My dad recently asked me to make him a druid robe, just in time for Halloween. He didn’t want anything complicated, so I opted for Simplicity 1582.
I made version B, the hooded version for him. It’s really the simplest of patterns. The stitch line between the yoke and body is actually straight so I could have possibly skipped that, too, by just laying the pieces next to each other. The fabric I was using was very stretchy so I was hoping the stitch line would add a bit of stability, but it didn’t really add much (to be honest, I wasn’t expecting much).
The fabric I used was this fuzzy brown terry from Kiki Textiles. It was exactly what I was looking for in terms of look. My dad asked for something “plushy.” But it was much stretchier than I originally though, even though I had gotten a swatch. The pattern wasn’t designed for stretch knits, so I ended up taking off quite a bit at the bottom and it didn’t quite sit the right way on my dad, but he still liked it anyways.
While I’m sure my dad would have been more than happy with just a simple brown robe, that’s not my style. I purchased some wolf embroidery designs with Celtic knots from Urban Threads. I got a single wolf design that I used mirrored on either side of the front and then this larger double wolf design that I used across the back.
I had never embroidered on a knit fabric before and I was a little nervous about it puckering. I asked my friend Duy who has significant experience doing embroidery for his business and advanced competitions and he recommended embroidering on tulle and then applying it like an applique. This worked great!
I used 2 layers of water soluble stabilizer under the tulle and it stitched up beautifully. I will definitely use this technique again. After rinsing off the stabilizer, I trimmed the tulle close to the design. I got it pinned in place where I wanted it and then just machine stitched very close to the design. Since the fabric was so fuzzy, the fuzziness hid the edges of the tulle and the black tulle pretty much disappeared into the fur. I was really pleased with the result.
My dad was such a good sport taking photos for me when he came to visit! And while I didn’t get many photos of my dad in the robe, I did make this fun video:
