibrant floral and bamboo imaging. Honestly it’s quite spectacular for being 45 years old. I had a few yards of it and paid $7.99 for it at the thrift store. i actually thrifted everything I used to make this robe/coat. The lining is a substantial polyester satin in a creamy champagne color. It’s some slick devilish shit, which is what made me decide to hand sew the lining in. Better to be safe than sorry.
While it was a laborious, I actually don’t mind hand sewing. My stitches aren’t super neat or evenly spaced. But this was something that I made for myself and whatever grandchild of mine inherits this can see that an actual human put this thing together.
Alterations to the the pattern:
I shortened the length by two inches. As you can see that the length still drags on the floor a little. I decided to keep it long to add to the drama of my walking up and down my stairs. I am quite extra in that way.
I also changed the collar. I didn’t like the original closed tightness of the the collar. This is meant to be a lounge item and wanted a relaxed fit all around. Otherwise, I sewed the patterned per the manufacturer instructions. Pockets were included, so thankfully I didn’t need to add them.
It’s not perfect but I am quite pleased with it and have enjoyed wearing it so far.
It has been challenging finding good projects for my vintage fabrics that I actually want to (and am brave enough to) execute. I’m glad I did this one.
Now I’m off to dive into another project.
xo-Thea