Polka Dot Toddler Robes

Am I the only one who goes in fits and spurts with craft and decor projects? For a while, I will paint and paint and paint, and then all of a sudden I miss my sewing machine and I then sew and sew and sew, until I grow weary of sitting at my machine and reach for my paint brush (or some other tool) again! After a few months of painting some furniture pieces (none of which I have shown you yet, but will do so very, very soon!) and doing some accessorizing and styling around the house, I was yearning to sew something. You know, use a pattern, cut something out, and sew it together. I don’t often do “leisurely” sewing (as in, something NOT on my To-Do List and something for just pure fun!), so I was really excited when I stumbled upon some towels I bought on clearance last season at Target while I was rummaging through the closet, surely looking for something for some other project 😉

When I bought these robes last year for $3 a pop, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them: beach robes for Henry and his two best toddler buddies!                

I had seen the pattern and fantastic photos for toddler beach robes on one of my all-time favorite blogs, MADE. I just eat up all of Dana’s photos, creations, colors, and patterns and couldn’t wait to put these together!

I bought Dana’s easy-to-follow pattern here and set to work making the long-sleeve version for my Henry. I’m not the best clothing sewer, so I wanted to figure everything out on the one my little guy would wear first. I had bought two towels in each pattern, thinking that would be more than enough for three robes. Turns out, I needed two towels to do the long-sleeve version, so both white towels went into this cute little robe. Dana gives lots of options (long sleeves, short sleeves, lined hood, long waist tie/short waist tie, etc). For this one, I did long sleeves, a long tie across the back, and a lined hood with some funky moda fabric!

Again, I can sew pillows and curtains and cushion covers and slip covers all day long, but ask me to make clothing and I kinda freak out. Henry’s little robe isn’t perfect, but it challenged me to 1) actually make a garment, and 2) pull out my serger, which I’m sorta scared of. I think I triumphed on both counts.

Once I knew what I was doing, the other two robes came together really quickly and turned out much  nicer, LOL! I made the short sleeve versions because I could get one out of each remaining towel. Turns out I liked these better – oh well!

By the third one, I felt like a pro with the binding, the serger, all of it!

For the two blue robes, I made short sleeves, the shorter ties (as in they don’t go across the back), and lined the hoods with really, really cute “boy” fabric!

These were so enjoyable to make. It’s nice to sit back every once in a while and make something purely for the fun of it. I so often sew square things or make things up as I go…it was refreshing to follow a pattern and watch something come together just as it should!

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! Next week, I plan to finally show you some recent updates in the family room! I’m excited!!!