26 July 2014

Kaftan Coverup Critique

One of the best things about sewing is that nobody has the same article of clothing anywhere.  I recently bought a cheap little coverup because I was lazy.  It was a week later when I saw someone else wearing the same thing.  Really, it's not that big of a deal, but I wanted to burn my cheap coverup and crawl into a hole.  It was probably the same week when Toni, of Make it Perfect, asked if I would review her Shearwater Kaftan pattern.

Perfect timing!  And she also a children's version, to which Olive was the recipient.
I didn't make any adjustments other than two small ones.  I thought it might be fun to have a little color peeking out from the facing. THEN I thought it would be even better if the facing was on the front. Now you know how I work.  I just make things up as a I go along, usually without a specific plan. ;) I modified the shape of the facing to mimic the pattern of my fabric (a batik which I think came from fabric.com) and added a bit of interfacing.
Mark the center where you will be sewing and pin the RIGHT side of the facing to the WRONG side of the fabric.  When I flipped it to the right side after sewing, I liked how the facing pulled a bit of the shirt fabric to look like piping, so I left it that way.
To finish it off, I did a satin stitch.  To finish it even more, I did a triple stitch (not shown here, but it's the stitch where the machine takes two stitches forward and then to backward and two forward again).  I also added some bands to the sleeves because I have monkey arms and they were too short. The fit is very generous and SO comfortable.
Olive's favorite color is yellow, so I did her facing in a bright yellow, the batik fabric also came from fabric.com.
They would also be cute with jeans or leggings (or jeggings! ;)  Or you could lengthen it for a fun summer dress.
Toni has all sorts of patterns that you'll want to check out. Oh.  And today I'm halfway to 70 years old. I bought myself a cheap hat, expensive perfume and a fake leather skirt. Wahoo!

7 comments:

  1. cute and a clever idea, this colored facing ! I wish you a very happy birthday - as I too am celebrating mine today ! (except that I'm too years older ...)

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  2. so cute! i'm going to make one to wear with jeans~ thanks for sharing!

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  3. Love the pop of color! Happy birthday!

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  4. Happy birthday Katy! Love your take on the kaftan!!!

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  5. Love the pop of color! Beautiful as always. Happy Birthday!

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  6. Happy belated birthday! You are beautiful and talented and pure in heart! XOXO

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  7. You are amazing - I know you must hear that all the time but truly, you are! I'm a long-time stalker, but usually only get to check in once a month or so. I've just finished reading through what I had missed - so happy your sister's kids will be okay - I'm sure they've had multiple blessings and what a great sister you are - and what a great family you have! Thanks for the inspiration - you never let me down!

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