Featured Vintage Wool Tartan Dressing Gown

$30.00 at a thrift-shop in town. Excellent condition! I admit, I modified it a bit.

I cut off the sash-loops and re-sewed them further down, just above the pockets. In their original placement, they were just a few inches under the arm-holes, and god knows how you're supposed to tie a sash under your armpits across your chest. I tried it and it was VERY uncomfortable. Down near waist, just above the pockets, feels much better.

The label identifies this as being pure wool, made by "Kaye Jones", a local manufacturer of luxury sleepwear, founded in the 80s. I'd say this is late 80s or early 90s.

Details:

Piping is bright green. Pocket-hems are a sort of navy-purple colour. The tartan is black, blue and green, but I haven't been able to identify it yet (not really important, but it'd be nice to know). The edging on the shawl collar is purple, just like the edges of the pockets. Comes with original, matching sash.

The photos aren't very good. I'll try and get a proper shot of the pattern tomorrow in daylight.

 

Very fetching, Shangas.

That often happens, I've had to do that too, and my upper body is relatively short.

Hard to tell from the pics, but it could be Black Watch.

 

Nice!

 

Job well done.

 

Handsome! It becomes you!

 

Well done! Also sounds like a very nicely made item to begin with. So glad you could adapt. Looks great!

 

cool find looks great on you!

 

Looking very dapper there Shangas !!! Nice robe, love to see the 'pattern' ... Joy.

 

LOL!! So would I! It's surprisingly difficult to photograph. I'll try later today when it's properly bright, and take more photos.

 

I'm thinking of making another modification.

The pocket-hems are purple/navy. The sleeve cuffs/hems are not. They're just plain tartan. But for some reason, there is the same fabric "lining" the inside of the sleeves (why, I have no idea. It serves no purpose!).

I'm thinking of removing the lining, flipping it inside out and sewing it onto the sleeves as cuffs or edging. Give it a bit more colour and panache. The fabric is wasted, hidden away inside the sleeves.

 

"Pimp that robe!"

 

It looks great on you, Shangas!

 

Here's the robe, halfway through some more alterations.

Here's a pretty crappy photo of the pattern (it's so dark it's impossible for me to get a decent shot, and it's rainy as hell here today, so there's no sunlight either).


I picked out the lining fabric, unpicked a seam, flipped it inside out, did up the seam, folded it over, sewed it, and flipped it inside out again to turn the lining into a cuff instead.

Below, you can see the results. I'm still doing the other sleeve, as of this post.

 

You clever boots! Nice work.

 

And here it is, with both cuffs done:



Process for doing the cuffs:

1. Unpick/cut the stitches that hold the lining inside the sleeves.

2. Pull lining inside out.

3. Unpick/cut the stitches that sew the lining together. Flip the seam the other way around, so that when you turn the lining into a cuff, the seam is hidden. Sew back together the other way around.

4. Measure, pin and sew the edge of the lining, so that the raw edge is hidden, and the cuffs are the equal length that you desire (in my case, it was 8cm. By comparison, the pockets are about 4cm, so the cuffs are twice as wide as the pocket-hems, for a bit of contrast).

5. Flip the lining inside out and fold back over the sleeves. Align seams of cuff with seams of sleeves. Hand-stitch in a couple of anchoring stitches to stop everything from coming undone.

6. Finished!

Since the stitches holding the cuffs in place are mostly decorative, and aren't there to hold any sort of weight or stress, only a couple of stitches (one above the sleeve, one below) is all that's required on each side.

 

You could give lessons in alteration! Are you from a tailoring family?

 

In a way. My grandmother was a professional dressmaker for 40 years. When I was a kid, she taught me how to sew, and how to repair clothes.

How to cut buttonholes, how to sew seams, how to pin and measure and chalk up cloth, etc. How to take measurements, how to leave seam-allowances, and so forth.