Shirt Pattern to Renaissance Robe--Step by Step

This week I'm going to describe how I take a commercial shirt pattern and use it to construct a Renaissance robe, similar to the costume worn by Petyr Baelis in Game of Thrones.  Why use a commercial shirt pattern? Well, a robe is like a long shirt, and it saves a lot of time to have the neckline, shoulders and armholes already drafted.  The shirt pattern had a yoke, so I taped it to the back pattern, overlapping to eliminate the seam allowance.  Then I used my detailed measurements to scale the pattern to the client's dimensions.  My Master Measurements Sheet
I didn't bother to make a pattern for the skirts, since I draw that directly on the fabric. I used the sleeve pattern without the cuffs, and the collar band, widened and squared.

When I cut the fabric, I only cut the front and back of the robe, since I wanted to be sure of the neckline and armholes before cutting the collar and sleeves.  I basted them together and called the client for a first fitting. 

The fitting not only gives me valuable information about how the garment is fitting, it gives the client the opportunity to give me feedback on whether it is going the way he wants it.  It also reassures him that work is actually being done on his order.

This photo shows the robe, with the rough version of the surcote over it.  The fitting revealed that the shoulders needed to be narrowed about 1/2 inch, and the neckline lowered about 1/2 inch in front.  Both would impact the collar and sleeve designs, as I had suspected.

After modifying the neckline and armholes, I cut the sleeves and collar, and constructed shoulder stiffeners.  The client has quite nice shoulders, so he doesn't need shoulder padding, but a little stiffening always gives a better look to the finished costume.  I cut crescent shaped pieces of heavy cotton canvas and the robe fabric and stitched them together.  Sewn in along the armhole and on the shoulder seam, they will stay firmly in place.

The front opening was to be a two way zipper, that opens top and bottom.  I sewed it into the front edges with a double fold to completely cover the zipper.  Then I added a 4 inch wide facing on each side to stabilize the front edges and cover the interior should the robe hang open.  A good trick to make the facings lay flat is to topstitch the folded edge that covers the zipper tape. 

Next week I'll talk about how I added the collar and sleeves, and prepared for the second fitting.