Summer Mushroom Dressing Gown

Whenever The Great British Sewing Bee comes around I marvel at the contestants talents and nerve, and remember that I can sew, but just haven't done it for a while. All the finalists were great this year, although my favourite didn't win, I think because she just missed the brief on the final garment.

I bought the material for this dressing gown several years ago, and have finally got around to making it. I guess it is a bit unusual for a dressing gown, but I really liked it. There is a little bit left over, and I am trying to work out a good purpose for it.

I have used the same pattern that I used to make a winter dressing gown for Mr Ginx a few years ago, and now my daughter is saying she might like one, so I really will have got my  value out of this pattern

 

 

Mr Ginx

Have you ever tried to do a photo shoot, and your model just won't behave? Inspired by the Great British Sewing Bee, I decided to make Mr Ginx a dressing gown. He has never owned one, well at least not as long as I have known him, and although this isn't very seasonal, I thought it would be ideal for next winter. 

I do enjoy watching the Sewing Bee, although the idea of competitive sewing under a time limit is really horrendous. The dressing gown has taken me ages, and some days I will just sew one little part. It definitely wouldn't win any prizes, but it has got me thinking about some other sewing projects.

He very reluctantly agreed to model for me. I had the idea to get him to pose in the way models used to on old-fashioned patterns, perhaps pointing into the mid-distance. This he refused, and however much I tried to get him to behave, he just couldn't help being a bit silly. (Actually I am quite pleased that he has agreed I can post these pictures, as they are much more fun than what I had in mind.)

This final photo was taken after he had been told off for all the mucking around.

The dressing gown was made from this pattern which I bought online, 

although I added the cord detail to jazz it up a bit. I had the idea that it would be an easy sew, but have had a great deal of difficulty with the stitch on my machine. It was fine at first, but then started to skip stitches. Despite researching on the internet, buying a new needle, cleaning out all the fluff, altering the tension, I still cannot get a good stitch. If any of you have any other ideas I would really welcome them. You can probably see that I still have to top stitch around the sleeves. I think the problem is to do with the thickness of the fleece, as it only goes wrong when I am stitching through two layers.