Vogue robe in a luxurious Liberty silk – my wfh wardrobe is looking better already!

I generally don’t have a go-to order for dressmaking. My thought processes vary according to mood, need and weather. Sometimes choosing pattern first and then pairing an appropriate fabric, sometimes the other way round, especially if I’m fabric shopping in real shops and then an idea will spring to mind while I’m stroking and bouncing and draping and holding all the materials aloft. The latter is a dangerous game though, and hasn’t helped stash mountain at all!

But when Minerva approached me with some Liberty silk offerings I was quick to choose which fabric but wasn’t so quick to pair a pattern. What a gift! But wow… what a blooming responsibility! What pattern would best showcase this heavenly fabric?

I needed a project with damage limitations. It had already arrived at a super work-busy point in time and there was only room for assignment within small allocated time-slots throughout the weeks.

Mood and need and weather came to the fore. I was so tired of shuffling round the house in my tatty old dressing gown. Sometimes I don’t even bother getting out of it to work – there’s actually no need when I’m working from home and nobody is going to see me. But a silk robe would have me sitting more upright, feeling so much better about myself, plus it’s getting warmer so I really don’t need to be enveloped in velour anymore. I had a need to swan around in silk! And a robe would be simple, right?!

In an ideal world I’d have drafted the pattern myself. I’m getting quite fond of the maths. But with time not on my side that wasn’t going to be a great option because it would need toiling, too. So a quick scout on the web presented me with V8888. A delightful selection of nightwear to accompany a very stylish robe. I ordered it from Minerva.

I also ordered a very large cutting mat and a new blade for my Fiskars rotary cutter. I’ve worked with silk satin only once before and it was a slippery beast. My scissors slid around the dining room table and I was cursing at every snip. But weighted down and cut slowly and carefully with said cutter, this time I had no problems at all. I was amazed at how little it frayed, especially with all the extra handling involved. Most of the seams except for the armholes are sewn with a French seam. And because I only had one shot of this, I checked and double-checked and triple-checked each side and pairing of seams before sewing. It was totally worth it of course because the inside is so neat and the robe so much stronger as a result.

I chose the longer sleeves for the shorter version of the robe. Because I like that look and it’s way more classy. The shorter sleeves involved a band of lace at the hem and that would have been far too fussy for the design of this fabric. I wanted to keep it as simple as possible.

But I had not anticipated all the rouleau loops. Haha. There was me, thinking simple robe tied at the waist with a belt. The belt was actually such a joy to make and press. So satisfying. But the loops I left for another day. And another day. Until I didn’t really have many days left to submit the finished article!

So I cracked on. And fell at the first hurdle. My smallest loop turner was too fat. The smallest drinking straw I had in the kitchen drawer (for the drinking straw/kebab stick trick) was too fat as well. So I remembered a trick my mum taught me, by tying the long threads left at the end of the seam to the end of a bodkin, or large-eye needle, and pulling through, eye of needle first. So satisfying that I was weirdly excited to do the rest and even made a little graphic tutorial for my sister in law!

There are two inside ties – one front left and the other inside right side seam. There are two belt loops inset on each side seam and there is a thread loop at the right front opening. I’m thinking of doing a tutorial for that too as it was quite fun to do.

I am so grateful to Minerva for the opportunity to sew with this fabric because it has definitely delivered some more valuable experience as well as a super luxurious wfh outfit! I must admit I was terrified of cutting into it at first but once I got going, any fear was allayed, largely due to the quality of those threads. It’s so stable, on grain and not at all like the silk I previously sewed that was fragile enough to catch on the rough skin of my hands! Liberty silk is most definitely worth its price point.

And just to note, it does make me sit straighter, it feels amazing to wear and it has got me out of doing the washing up!

Daniel is of course the man behind the lens and this was such a fun shoot. The look on my daughter’s face was priceless when she poked her head around the bedroom door to see what we were up to. Even more so when Dan said ‘Its not what it looks like’!! Haha. We are so doing our best at being embarrassing parents!

Please note: I am an Ambassador for Minerva and the fabric was given to me free of charge in exchange for a review. I purchased the pattern and all notions required. To see the original article and more of my Minerva Makes. Please visit my Minerva profile.

Self-drafted Liberty lawn dress

Liberty Lawn dress by ooobop

What a glorious weekend. Unlike almost everyone I know, I didn’t make any plans and for a while I was fighting the fomo as I scrolled through hundreds of family getaway posts. But today I am glad. Not only have I ticked off a few niggly household jobs but I’ve had lots of me time to stop and think and evaluate. Those kind of days are as rare as hen’s teeth despite a generalistic view of ones freelance ‘flexibility’.

self drafted dress by ooobop

I did however manage to squeeze in a lovely river walk with Mr O who kindly took some photos for this blog post. He’s so busy with plans for a new show (a very exciting show that I will tell you about soon) that it’s quite difficult to sync a weekend together. But we managed a trot from Hammersmith to Barnes and back and talked and laughed… a lot!




Liberty lawn dress by ooobop

I’m wearing another self-drafted dress. I don’t self-draft nearly often enough, mostly because it’s a time-hungry process but every time I do I’m reminded of how much more satisfying it is to make a dress that is totally bespoke.

Now it’s not the most original or ground-breaking in design… that comes later (lol)… but it fits. Because I made it fit following various stages of tweaks. My pattern pieces look such a mess with all the scribbles and notes but they are truly important scribbles and notes which tell the story of the journey of fit each time they have been used.

self drafted bodice pattern ooobop

My first fitting was practised on a retro-style top in 2014. The next time I used the pattern was for this wax-print dress – same bodice but a half-circle skirt. I had minor issues with the neckline and corrected it for the third fitting: my skulls and roses dress.




The beautiful fabric is of course a luscious Liberty Lawn. It was a birthday present from a very thoughtful friend. I had 2 metres and didn’t want to waste any of it. The bodice is self lined which feels so good against my skin and was perfectly breathable for a hot sunny stroll. I drafted the armholes to cover that squidgy boob-fat bit (is that the technical term?) and so that the straps don’t fall off my shoulders. That combination involves a fine balance as my shoulders are quite slopy. There is a zip in the left hand side –vintage-style –  so that I didn’t have to split the fabric on the back piece.

Dress design by ooobop

For the skirt section, I took the whole 60″ width to make a dirndl. For anyone who’s tried – I’m sure you’ll share my appreciation of how damned satisfying it is to gather lawn. And out of respect for such a beautiful fine fabric, I hand- sewed the hem. Not only does this fabric gather beautifully but there’s a pleasure in pressing it too. It just stays and makes the whole hand stitching thing a breeze.

Dress designed by ooobop

I give small leftover scraps to my local primary school for them to use in their craft projects and I’m sure they’ll be delighted with the quality this month. I’m certainly glad that I didn’t have to bin them. I absolutely could not have brought myself to have even put my foot on the bin pedal!

Our walk was lovely. The air was filled with warm wisteria  perfume. Not too dissimilar to doughnuts I think. Or is that just me?

Liberty lawn dress with wisteria

And can I just mention my shoes. Quite a step away from my usual heels and platforms. They are Lotta from Stockholm Clogs. Handmade and verified well made! And they come in all sorts of styles and colours. Go check them out! I’m not sponsored by them. I’m just very happy to pass on a good find.

Handmade dress by ooobop and Lotta from Stockholm clogs