When Alec and I went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter last January, they had all the house robes, but they were over-priced and cheaply made. Instead I picked up an official Hogwarts crest patch so I could make my own custom robe.
I created the robe pattern by expanding a tent sloper to full length and adding bishop style sleeves and a hood. This is not a replica of the movie robes by any means. I didn't fully line this robe, it just has facing pieces to finish the opening. It is a generic Hogwarts robe, as it doesn't have any of the house colors for the lining. This way it can be any character's robe.
To make it, I was trying to use material I already had around the house. I didn't have the right kind of buttons in black, so I just found the right size in my button collection and covered them in the same fabric as the robe. I used a lightweight woven cotton that I had found at a fabric re-use place in Portland. I would recommend a heavier weight synthetic that resists wrinkling if I was going to make it again. There are in seam pockets on the sides for wands and chocolate frogs.
If you would like to make a robe similar to the one I made, here is the rough pattern. Print this out and blow it up until it is the size of the measurements stated. This is a very roomy robe that could fit a large range of sizes.
Here are the really rough instructions on how to put the pattern pieces together. If you've never sewn before this isn't enough information for you to put the robe together correctly, it's just a loose guide for people who've sewn from patterns before.
click images to view larger
Hi Claire, Have been browsing the internet recently in order to find out how to make a wizards robe and your design is so far the best one i have come accross so far. I had the right look that i want and it comes in pieces that can be cut out of regular fabric rolls. Unfortunately I am a complete novice when it comes to fabric crafts and cant figure out how the bits labled facings fit into the design. Would appreciate an email to bembleman@gmail.com clairfying this.
ReplyDeleteSame i got a harry potter wand and now i wanted a robe and this seems like it would be good but the intructions are kind of confusing i would be good i there was a video as a option
DeleteThis looks very interesting. I'm going to try it out and make one for a 1/6 action figure.
ReplyDeletehow many yards did you use over all?
ReplyDeleteI picked up a black flat sheet (queen) at Goodwill and it was the perfect amount. Plus, the hems were already done!
DeleteI think about 5-6 yards, but I was just using some extra fabric I had around. If you're buying fabric I would add an extra yard or so on top of that just to be safe.
ReplyDeletefor not being based off the movie, they look just like they came off the movie set. great pattern
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Thank you very much!!
ReplyDeleteDo you think this would pull over the head, if the front was also sewn shut? I need a closed robe with lined hood.
ReplyDeleteI think so, the robe is pretty roomy in general. But once you figure out the pattern that would fit you, measure the neck opening to make sure you can get your head through.
ReplyDeleteThis pattern is awesome! Thank you so much for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteI have been sewing small projects (like all different kinds of pouches and purses...) for the last years but I never dared to make anything bigger like clothing. But now I needed a robe for my Hermione costume and your description helped me perfectly. Thanks so much.
hello:) This pattern is really cool! if i want to print this pattern out, what size of paper do i need for?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure, but you would have to tile it for it to fit a regular person as pattern paper is usually very large. I didn't work out the exact pattern so that you can just push print, this is a very loose guide. I would recommend buying a complete existing robe sewing pattern if you want to make sure it will fit you correctly.
ReplyDeleteHow much fabric would you recommend for the facing and hood lining?
ReplyDeleteI would say about a yard and a half, mostly because some of the pieces are long and curved.
DeleteThanks so much! (:
DeleteThank you so much for posting the pattern and the how-to instructions. I'm below novice standards with sewing and I feel that I will actually able to make this. How do I go about printing something like this? I tried to have a local printing store assist me and was given a $25 quote! I have brought a pattern into the store to be blown up before and it was no where near that cost. Any suggestions?? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI still recommend buying a commercial sewing pattern because it comes with step by step instructions on how to sew it all together and they're typically under $20. My post is very rough and is more a guide if you already know how to make patterns.
DeleteBut you can enlarge the image the the old fashioned way by printing out the pattern image on a sheet of 8.5x11 paper and laying a grid over it. Then get some big butcher block paper and lay a corresponding grid that is enlarged to the size you want. There is a detailed explanation of the process here: http://www.art-is-fun.com/grid-method.html
This looks really helpful
ReplyDeleteHi! I just made two robes following your pattern and they turned out great! :)
ReplyDeleteI was just wondering, how did you fasten the lining inside the hood/neckhole and along the front? I ended up doing it by hand using invisible stitches, which took a long time and was a bit awkward. Do you have a method that works better?
I sewed it by machine, put the right side of the facing to the right side of the front of the robe and the hoods. The seam should be easy to get under the machine, then you would fold the facing in, leaving a clean edge and no visible seams in the hood.
ReplyDeleteI meant AFTER you've done that, with the other edge of the facing? Didn't you fasten that inside the cloak somehow?
