A lot of the garments I sew have a very practical application. Most of what I make is workwear because this is when I’m out of the house. I don’t go out much anymore—and when I do, it’s either happy hour —and I wear my workwear—or some big celebration like Halloween or NYE—and then I’m sewing a costume or some sparkly delight.
This is a very long way of saying that I spend most of my free time at home. I don’t even venture to the market anymore. My main adventures outside involve buying fabric. And even though I have very hard rules about work clothes and home clothes (what kind of a savage hangs around home wearing outside clothes???), I hardly ever sew anything that is specifically made as home/loungewear.
Until I met the Violent Delights. This very fabulous robe is everything that loungewear should be… if you are planning to murder your husband while you enjoy a very dirty martini.
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Pattern
The Violent Delights Robe by Gunnar Deatherage is a throwback to Hollywood glamour. It is a cascade of billowy fabric that demands materials that flow and drape with ease. Even though not a requirement (and one I did not use), you can add even more pizzazz to this garment by finishing the sleeves and hem with caribou feathers. The pattern includes a great video tutorial.
Fabric
This pattern is very fabric intense—a whole 12 yards for my size, 20!
I used black chiffon that was gifted to me by Fabric Wholesale Direct. I had never worked with chiffon before—possibly because it has a reputation of being too shifty. I’m happy to report that as far as difficult materials go, this chiffon was quite nice to work with.
Size
This pattern comes in two size ranges: 00-16 and 14-32. I was a bit too overconfident that the pattern ease would let me get away with a smaller size, and I almost paid for it. I picked a size 20, and the waistband is just right. Since I will be adding a closure to it, I will have enough room to sit down and breathe just fine.
Construction
This pattern is listed as beginner friendly, but I would caution beginners to go into this information in mind:
- Cutting will be a challenge depending on the fabric you choose (and most suggested fabrics fall in the “challenge” category);
- There is so much gathering. Like, so, SO much. Even though not difficult, this will be time consuming;
- There is so much hemming. Like, so, SO much. Also not difficult, also time consuming.
This project is a marathon—slow and steady, and you’ll win the race.
Cutting
You’ll be working with lots of fabric (12 yards!!!), and some of the pattern pieces are huge. Because of the very slippery fabric, I used my rotary cutter and all my pattern weights to keep it in place.
Initially, I tried to put both my cutting mats on the floor to cut the larger pieces (the lower skirt), but even having two 36in mats next to each other didn’t give me the surface that I needed. So I folded the fabric once as instructed by the video tutorial, and then I folded it again. I was then able to cut all upper and lower skirt pieces with my two mats.
IMPORTANT NOTE #1: It is often advisable to cut sheer, delicate fabrics without folding them. That’s all nice and dandy when we are not talking about pattern pieces that span yards of fabric. I took my chances. It paid off
IMPORTANT NOTE #2: The front of the lower skirt is rounded. I cut all four pieces of the lower skirt together. Then, I had to do some mental gymnastics to figure out the pieces that would end up rounded.
IMPORTANT NOTE #3: Label your pattern pieces and mark the wrong sides as you are cutting them, and keep track of them. I didn’t and ended up sewing the lower skirt panels incorrectly. Let me be your cautionary tale.
I had to finish all my raw edges because the chiffon frayed too much. I serged all raw edges including the sleeve and bottom hem. I finished the bodice raw edges before I sewed them together. For the skirt, I sewed them first and then them together.
Assembling the Bodice
No hurdles here. There is some gathering, but nothing like what’s to come, so enjoy.
Assembling the Skirt
Get ready for a wild gathering ride, friend! What gives the robe its frothy look is gathering. I usually use three rows of basting stitches when gathering, but I was quickly dissuaded from doing so here. I used two rows of stitches everywhere gathering was necessary.
Because I was working with such long panels, I ran gathering stitches from the beginning to the end of each one of the four panels for each skirt. This made it much easier for me to pull the threads and control the gathers.
When sewing gathers, have them facing up when you take your garment to the sewing machine. This allows you to fix any section where the gathers may not be properly distributed.
One tip to get better gathers: Mark the middle of each pattern piece at the raw edge to be sewn, top and bottom. Once it is time to sew the bodice to the upper skirt and the bottom skirt to the upper skirt, match these marks. Finally, working for the end of each panel (this is why I made sure to have thread tails at the end of each panel), distribute the gathers.
Hemming
I chose not to use the feathers because I have a cat (if you don’t have a cat, let me explain: It doesn’t matter how much I vacuum, there is always cat hair on the floor. The feathers would become a magnet for cat hair). I serged the sleeve and bottom hem, double folded it, and stitched it close to the fold. That little bit of weight gives the sleeves and robe some heft, and the whole garment falls beautifully.
The Violent Delights Robe
First, for clarification: I am NOT planning to murder my husband, but I will definitely be enjoying a very dirty martini while wearing this robe.
This is the most fabric I’ve ever used for a garment, and the most gathering I’ve done in a lifetime of sewing. From a practical point of view, this robe is a frivolous endeavor. But maybe we need some frivolity in our lives—especially when the world is on fire, literally and figuratively.
When not wearing the robe with murderous intentions, I will do the best Victorian-heroine-in-a-haunted mansion impersonation I can muster in my apartment with a candelabra and fake candles—just to be on the safe side. Can’t take chances the way 2025 is going…
