Robe to ’60s Style Wrap Coat Refashion

I was given this bathrobe in a group of other vintage things from a coworker (aren’t nice coworkers the best?).

It used to belong to her grandmother. It was also very warm and comfortable.

I wore my new-to-me robe as-is for a little while but realized I couldn’t just hang out in a robe all day long.

I had a beer festival to get to!

When I looked at the label, I immediately thought, If only this was a coat!

You see, the event I was going to was being held at the Columbia Convention Center.

Usually, the annual beer fest doesn’t feature a coat check. As it was chilly, I wanted to be warm, but I didn’t want to be stuck with a big bulky coat.

A lightweight wool wrap coat was exactly what I needed. And I was about to make it happen.

I began snipping of the more robe-y things from this piece.

This left a few raw edges to tend to, and tend to them I did!

First, I serged around the new neckline.

When I was done I folded the serged edge under and pinned it.

Then, I stitched it down.

Those sleeves needed a little attention as well.

I’m going for a bracelet-length sleeve, so I folded these up about 2″, which will give the bell of the sleeve a little more structure.

But what about the overall shape of this thing? It was still looking pretty robe-y.

I decided to give it a sleeker silhouette by adding darts to the back.

Darts are really easy.

First, you just pinch a section where the middle of your dart will be…pulling it in as much as you think necessary.

Then, just taper up and down above and below that pinned pinch point.

It’ll end up looking like this.

When you stitch your dart, make sure you start in the middle pinch point, then backstitch until it tapers off the fabric.

Then, leave enough thread to knot off the end.

Press your darts on each side, and that’s it!

Now that my coat was looking more tailored, I needed to do something about that length.

After ironing everything down, I tossed my new coat on and ran out the door to meet my friends.

I adore this one!

As someone who hates bulky coats, this offers a great option for not incredibly chilly days.

I completely failed to get a pic of it wrapped up on me (which became necessary when my friends and I piled into our Uber at the end of the night), but here it is on my dress form.

And here’s that nicely-fitted back!

My coat was just warm enough and just light enough for the evening.

Cheers!