DeleteI still used a machine, you can see the stitch line on the outside of the robe, but since mine is black thread on black fabric it's hard to notice. It's partially hidden by the hood folding over the robe a little too, it runs into personal preference at this point on how much you want to hide the stitches.
Deleteclaire - about how tall are you? does this robe reach the ground for you? id like to make it but need to scale it up for my height (5'10") and just wanted to check your height to be able to change the measurements. my email is kristen.ewer@gmail.com if you have the time - need to make it this week for a costume party saturday! thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'm 5'6" and it reaches to the floor on me. There is some hem to work with but you will probably want to add some length there and in the sleeves too.
Deletethanks so much for your reply!
DeleteWow -- this is awesome! Thanks for doing this!
ReplyDeleteMy cousin wants to make this for her son, who is now six feet tall. She would like to know if it is hard to scale up.
ReplyDeleteIt shouldn't be too hard to scale up. Start with the son's measurement from his neck to the floor, then see how much would be added in the length to get the right size. It's already pretty roomy, but she may need to add some width too.
DeleteThank you so much. I've been searching for a costume and decided i wanted to do a Hogwarts professor...but the picture at the top made me change my mind...definitely going with Hermione's polly juice potion mishap. :D
ReplyDeleteLove this! I've been looking at the pattern/cuts image on google image search for weeks. Today I'm going to the Design District in Miami to actually get the fabric and make this happen. Thanks so much for providing such great drawings and instructions. I've worked a sewing machine before but this for sure be my biggest project to date. Feeling confident! Thanks again for such a great post on Hogwarts robes
ReplyDeleteThanks! I hope your robe is a success.
DeleteHi, Claire! Thanks for posting this. You have great vertical measurements, but I'm wondering if you noted anywhere the widths? Like, how wide at the bottom and chest for the robe body panels?
ReplyDeleteIf you blow up the pattern to meet the vertical dimensions, the width will scale along with it.
DeleteHello Ms Sanders! I have a question for you. How many yards of fabric did you use for this? I'm interesting in helping to make a couple of these robes, one for Gryffindor and one for Slytherin and I need to know the yardage so I can purchase the right amount of fabric. :) Other than that, I love them! I showed this to a friend and suggested that we make robes and wear them around school. :)
ReplyDeleteSince I made it 4 years ago I don't have the yardage. Once you create the pattern pieces then you can lay them flat and measure how much space they take up to determine the fabric yardage. It's also hard to tell because it will also be determined by the width of the fabric you choose.
DeleteOK. Thanks. :3 For the pattern, you just print it out? (I'm a bit new to this)
DeleteThe pattern provided is really rough, if you're new to this I recommend buying a commercial pattern with actually step by step instructions, yardage and fabric suggestions. But if you check the previous comments there are some recommendations for taking the rough pattern image and blowing it up to be the actual size.
DeleteOnce I'd laboriously enlarged this pattern to 80% of your suggested measurements, everything worked like a charm. I used 2.5m of black fabric and 1.5m of royal blue lining for my petite 15-yr-old granddaughter's Ravenclaw robe. I'm awaiting the arrival via Fedex of the Ravenclaw crest. What a perfect Christmas gift along with an electronic wand for controlling her devices :) :) Thank you for sharing your pattern and sewing instructions
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for posting this pattern. I am making a Ravenclaw robe for myself and a Hufflepuff robe for my husband. I do have one question, though...I was able to get everything to work, except for attaching the sleeves! I had a terrible time doing that--they kept getting caught and creating needless pleats and look awkward. I will admit that I have never sewn using a "real" pattern - I just like to make patterns myself and it usually works out ok. But I have a terrible time with the sleeves! Do you have any recommendations? Even pinning them was awkward.
ReplyDeleteIt's a little more time consuming but you can loosely hand stitch (baste) the sleeve to the body of the robe, before you machine stitch it. This can help work out any gathers or tucks that you don't want.
DeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteI've been looking for a way to get a nice Hogwarts robe for not that expensive, but I have neither the equipment or skill necessary to be able to do this... Is there a way that maybe you could make one for me, using my measurements and I pay you for it?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I don't have the time to make a robe for you. You could try local craigslist to see if a seamstress in your area would be interested in making a robe, but most custom clothing is expensive because it takes time and skill.
DeleteThank you for share, you save my life with this.
ReplyDeletewow, really impressed by the hood pattern and the professional layout/tutorial. Hope to make this very soon
ReplyDeleteNot a seamstress by any means, but this pattern worked well for a 6" inch Dumbledore that I am making for making for my miniature Hogwarts castle. Did not dare try to use the machine, but hand stitching such a small garment took very little time. I made the robe from purple silk and then made an over-tunic out of a tiny co-coordinating purple cotton print. Have not yet added the hood because Dumbledore wears a hat, but now that I have actually finished one robe, I am thinking I could make a few more characters for the castle, with hoods this time. Thanks so much for taking the time to post this.
