I saw a kaftan like this somewhere online, for the life of me I can't remember where or when. But whoever made it, I can GUARANTEE theirs is not as soft as mine. I used a light jersey I found in Cartagena, and I swear, I only wish you could reach through your screen and touch it. It is without a doubt, the softest fabric I have ever held.
TOOLS:
Fabric (I used ultra-soft and light jersey) 2 m 1.5-meter width, or 2.6m 1-meter width | Contrasting or matching tassel trim + lace trim | Matching threads & sewing machine (+serger if you have) | Scissors | Pins
I. First you need two pieces of fabric, 95 cm by 130 cm for my height (175 cm). Place them right sides facing and sew one short edge. I did all this strategically so the opposite short edge (which would become the hem) was the factory cut edge. I love to use a factory cut edge as the hem whenever I can, it's so much more flowy than when you need to fold and stitch.
II. Then trace and cut the kaftan shape like so. Sew the sides and underarms. Note that my fabric was super stretchy, so even though I cut the neckline 20 cm deep, in reality it ended up being a bit more from the weight of the fabric.
III. I finished the neckline by cutting a lining piece for it, sewing it on the right side..
.. And then flipping onto the reverse, folding under itself and sewing again.
IV. Next I needed to address the shape situation. Due to the nature of my fabric and the cut, with arms down the sides of the hems hung lower than the middle. You can see in the below how when I lift my arms, the hem is nice and straight.
To fix that, I sewed darts about 15 cm down from the armpit, on both sides. After that, I used some of the scraps to make a little extension for the sleeves which I thought were a bit too short as they were:
V. And I was ready to start adding my tassel trim!
VI. For the neckline, I first pressed a fold onto my lace trim (it was a bit too thick as it was) and then played around with, cutting a couple pieces and placing them symmetrically to get the look I wanted. Top-stitched those in place with a thread matching the trim.
VII. And finally added my tassel trim. First marked the center front with pins, then started from the hem, pinned the tassel up the center, around the neckline, and back down again.
Last just gave it a gentle press through some cotton, hand-sewed some of the lace trim pieces down to keep it all flat, and I was done. Super easy, SO comfortable.
Walid had to actually tell me to change one morning when I was about to go to the office wearing this. Apparently it's a bit too casual. 🤷
xo,
Julia
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