Farmer's Market Bathrobe

As I mentioned in the earlier post I have been doing more garment sewing than quilting. I think this happens to a lot of quilters, you just make one too many quilts and BAM! You just can't make another one.

But what do you do with all that fabric you have? And you certainly can't give up buying fabric, but how can you justify buying new fabric if you're not making quilts? Well, you make other things! Purses, placemats, and yes......clothing!

I learned to sew in high school and I remember now why I took to quilting.......it's easier! Now I'm not saying quilting is not a challenge but I can piece a simple quilt a lot faster than I can make a simple article of clothing. Garment sewing has given me a challenge and new interest that I had lost with my quilting. It provides me with another creative outlet.

Garment sewing is hard, it is even harder to sew a well fitting garment. I am still learning to make more fitted items like pants and jackets, but that process can be long. While I work on those projects I like to throw in a simple project so I feel like I am accomplishing something. Like this:


Yes, it is blindingly bright, but I love it! If that fabric looks familiar it's because it is Michael Miller's Farmer Market (which you buy at The Cotton Loft). I used this pattern (which you can buy here):If you've done a little sewing this is a pretty straightforward pattern, nothing to difficult. I did underline my fabric with white cotton batiste to give it a little more body and finished the seams with bias binding. This is the perfect bathrobe for our warm Florida mornings!

This pattern has a lot of options to it and I plan to make a few more of them. I can see some cute pajamas made up in some wild retro fabric! If you have a teenage daughter or niece this is the perfect pattern to use to make her something she'll love. A cute little cami top and matching shorts, extend the look by making a pair of long bottoms in a solid color.....the possibilities are endless. Some pieces require as little as 1 to 1 2/2yds of fabric, surely you have that in your stash! And this pattern is simple enough for the novice sewer.

So if you've been thinking about trying something different.....get to it......get sewing!

Enjoy,
Chris