Sometimes you just want to be a little dramatic. Whether you’d like to experience a little old school Hollywood glamour or you simply want to feel fabulous while lounging and reading a book on your next day off, The Hibiscus Robe is exactly what you’re looking for. A flowing skirt with a godet style train pairs with cascading circle sleeves to create the perfect mix of lavish comfort.
Fabrics & materials used:
- 7 yards Red and Black Ombre Silk Charmeuse
- 7 Black Marabou Feather Scarves
- The Hibiscus Robe Sewing Pattern (free download below!)
All seam allowances are 1/2″ unless otherwise stated.
While this robe does take a bit of time, most of it is spent on hemming and trimming; the bulk of the garment actually goes together fairly quickly.
Begin by sewing the two darts on the back panel of the robe bodice, like below. Note: while the pattern calls for the back to be cut on the fold, I chose to add a center back seam since I was working with the ombre silk and wanted to be sure that I cut from pieces that were fully black.
Next, using the guideline on your pattern, fold and press the facings along the front bodice lapels.
Finish off the facing with a small rolled hem.
Do the same alone the neckline of the back of your robe, like you see below.
Fold the darts in each of the front bodice panels and stay-stitch. Attach each of the front panels to the back at the shoulders and sides. Since this won’t have a lining, I strong recommend some French seams.
The sleeve goes together like you see above; the flare attaching to the main upper sleeve at the elbow. Again, I added a seam down the center of the flare to work with the ombre along the silk.
The skirt of the robe is simple: the godet at the center back, sandwiched between each of the side back panels, and two panels at the front.
The center front gets a rolled hem much like the lapel facings of the bodice, and also folded inward following the guide on the pattern. Here, you can attach the skirt to the bodice and you have the majority of your robe!
Using your iron on a low setting, hem your sleeves (seen above) and skirt.
Pin the feather scarves around the base of the skirt and sleeves, and hand-sew into place.
Lastly, add a button at the edge of the lapel that you’d like to be the bottom layer of your robe. Sew a small loop of elastic directly across from it on the wrong side of the opposite lapel.
Secure with a brooch and you’re ready to dramatically walk your castle courtyard in your billowing new dressing gown! Or, at the very least, lounge and look fabulous during your next Netflix binge.
Ohhhh Layla can’t wait to make this little lovely . Thanks so very much
This is so nice to have, thank you for the pattern 🙂
So fancy!! Thank you!!
This is such a beautiful cloak?, dressing gown?, amazing overcoat for dinner?… I would wear this anywhere I could get away with it! I’m so making this once I have my to do pile worked down!
Hi, I’m really confused by the bell part of the sleeve. The pattern indicates to cut two half circles, but I don’t really get how it’s supposed to sew together?
Hello Emily,
Thanks for visiting the Mood Sewciety Blog! We’re proud to have released over 350 free sewing patterns, and we hope you’re enjoying them.
Behind the scenes we’re a dedicated team of three, and we want to be able to offer top notch support. We have exciting plans for our patterns on the horizon, and as we continue to grow, we’ve decided to focus our sewist support on patterns from the last 2 years. If this pattern hasn’t been recently reduxed or updated, we won’t be able to respond to technical questions on these older posts.
If you come across any pattern errors, rest assured our team is on it – just let us know!
Don’t miss out on our Mood Sewciety Facebook Group – a fantastic space for fellow sewists to connect, share wins, and tackle challenges together.
Thank you for your understanding and happy sewing!
Hi! I was just reading thru the instructions! Looks like the semicircle is cut on the fold so you have one holistic circle piece of fabric. There’s also an off center middle hole that gets attached to the upper arm piece… shorter side of the circle facing the front of the bodice.
Beautiful! What a clever lady you are. Thank you for sharing
Thank you! 🙂
Omg! This is so beautiful! I can’t wait to create my own. So I can be dramatic at home.
it’s lovely but the pattern that is downloaded only has the skirt in it……
The bodice starts on page 47.
I am so lost about what to do with the front bodice lapels.
I know I should get it from the description, pictures and pattern, but I don’t, in fact the only made me more confused.
Please more pictures, better description or even better, a video tutorial.
Hi Claudia! We’re sorry about that. Ok, so before you follow the steps, take a look at the front bodice pieces. There will be a notch that’s 3.5″ from the raw diagonal edges. That’s going to be your finished fold line.
1 – Fold and press the diagonal raw edge down 1/4″ towards the wrong side of fabric. Repeat again so that you have a double fold. Sew.
2 – Fold the lapel on that finished fold line, wrong sides together. Press, and baste the top and bottom to the bodice to keep in place.
When you’re sewing the back bodice to the front, make sure to catch those basted stitches into the shoulder seam.
Dear Courtney
Thanks so so much! I have been searching every where this same pattern style for plus sizes! All women of all sizes want to live the glamorous life sometimes!
