Curvy Costume Sewing: Robin from Stranger Things

As soon as I binge-watched Season 3 of Stranger Things, I knew that I wanted to dress up as the character Robin in the dorky-cute “Scoops Ahoy” ice cream parlor uniform that she wore all season.

Now, Spirit Halloween and a few places actually do already have Robin’s uniform available as a costume; however, the commercially available versions of this costume are very non-curve-friendly and top out about two sizes smaller than what I’d need. Luckily, I sew! (Duh.)

In the past, I’ve used commercial patterns without a lot of tweaking for my Halloween costumes. This year, though, none of the Big 4 had a “Stranger Ice Cream Shop Worker” readily available, so I knew that I’d have to pull out my frankepatterning skills and get ready to hack.

Robin’s uniform has three main pieces:

• A puff-sleeved tee with a hybrid sailor/Chelsea collar.
• A cropped non-closing vest.
• High-waisted pleated shorts with slash pockets.

I scoured my pattern collection and various online catalogues to come up with base patterns to hack and ended up going with the options and modifications that I’ll describe in the rest of this post.

Robin’s tee – Simplicity 8160 with Seamwork Addison collar

I used currently the Lolita-inspired Simplicity 8160 as a starting point for my Robin tee. I chose this pattern because of the basic pullover shape, sailor collar, puffed sleeves, and tie accessory.

While the pattern is drafted for wovens, I used a blue and white striped cotton lycra knit from Girl Charlee for my version. I sewed a straight size 22 and left the darts unsewn.

I also used the View C tie as starting point for Robin’s tie, shortening it and narrowing it somewhat, then sewing it right-sides-together and turning out, rather than hemming it (per the instructions). I omitted the loop fastener and instead just tied the tie in a knot.

For the collar, I morphed a slightly enlarged (eyeballing it) Seamwork Addison collar onto the Simplicity 8160 sailor collar. For trim, I used a narrow bias binding.

Robin’s Vest – Simplicity 9136 Vintage vest – cropped

For Robin’s vest, I found a copy of the vintage Simplicity 9136 on Etsy and purchased it.

I used View A and shortened it around waist-high by 3″ to preserve the shape of the vest. The vest is self-lined and top-stitched. I made the vest out of a royal blue ponte that I purchased from fabric.com.

Robin’s Shorts – Seamwork Heidi shorts with slash pockets added

For Robin’s shorts, I used the Seamwork Heidi shorts as my base pattern.

I chose these shorts for their basic shape, two front pleats, and longer length. I made the following modifications:

• Converted it from a side zip to an elastic waistband for comfort/ease of getting into/out of. I left the back darts unsewn for this modification.
• Using the pockets of my Megan Nielsen Flint shorts as a guide, I hacked slash pockets onto the shorts.
• Shortened the short inseam by 2″. (I’m a short-legged 5’2″.)
• Added white trim and nautical buttons to the pocket openings.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I’m really happy with how my costume turned out. If I’d had the time/inclination to do a muslin, I probably would have fixed some of the proportions a bit, as with me being short, everything is a little on the long side on me, compared to the “real” Robin costume. And in case anyone is wondering, I was able to purchase the hat, nametag pin, and ice cream cone patch from sellers on Etsy.