Guys, Clio made me do it. I’ve had caftans on the brain ever since she posted the beautiful caftan she made for her mom. And of course, if we’re going to go caftan, we may as well go completely over the top and make a psychedelic caftan!
I decided to make this for August’s Mood Sewing Network project and was immediately drawn to this printed cotton at Mood Fabrics NYC. I tried to convince Man Friend that he needed a matching shirt, but he wasn’t on board. Just think how cool we would look together, like a two-person luau! MISSED OPPORTUNITY, DUDE.
The fabric is probably a bit on the stiff side for a caftan, but I don’t mind at all. I like how breezy cotton feels on a hot day! Sometimes drapier fabrics can feel a little too warm when they cling to your skin. But I imagine this style would look really lovely in something like rayon challis.
The pattern is McCall’s 6552, a Fashion Star pattern. It’s really, really simple to put together, since the bodice is made from one single pattern piece. Crazy, right? The center back is cut on the fold, and the front is folded over the back and stitched from waist to the sleeve hem, forming giant kimono sleeves. The bodice is sewn to the skirt with a 7/8″ seam allowance, which is then folded under and stitched down to form a casing for the drawstring. Clever! The waistband is gently curved in the front, which I really like. It’s much more flattering than a straight-up empire waist.
Holy cow, what’s happening with my face here?! I’m posting this despite the uggitude of this pic so you can see the gigantic batwing-ness of the sleeves!
One thing to know about this pattern is that it’s really low cut, which is not good for me. I took a note from Coco and extended the center front at the waist level by about 3/4″ to form an overlap. I wish I could have overlapped it a bit more, but in my size, that was the most I could do before I ran off the fold of the fabric. Speaking of size, after looking at the finished dimensions, I decided to cut a size smaller than my measurements indicated.
Overall, this was a really fun project- the fabric and pattern were so easy to work with, but the final garment makes a big impact. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to get away with wearing this dress multiple times in a week… somehow I think people will notice! 🙂
OK, before we go… I need to announce the winner of the Casual Sweet Clothes giveaway! Not counting duplicate comments and folks who didn’t want to enter, we had 71 entries. The winner is…
…#56, Katy!
Congrats, Katy! I’ll be in touch with you. 🙂 Alright, guys, what’s on your sewing table??
Ginger Makes... 
I love this so much! It’s like sleepwear you can wear out side – that’s a GOOD thing!
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Serious fabric envy! I love everything about this.
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That fabric is beautiful! I want a caftan now too!
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Love, Love, Love this!! Soo adorable on you- and the print!! Hope you get to take
this to a sandy beach somewhere!
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That flower print is killer!! Kinda wish I had a fancy kaftan to wear on a ridiculously hot day like today so I could wear a small number of things and still look all put together lol
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I have this pattern… in my stash where hundreds of other patterns are languishing untouched! I thought about making it for lounging around… looks like you can take it to the street too! Pretty fabric… dontcha love simple when it turns out so pretty?!
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Ooh, you should totally make it! I bet it would look gorgeous on you! I’m thinking about a version in a drapey navy rayon… would be a little dressier, even!
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This is so funky! I am also loving the curved drawstring. I was just thinking about using drawstrings recently, so it was great to know the clever construction of this one. Thank you for sharing 😀
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Any time! It’s a smart construction, although it involves a lot of tricky finagling with the iron. 🙂
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beautiful fabric, Ginger! and it’s kind of different from things we usually see you in, but I love this look on you. lovely.
you should totally have made shirt for man friend.
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not sure, seems my comment disappeared.
so, I love the fabric! and it’s different from what we’re used to see you in but ir is so lovely and psychedelic indeed. psychedelovelic!
should totally have made shirt for man-friend. would be soooo cool.
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😐
just delete some of these, will you.? sorry
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It’s silly WordPress- for some reason sometimes it makes me moderate comments! I don’t know why!
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You are on a roll girl! Every new project you make I think ‘ OK this the the coolest dress ever!!!’ The legth and style is perfect for this print! You look utterly fabulous and I want one too! For some reason maxi dresses don’t look good on me, but this would look cute shorter too.
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Phone typo sorry I meant to say ‘length’ 🙂
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what… i almost thought Oona had hijacked your blog LOL. Fun make!
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Hahahaha! Now that you mention it, I can totally see her in this dress!
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