ReplyDeleteWhen my niece stated that she was going to have a Harry Potter Birthday party for her 11th (naturally) I HAD to dress up and I have to say your design is the BOMB. I'm not exactly a beginner but I'm no pro. It was really easy to follow! I have no way to blow the pattern up so I just hand drew them by looking at the pics. My Ravenclaw robes look FANTASTIC!! Thank you so much!!
ReplyDeleteHi Lydia, how many yards of each fabric did you use?
DeleteYour pattern and instructions look great.
ReplyDeleteI have cut the pattern out and have a question about attaching the sleeves.
The edge of the sleeve is longer than the corresponding opening edge on the body. How does that fit together?
I was about to cut the arm hole bigger but decided there must be a reason.
Your pattern and instructions look great.
ReplyDeleteI have cut the pattern out and have a question about attaching the sleeves.
The edge of the sleeve is longer than the corresponding opening edge on the body. How does that fit together?
I was about to cut the arm hole bigger but decided there must be a reason.
The sleeve has some ease built into the cap so it flows over the top of the shoulder. You might want to run some loose shirring stitches as the top and gather those to fit the armhole correctly. But since this is a very casual pattern there may be some error in the pattern too. If it seems like it makes more sense to widen the armhole, the robe is loose so there is wiggle room in fitting the pieces.
DeleteHi Claire! Thanks for this great pattern! Can you tell me about seams allowance? How long? Have a nice day!
ReplyDeleteI think I left about 1/2 in. seam allowance but it's a loose robe so if you need more just add a little more around the edge. I'm 5'6" and it hits the floor for me with about a 3 inch hem, whatever length that is, but it's easy to let it out or take it in for the length you need.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this. I have just made my son one. He will be so happy when he wakes up in the morning.
ReplyDeleteI am a teacher so I can take the pattern pieces and blow them up on my smart board to the correct measurements and trace each piece with poster paper. My neice has asked for one with blue lining for her birthday in may.
ReplyDeleteI am a teacher so I can take the pattern pieces and blow them up on my smart board to the correct measurements and trace each piece with poster paper. My neice has asked for one with blue lining for her birthday in may.
ReplyDeleteExcellent patterns, my son is very happy! Although I opted to leave out the "facing" details and instead used the "normal" patterns to make two robes - one red and one black, that I then sewed together with the red as lining in the black one. (Turns out that it wasn't intuitive how to sew the arms together inside out so that they will work as they should when turned right - had to remove all the stitches multiple times until I got it right.)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this pattern. I printed onto graph paper and enlarged x8 by hand to get a mid-calf length robe for my son who is 116cm. Half way through enlarging, I stopped to think about seam allowances. In the end, I used a 1cm seam allowance to account for my pieces being about 2/3 suggested size. I used a wine coloured facing for a Gryffindor robe, and I added pockets in the same material. My main fabric is quite heavy and tends to fray, so I finished the seams with wine coloured bias tape, and I'm quite pleased with the effect.
ReplyDeleteI've just sprinted up to the Harry Potter shop at Kings Cross for a Gryffindor embroidered patch. Just got to sew that on, then buttons and hem and its done. Thanks again.
Same here, many thanks for the pattern. My son was very happy when he put on his new robe this morning and said he would probably have to best outfit at school today, Ash Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteThank-you for posting this pattern and instructions. I'm going to use it to make 3 sets of robes - 2 for the daughters of a friend, and 1 for my 9yo daughter, who has *just* gotten into Harry Potter. ( Yay! :-D )
Am I reading / seeing correctly, that the hood is not gathered on to the neck of the robe?
Many thanks.
As I recall, the hood should line up to the neck without gathering. I'm glad you're making lots of robes!
DeleteThanks-you. :-)
DeleteHola Claire. Le hice la capa a mí nieto, quedó genial, el molde es maravilloso,gracias por compartir,, ahoraa tengo que hacer a mí hija. Sabes si hay un molde talle L. ??? Sería 48. Sino como hago???Gracias. Besos.
ReplyDeleteYou can use the grid method to enlarge the pattern pieces so they fit the measurements of your daughter.
DeleteHello Claire, this design is amazing!! But i'm just a beginner so i dont know what's sleeve facing and hood lining and font facing? Is it necessary? what if im not sew it in the robe? Is it look good? Just because i really love Harry Potter and i wanna make one but the shops around here don't have the robe i want and the point here is that I have never sewed before, i'm just scare if i ruin it :((( please help me...
ReplyDeleteAll the facings and linings are easier ways to hide the seams. If you decide to exclude them, which you can, you'll see the seam in the hood when it's on not on your head and you'll have to figure out another way to neatly bind off the rest of the edges.
