Child's Bathrobe

For Christmas I got a new bathrobe, well that led both my daughters into thinking they needed one too.

So I have finally made them both robes. And they love them. They both keep asking if they can take a bath.

Here is how I did it. Sorry the pictures are combined from me making the two, so  the towel changes colors.
First I bought a bath towel. One towel for each robe you want to make. The towel I used was 30 in X 54 in.

To get the right size I used a shirt that currently fit so I would know what size to make. I folded the towel in half so it was 30 in X 27 in and placed the shirt folded in half on the towel at the top near the fold.. I added 2 extra inches to the middle because I wanted there to be plenty of room for overlap. 

I then traced around the back side of the shirt adding 1/2 in for the seams. when I got to the bottom of the shirt I just continued the line down to the end of the towel. If the bottom of the towel is used then you won't have to hem it! 

To make the neck line for the front I knew I wanted it to swoop, like the new robe I have, so I drew how I wanted it to look (the blue line). It took a few tries to get a line I was happy with. Then I cut it out.

This is the front pieces of the robe. 

To get the back piece I used the front piece so I wouldn't have to add the extra for the seams again. I folded the center of my front piece back the 2 inches that I had added, because I want the back to not be extra large. I also made the neckline in the back higher because I didn't want the back to scoop down like the front.

After I cut the pieces I lined them up to make sure they would overlap and would fit how I wanted them too.

To make the sleeves I folded the towel so I could place the sleeve on the fold. I only wanted a seam on the under part of the sleeve. Just fold the towel over enough for the sleeve to fit, because you want to be able to make both sleeves. I then added a 1/2 in to where I would put the seam, so the not on the fold side and where the top is so it can connect to the robe. 

I then checked that it matched the arm hole on my top and bottom so I knew if it would actually fit. 

Cut the first sleeve out and use it as a pattern for cutting the second one out. 

 I then sewed the shoulder seams together using a straight stitch with a 1/2 in seam and then used a zig-zag stitch just inside my straight stitch so the towel wouldn't keep fraying. If you have a serger use that, but I don't so I zig-zag. Then sew the sides together and zig-zag that as well. Now you just have to attach the sleeves.

To attach the sleeves I sewed the sleeve right sides together along the raw edge using a 1/2 in seam and zig-zagged again. So it makes a tube to put the arm in. Make sure you don't sew either of the ends closed.

Turn the sleeve right side out and attach it to the rest of the robe. To do this the sleeve is right side out and the rest is on the wrong side. Slide the sleeve into the arm opening and match up the raw edges and match the side seam of the robe with the seam on the arm. 

Sew around the opening and zig-zag that too.  Do the same for the other side. 

Now if you want you can hem any raw edges like around the neck or add a strip of fabric to cover the raw edges. 

I measured around the edge of the robe, Down the middle of the front the neckline the back neck and down the other side. Then I cut a strip 4 inches wide and as long as I needed. I had to sew two pieces of strips together to get the strips as long as I needed. 

I ironed the raw edges under 1/4 inch and then folded and ironed the strip in half. Then pin the strip around the edges of the robe so the robe is tucked inside 1/4 inch. Sew the strip on. 

Now to make the ties. I made my daughter try on the robe to see where  in needed it to tie and then marked it. I cut squares that were 2in X 2 in folded them in half and sewed around leaving the bottom edge open so I could turn it. I cut the corners so it would have a sharper edge. then turned it right side out. 

 Make as many of these as you want these are the loops to hold the tie in place. I made 4 placing one in the center back and one at each side seam and then one on one side of the front. I only did one in the very front so it could overlap on one side.  Now hook these onto the robe. Measure from the bottom how high you want them and pin them in place. I then sewed right on the edge so I would have room to place the tie through the loops.

To make the tie I measured around my girls to see how long it would need to be. The fabric I used doesn't fray so I just left it in a long strip. If you need to cut the fabric twice as wide as you want it to end up, so if you want the tie to be 2 inches wide cut it 4 inches so you can fold it in half right sides together and sew the raw edges. Then turn it so the right side is facing out. Thread the tie through the loops. I was worried about my daughters taking the tie out and strangling  themselves with it. So a friend of mine suggested sewing the tie in place so that is what  I did. I threading the tie where I wanted it and then sewed on top of the tie in the loop. 

Now clip all the extra threads and you are finished. Now my kiddos can take baths all they want.