As we all know, it was Mother’s Day recently in the southern hemisphere, and for the first time in about 5 years, Luke and I were actually in a position to see our mothers on the day! I figured the occasion deserved something a little better than flowers or chocolates, so I decided to make each of our mothers a handmade garment as a gift.

For my mother, I chose the Oslo cardigan from Seamwork. Unfortunately, I have no photos to show you because I was working on it right up until the night before our flight to Australia, and my mother is extremely photo-shy, and wouldn’t allow me to take any pictures of her wearing it. I’ll tell you, though, that it was in a black boiled wool knit with handmade buttonholes (because my machine refused to even contemplate stitching them for me) and bronze walnut buttons, and she absolutely loved it and it fit perfectly.

For my mother-in-law, Kim, I decided on the Asaka robe from Named, which I bought a year or so ago and hadn’t used yet. I wanted something pretty, and also something that was forgiving when it comes to fitting, as I wasn’t sure of Kim’s actual measurements and didn’t want to spoil the surprise by asking. I cut out a size 44 with no adjustments and traced them off, as this was sadly just before their announcement that they had converted it into their new layered sizing PDF format 😦

Kim was more than happy to pose for blog photos!

The fabric I used I have been hoarding for quite some time. I bought it in an op shop in Hahndorf, a lovely little Germanic town in the Adelaide Hills – it was on a bolt, and it was only $5! I liked the pattern, so I bought it. When I got it home and unrolled it, there was about 10 metres of it there…and it was by John Kaldor! What a bargain! It’s very light and silky, but not see-through. I’m not sure if it’s a silk blend or what it is, as I haven’t done a burn test, but it feels delightful on the skin so I knew it would be perfect for this robe. I prewashed it in warm water in the machine and it held up just fine (I didn’t want to give Kim something she would have to hand wash all the time).

Construction was fairly straightforward. I French seamed everything I could so there were no raw edges visible, and I hand stitched the collar down on the inside for a clean, neat finish. That took forever, but it was well worth it! I also used a starch stabiliser to stop the fabric from shifting to make sure everything was neat and straight, particularly for the belt and the sleeve vents. Then I just washed the completed garment at the end to remove any traces of starch, and it was good to go!

Kim really loves it, and it fits her perfectly, so I’m pretty happy it turned out so well, and I was able to give both our mothers gifts they love and will hopefully use for a long time to come!