DeleteThank you for the pattern ^_^ I'm going to sew one costume for my 4 y. o. girl (and maybe one for the 10 months old boy :P )
ReplyDeleteBye from Italy ^_^
Is it hard to scale down, lets say, 12 months? I want to make one for my son.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it should be hard to scale down, you may have to make some tweaks with such a small size but it should work fine.
DeleteThank you so much for generously sharing your pattern and instructions. As an experienced sewer, it looks really straightforward. I am going to make Gryffindor robes for my 12 and 9yo daughters. I figure I'll go to the print shop and have them print the pattern at 75% on A0 paper. Will just see how we go. Did you ever try printing them on A0 paper?
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried printing on A0 paper since I made the original on full size pattern paper by hand but give it a try.
DeleteThank you so much for publishing that amazing pattern!
ReplyDeleteDo you think it is necessary to cut out two back pieces and sew them together, or can I also cut out the back as one piece?
If you have wide enough fabric you could cut out the back piece as one.
DeleteI just finished making this. I am a complete novice at sewing, but I managed it. The next one I make, I will cut the shoulders a little wider on both the front and back pieces. I will also not make it to the full length. I printed out the pattern from your site, I traced it and put it on check line paper and counted squares and mapped the number of squares to your length measurement and got the lengths for the other sections (one check square was mapped to 3 inches for me). Then I drew it out on some big sheets of paper. I had to draw a grid on the paper. I used three inches per block. Transferring the patterns to the big pieces of paper were the hardest part (besides figuring out how to wind up a bobbin, lol), It came out great, especially the facing for the hood. Thanks so much. (I also used a queen sheet from Goodwill to make this).
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for making this pattern available and the really clear instructions. Having the option of a lining really makes these robes stand out. Lifesaver for busy mums and book day around the corner! Thanks a million!
ReplyDeleteThank you for such an awesome pattern. I didn't want to fluff around with the enlarging so I used the pattern designing software I use (I design under the name littlekiwiscloset) then copied and pasted the image and increased it. Then I traced the pieces using the software and printed it on a4 sized tiles. Stuck it together like any normal pdf pattern and off I went. My 10yo daughter is going to love it. In this format it would be easier for your readers to use.
ReplyDeleteHi LittleKiwisCloset, could you share the pdf pattern you've created out of Claire's design? Much appreciated!
DeleteI too would like this pattern please
DeleteI too would like this pattern please
DeleteWould you be able to share your pdf pattern? I'd much appreciate it
DeleteI used the images you posted to make my own pattern (out of newspaper). It has turned out wonderfully. Thank you so much for posting your design. It has great proportions!
ReplyDeleteHey Claire, thanks for sharing - the design looks awesome! Mind if I link to this page from a post I'm making about Quidditch robes?
ReplyDeleteSure, thanks!
DeleteWhat part of your pattern would accommodate the wizard stick? My grandson wants to have a spot inside the robe so he can hold his wizard stick.
ReplyDeleteI didn't put a specific spot for a wand, but you could add a pocket just about anywhere- maybe in the front like the interior pocket on a suit jacket.
DeleteHi! I am making a wizard robe as a school procject, and your pattern was like sent from heaven! I am just wondering if you used vliseline on the red fabric?
ReplyDeleteHi! I just posted a comment about vliseline, later i found out that it is called facing in english. What kind of facing did you use for your robe?
ReplyDeleteHi! I just posted a comment about vliseline, later i found out that it is called facing in english. What kind of facing did you use for your robe?
ReplyDeleteI made the facing out of the same black fabric as the robe, mostly because that's what I had around. You could make it to match the house of your choice and it would show up in the hood.
Deletehello . i found your pattern so interesting . I'm 3D model artist and i work with Marvelous designer to make cloth for game and animation . i have some questions about medieval cloth patterns . would you please help me in this case ?!
ReplyDeleteSunghyogun atsign gmail
Regards.
Hi! I made this for my daughter for Halloween this year. The instructions and pattern were great! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteMade this for an elf on the shelf and it came out great! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI need you to know this is fabulous. My 7 year old decided her 8th birthday (one week away) is to be Harry Potter themed and I had no idea what to do. I printed this out and made it on standard paper to fit our resident dinosaur and sewed it up in an hour. It fits him perfectly and she was so very excited. I know that wasn't your intended use but it's so simple to put together and such an easy pattern I'm actually thinking of buying the fabric to make her one as well!
ReplyDeleteHi Claire, thanks so much for making this available, used the pattern to make a robe for larp and it worked perfectly! I added some lining for warmth (which took about 4 m of extra material) and I made the questionable choice of hand sewing the whole project, but it was absolutely worth it!
ReplyDelete