After making my Kimono Robe from an old child sized shop kimono with a flannel lining, I realized I also needed a lighter weight robe for warmer days. This Spring, Jude Hill over at her blog http://www.spiritcloth.com did a tutorial on how she makes her robes which I have long admired. So I decided it was a good time to start on my Summer Robe. I wanted to use two pieces of pecan dyed fabric that I made a few years ago. My husband’s unlce has a pecan tree on his property in Arizona and sends pecans from his tree as packing in our Christmas gift! Of course, I had to try dyeing with them. And eating them – they are excellent! I never realized fresh nuts would have so much more flavor and a softer texture than those purchased in the store. No telling how long they sit on a shelf before they end up in my kitchen. So pecan pie for all! My husband loves pecan pie and so does most of his family so I baked more than one over the years with his pecans and keep the shells for dyeing.
So I had these two cloths with some shibori stitched circles/spirals but I needed a bit more cloth for the robe. I had been periodically soaking/cooking up some Ponderosa Pine bark and pine cones that I started last summer. Hoping that the longer they soaked and the more times they were cooked, the more color I would get. The color is still light but a lovely peachy pink. I am not a big fan of pink so I like that this color is more peach than the avocado colors I have been getting. Probably looks a little more pink in the photos than in real life. I added strips of old recycled sheet dyed with the Ponderosa Pine (same as the totem tree below!) to the sides and sewed up the robe. Way to big on the sides! So I used Jude’s suggested and laid my Kimono Robe on top and drew the sides in the shape that I already had used and enjoyed. Viola! the basic shape of the Summer Robe came into being.
The edging along the opening is some of the left over Ponderosa Pine fabric which I then dipped in iron to get a darker shade. I like this color and might dip some more for more edges. We’ll see.
Love the pockets on my Kimono Robe so I made the same size and shape. I had a few onion dyed silk circles from a previous winter project so I decided to add them to the pockets BEFORE I attached the pockets to the robe. Much easier and a lesson learned from the last robe project. I also trimmed the edge with the iron dipped pine dyed fabric – almost looks like black walnut! Since it is a Summer Robe and already had circles, I decided to celebrate the circles and the season with some more with flowers. More flowers to come I am sure! Lots of room for stitching.