Jalie 3889 Melanie Kimono Robe in Black Satin

Last year (Jan 2018) I was fortunate enough to be pattern testing for Jalie.com
I made this Kimono robe in testing and forgot to post about it.

 Melaine 3889 Kimono Robe

Size Used: V for Shoulder/Bust/Waist, and grading to Y at the hip.
My Measurements at that time: Bust 37, Waist 30, Hip 43

 Fabric Used: A mystery fabric. It is polyester, shiny on one side with striations in the fabric and matte on the other. It is soft and silky feeling. My sewing peers guessed it might be Polyester Dupioni. I’m not sure what it is, except that it’s slipper and polyester.  I got it when Hancock was going out of business.  I have 10 freaking yards of this stuff and it was only like $0.10/yard. lol. (Hancock label calls it "Dull satin").

Alterations: I only blended from size V on top to Y at the hips to fit my pear shape. I do this to all my patterns.

Instructions: Well written, easy to follow. I thought this would be harder to sew, but the instructions made it easy.

Overall fit: I think the fit is spot on. I was happy to find it fit over my hips when closed, an issue I have frequently.

Issues: I didn’t have any issues in making this. I starched my slippery fabric and used glue stick to help hold hems and seams. I also used a bit of stabilizer when starting to sew my seams from an edge. This ripped off easily when I was done. It sewed together nicely.

In testing I found these issues, however, they may have been addressed and changed before the pattern released:

• Belt loops too long and wide.  I would be more comfortabble with 3/4 the length of them and 1/2 the width.
• The belt was too long – like 6 inches too long.
• The neckband would be easier to sew on if it had marks to help align it better.

This is one of those patterns I would put on my list of things I want to make and then never get to it for fear it would be too hard or take too long. I love the robe and found it wasn’t very hard at all. It took me about 4-5 hours of straight sewing so it wasn’t too long either.

Happy Sewing!
Kristin