Making a Banyan

[galadhir]

DH expressed bafflement as to how I could continue to work outside in the conservatory, with snow on the ground while either sewing or signpainting. It's the only place we've got a big enough table to do these things, but it's completely unheated, whereas he tends to feel cold while sitting upstairs in the spare bedroom/office.

I said my secret was the banyan (18th Century house coat) I had made for myself many years ago when I found myself cold in the house. Then I said I would make him one too.

as you can see, it's not complicated! You just have to measure from nape of the neck to wherever your subject wants the garment to fall, and then cut a rectangle that long. The width of the rectangle is the measurement across the subject from shoulder to shoulder - with a couple of inches for ease.

In this case the arms are squares. Measure from the shoulder to wherever you want it to lie on the arm, measure around the widest part of the arm, add a couple of inches or more so you can get a jumper underneath. Mine has elbow length sleeves so I can do the washing up in it. DH wanted his sleeves full length.

I got some lovely Chinese silk from ebay (red is the right side and gold is the inside.) And I also got some fake fur to line it with.

I assembled the silk pieces. Then I assembled the fur pieces and put one inside the other to make sure they fitted together okay.

Then I just sewed them both together, and the job was done :)

I should probably clarify that I sewed them together right side in, leaving a gap at the bottom of the skirts, and - crucially - leaving the sleeve cuffs unsewn.

Then I pulled it through the gap in the bottom of the skirts. Had a slight heart attack when I saw I had a weird misshapen thing with four arms. Then I remembered that you feed the arms of the lining back through the sleeves of the outer, and only then sew up the sleeves and the final bit of the hem.

(The hood belongs to the hoodie he's wearing under it.) Altogether, about one and a half days' work, and about £40 worth of fabric. But it should allow us to turn the heating down a bit, so hopefully it will pay for itself in the end.

Comments

[virgosplaining]

It looks great!! I hope it keeps him warm and snug :)

[galadhir]

Thank you! He certainly seems to be pleased with it :)

[mistressofmuses]

That looks so warm!

[galadhir]

He was like 'omg, even my legs are warm!' So I think that's a result :)

[mistressofmuses]

That sounds like a win to me!

[xancredible]

Ooh, that's really lovely!! I'll see if I can make something like that for myself too 👀

[galadhir]

I love the fact that it's a pattern you can just carry in your head and it's so easy to alter to approximately fit anyone. And if you just have a second rectangle for the front instead of the two flaps it can also be a dress :)

If you do make one, I'd love to see pictures!

[ysilme]

What a great project and garment, and what a cool execution of this one! Thank you for sharing this.
Do you think it could be lined with a thin fleece (from a blanket, for example) as well? And how are yours closing?
We don't really need warming ones, thankfully, but this would be a good use for some of the damask bedlinens I got from a friends' late parents estate (white cotton but the fabric takes dye well), to make a short-sleeved housecoat for myself for early summer.

[galadhir]

Thank you! And yes, you could absolutely line it with thin fleece or even cotton if you want it to be cooler.

I closed mine with some decorative metal hooks and eyes, but they weren't terribly effective and kept coming undone when I moved. So DH's is going to be closed with toggles, and I'm going to make ties from some of the spare material to stitch onto mine. But if you wanted a light and airy one, you could just close it with a sash or belt.

[elaiel]

Okay, that's awesome. I now think I may need to make one of those.

[galadhir]

Hee! Thank you! I would love to see how yours turns out if you do :)