Just letting you know, there is no page 21 for the skirt pattern. It jumps right from 20 to 22. It’s just mislabeled, page 22 should be page 21. Nearly gave me a heart attack!
How much fabric would you need to make this if you weren’t using an ombré fabric? I know adjusting pieces to be along the ombré takes more fabric than just using a solid color.
Hi there! I made another version of this pattern here and still used 7 yards.
Is the 1/2″ seam allowance included in the pattern or do I need to add?
The seam allowance is included! 🙂
Does this pattern call for 7 yards for all sizes? I’m looking to do a size 16/18
Hi Charla! The chart up top recommends 8 yards for a L (16-22). 🙂
Hi, I am having trouble identifying the dart on the front bodice panel. I see notches on the waist edge that may indicate the starting points, but I don’t see a point to indicate where they meet to form the dart. How do I sew this dart?
Hello there!
Thanks for visiting the Mood Sewciety Blog! We’re proud to have released over 350 free sewing patterns, and we hope you’re enjoying them.
Behind the scenes we’re a dedicated team of three, and we want to be able to offer top notch support. We have exciting plans for our patterns on the horizon, and as we continue to grow, we’ve decided to focus our sewist support on patterns from the last 2 years. If this pattern hasn’t been recently reduxed or updated, we won’t be able to respond to technical questions on these older posts.
If you come across any pattern errors, rest assured our team is on it – just let us know!
Don’t miss out on our Mood Sewciety Facebook Group – a fantastic space for fellow sewists to connect, share wins, and tackle challenges together.
Thank you for your understanding and happy sewing!
The pattern says to cut 2 back skirt pieces on the fold but now the back of the skirt is way too big. Did I miss something? It doesn’t look gathered in the picture.
Hi, Jessica! The back skirt should just read ‘Cut 2′, not “Cut 2 on Fold’ – sorry about that! 🙂
hi!! this looks gorgeous and i really want to make one but i’m curious on the yardage- what width was the fabric you used? i’m looking at one that is 108″ and i’m unsure how many yards to buy. thank you for sharing this pattern with us!
Hi Sara! The fabric I used was 44″, so you may be able to get away with half of the recommended yardage – although a bit extra can’t hurt! 🙂
Thank you for the stunning pattern!! Is it available in an AO format for copy shop?
Unfortunately, our free patterns are currently only available in US Letter sized PDFs, but we’re working on copy shop options!
About how many scarves would I need if I only wanted to add feathers to the sleeves?
Hi there! It would depend on the size, but likely you’d need 3-4 for just the sleeves.
Hi!
Can we use mesh fabric instead so it could be like a night gown?
Yes, of course! We used an embroidered mesh here. 🙂
My daughter asked me to make this from fine netting for prom. I did, added ribbon on the lapel & ribbon for the waist toe & then hand stitched feathers to the skirt hem & bell sleeves. Also, because it wasmesh, every seam was either a French seam or a rolled hem. It prevented the seams from being scratchy for her
Hi is there anyway to get the pattern for size 28 please?
Hi Loren! All of our sizes available are included in the pattern PDF when downloaded. 😀
Hii, first of all, thank you for this pattern!!! it’s beautiful! is it possible for it to be printed on an A4 format? I’d love to use this as the pattern for my Christine Daaé Cosplay 🙂 hope you have a great day!
Hi Anna! Yes, our patterns can be printed on A4 paper. Best of luck on your cosplay! 😀
How the heck are you supposed to down load it? I hit the download ivon and it just loaded the same webpage! Why is this complicated if youre going to give it free just post it and save people the frustrations!
Hi Lisa, we’re sorry that you’re experiencing difficulty with downloading the pattern! Just email info@moodfabrics.com and they’ll send it over to you. 🙂
it’s just gorgeous!!! how long would the train be approximately for a 5’8 person?
Hello there!
Thanks for visiting the Mood Sewciety Blog! We’re proud to have released over 350 free sewing patterns, and we hope you’re enjoying them.
Behind the scenes we’re a dedicated team of three, and we want to be able to offer top notch support. We have exciting plans for our patterns on the horizon, and as we continue to grow, we’ve decided to focus our sewist support on patterns from the last 2 years. If this pattern hasn’t been recently reduxed or updated, we won’t be able to respond to technical questions on these older posts.
If you come across any pattern errors, rest assured our team is on it – just let us know!
Don’t miss out on our Mood Sewciety Facebook Group – a fantastic space for fellow sewists to connect, share wins, and tackle challenges together.
Thank you for your understanding and happy sewing!
Best regards,
The Mood Sewciety Blog Team
Hello, first of all thanks for all of your beautiful patterns ! I tried downloading this one twice but I only find the sizes 2 to 22 in the pdf version, where can I find the size 30 ?
