Oh Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer, not technically Fall, but not really the Summer anymore either. Since most beach days and time spent at the pool are over for most I thought I would share these beach robes that I actually made last year and never got around to sharing on my blog. These beach robes are from a pattern from Dana over at MADE, and are so fabulous! You can purchase The Beach Robe pattern HERE. I sewed up three of them, two for my big boy and one for my niece. I love them, and honestly think this pattern and use of towels are just genius! They work great, are easy to sew and the kids love them too.
The pattern uses either regular towels or beach towels, one or two depending on the size of the towel and size you are wanting to make. I managed to squeeze by the skin of my teeth each of these robes out of one beach towel, each one was the 3T-4T size. Since I was making the biggest size the pattern offers, I had to make the robes short sleeved in order to make these robes out of one towel, but honestly that works out great since it is so hot outside anyway! I lined the hood of each robe with either cotton prints or solids and made my own bias tape out of matching colors of cotton. All of the edges are either covered with bias tape or enclosed in some way, and the only exposed seams I used the serger to make them nice and neat. The first one I made, the girly flower one took the longest, maybe about a day, on and off, but the two for my son went together so quickly and I finished both in one day. I absolutely adore this pattern, and plan to make more for my new little guy next year when he is bigger. My son wore these last year (that is when I took these pictures) and even though he has grown considerably they still fit great this year, and I honestly think he will be able to use them next year too, which is awesome.
The most challenging part of this pattern is the cutting out process and since I bought each of these towels on clearance for less than $8.00 each, I was bound and determined to make the pattern fit onto one towel. Two of the towels (the monkey print and the blue and green color blocked) are directional prints, but with a LOT of thought, I managed to squeeze all the pattern pieces on the towels. Two of the towels also featured unusual ends, the flower print featured "Tommy Hilfiger" strips on each end that I was able to make work perfectly for the ties on the robe, and the blue and green color blocked towel had a different type of fabric on the ends that wasn't terry cloth, so I had to avoid using it for the main body, but managed to use it for the ties also, which worked out perfectly for both robes.
This pattern is a great beginner sewing project, especially if you are new to sewing clothes. Dana suggests the easy way to add sleeves (great for the beginner) or the harder (or normal way) to add sleeves, which is what I did, but either method works great and creates a very professional finish. Everyone who has seen these robes can not believe that they are handmade and wanted to know where I purchased them. Nothing better or more complimentary than that! I think you can tell from these pictures just how much my little guy enjoyed being "warmed up and dried off" after getting out of those cold pools!
This pattern is a great beginner sewing project, especially if you are new to sewing clothes. Dana suggests the easy way to add sleeves (great for the beginner) or the harder (or normal way) to add sleeves, which is what I did, but either method works great and creates a very professional finish. Everyone who has seen these robes can not believe that they are handmade and wanted to know where I purchased them. Nothing better or more complimentary than that! I think you can tell from these pictures just how much my little guy enjoyed being "warmed up and dried off" after getting out of those cold pools!
Sad to see the end of Summer, but excited to bring on the colder temperatures and routines of Fall!
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