Thanks again !
Hi Sagana, we’re sorry for the late reply. If you ever have difficulty downloading a pattern, email info@moodfabrics.com and they’ll send it to you!
Hiii, i had a few questions regarding size and fabric! (I’m so sorry, I’m really clueless)
1. Sizing: my measurements are all over the place (my bust is size 18, waist 20 and hip 24…help). which size would you recommend?
2. Fabric: how much would I need for my size without the sleeve flounce? my fabric is 108 inches wide
3. Decoration: if I skipped the sleeve decoration, how much lace (I would like to use lace for the edge instead of the boa) would I need?
I know it’s a lot and I’m super sorry but could you help me out with this?
Thank you so much in advance!
Yours, Anna
Hello there!
Thanks for visiting the Mood Sewciety Blog! We’re proud to have released over 350 free sewing patterns, and we hope you’re enjoying them.
Behind the scenes we’re a dedicated team of three, and we want to be able to offer top notch support. We have exciting plans for our patterns on the horizon, and as we continue to grow, we’ve decided to focus our sewist support on patterns from the last 2 years. If this pattern hasn’t been recently reduxed or updated, we won’t be able to respond to technical questions on these older posts.
If you come across any pattern errors, rest assured our team is on it – just let us know!
Don’t miss out on our Mood Sewciety Facebook Group – a fantastic space for fellow sewists to connect, share wins, and tackle challenges together.
Thank you for your understanding and happy sewing!
Best regards,
The Mood Sewciety Blog Team
Hey any tips for attaching the skirt to the bodice im not sure how to make the lapels look right.
Hello Dory!
Thanks for visiting the Mood Sewciety Blog! We’re proud to have released over 350 free sewing patterns, and we hope you’re enjoying them.
Behind the scenes we’re a dedicated team of three, and we want to be able to offer top notch support. We have exciting plans for our patterns on the horizon, and as we continue to grow, we’ve decided to focus our sewist support on patterns from the last 2 years. If this pattern hasn’t been recently reduxed or updated, we won’t be able to respond to technical questions on these older posts.
If you come across any pattern errors, rest assured our team is on it – just let us know!
Don’t miss out on our Mood Sewciety Facebook Group – a fantastic space for fellow sewists to connect, share wins, and tackle challenges together.
Thank you for your understanding and happy sewing!
Hi I’m having difficulties with the bottom portion of the pattern. There are some notches in the bottom of the front and back piece i do not understand what do they align to. Also the notches on the godet is confusing. Is there any way you could send me a tutorial?
Hello Cindy!
Thanks for visiting the Mood Sewciety Blog! We’re proud to have released over 350 free sewing patterns, and we hope you’re enjoying them.
Behind the scenes we’re a dedicated team of three, and we want to be able to offer top notch support. We have exciting plans for our patterns on the horizon, and as we continue to grow, we’ve decided to focus our sewist support on patterns from the last 2 years. If this pattern hasn’t been recently reduxed or updated, we won’t be able to respond to technical questions on these older posts.
If you come across any pattern errors, rest assured our team is on it – just let us know!
Don’t miss out on our Mood Sewciety Facebook Group – a fantastic space for fellow sewists to connect, share wins, and tackle challenges together.
Thank you for your understanding and happy sewing!
Hello so I was Just Wondering If there was a video instructions to making this? I feel it would be a lot of help.
Hi Jack, unfortunately we don’t currently offer video tutorials for our free patterns.
May I ask a question how do you do cleaning care for garments with feather trim? Does it have to be dry cleaned? Or could one feasibly just hand wash something and hang dry it?
Hello, great question! First, we always recommend testing a swatch or small piece of the fabric or trim before attempting full care instructions. With that in mind, our care recommendation for (Ostrich) feather trim is as follows: Gently brush dust and dirt from feathers with a soft brush. If washing is necessary, gently hand wash in lukewarm water with mild soap or detergent. Hang to dry or use a hair dryer on cool. If the fabric of the garment is dry clean only, before dropping off your garment, ask your dry cleaner for their advice. Without knowing the fabric type and composition, we cannot recommended hand washing or hanging to dry; however, consider the weight of the fabric, does it need to lay flat to dry or draped over a drying rack to keep its shape? Additionally, consider if the fabric has stretch and if yes, what the stretch retention is: Before laundering or hand washing, stretch the fabric as much as it can be stretched–if it bounces back to shape, then it has great retention, if it leaves a rippling effect, then it probably does not.
Thank you so much! I appreciate your advice.
hey! can anyone tell me what the notches and diagonal lines on the pattern are for? I know they mark that I am supposed to do something I just do not know what. Thanks
Hello! The notches on the pattern help ensure accurate placement of pattern pieces that go together. They can also indicate placement for pockets, slits, zippers, etc.