Half-Caf

I've been wanting to make a dress similar to this Threadbanger Caftan from some time.  The dress in this video is so beautifully flowy and perfect for summer.

I needed to make some tweaks to make the project fit my needs. I didn't have a pair of scarves like the ones used in the tutorial.  I didn't want my dress to be open on the sides like the Threadbanger version, but I also didn't want something that would end up being a mumu.  Here's what I came up with.

I started with one of the wraps I made before my trip to India last year.  "Made" is probably too strong a word because all I did last year was hem all four sides.  The wrap started out as a 60" by 72" piece of fabric.  After hemming it was probably about 59" by 71."  A 35" length starting at my shoulder hits right about at my knee.

First I folded the wrap in half, resulting in a folded edge that was approximately 60 inches with 36 inch sides with the wrong side facing out.

I pinned up the sides, leaving about 12 inches near the folded edge for arm holes, and cut a 12 inch slit at the top for a head hole.  At this point I tried the garment on to make sure the head hole was big enough and the arm holes fell how I wanted.  I sewed up the sides (leaving the arm holes), and then turned the piece back right side out.

I tried on the piece again and marked the height of my natural waist and the width of my shoulders with pins. The piece needs to fit over my shoulders, so I need enough width there, but I want it to cinch in at my waist so I want the ties to fall there. I then marked the intersection of the width of my shoulders and height of my waist and pinned both sides of the fabric together there, making sure the two sides lined up.

I used the button hole function on my sewing machine to make two approximately 1" button holes that stitch the two sides of the fabric together.  I had never had need to use the button hole feature on my sewing machine before, and it was incredibly easy.  I want to put button holes on everything now.  The last thing I did was hem the neck line.  I will probably go back and bind the edge of the neck with bias tape, but I didn't have any of that today.  I tied the waist with a length of black ribbon.  If I had known how much I would like the finished product I would have cut a piece of the original fabric to use as a self-belt.

All in all this project took about 30 minutes.  Writing the instructions took as long as sewing the caftan.

I am very pleased with the end result and I'll definitely make at least one more of these.  I can imagine wearing it over a slip as a dress, as a swimsuit cover up, or with leggings or jeans like I did in these photos.

 

 

Garments like this are tricky because you risk losing your shape in a giant amorphous blob of fabric.  I think I circumvented that pitfall by cinching in at the waist.  The fabric takes the shape of my body rather than swallowing it up.  The knee-length hem also helps balance the fullness.  What do you think?  

A Whole Different Animal

If you saw this dress, would you buy it?  I did.

I like the print- it's kind of a blue and black animal print.  I like the double-breasted shirt dress concept.  I did not like the giant shoulder pads, awkward sleeves, or unflattering length.  Once the sleeves were chopped and length was hemmed, it was nearly unrecognizable.

 

Dress, thrifted; belt, thrifted; sandals, Target; earrings, Target(?); necklace, gifted (thanks Mom!).

 

It still has a bit of a 90s vibe, but now it is saucy instead of sister-wifey.

 

Mandarin Blue

I must just like cutouts because like yesterdays dress, the cutout is what caught my eye.  I like the keyhole, the mandarin collar, and the color.  I didn't like the length or the boxy fit.  It was quite a bit too big through the waist.

Dress, thrifted; shoes, Payless Shoes; earrings, handmade (Thank you, Chenille!); bracelet, Walmart.

 

I took the waist in about an inch and a half on each side and took many inches off the length.  The result is very blue and fun too.

 

 

A Cut Out, Cut Up, Cut Above

This is the first of my freshly remodeled dresses.  It's pretty easy to see the potential in this one.  For some people probably would have been perfect just the way it was.  I like the fit through the bodice, the print, the flowy fabric, the high neckline and the cutout back.  The only think I really didn't like was the length.

 

Dress, thrifted, shoes, Rack Room Shoes; earrings, Claire's; necklace, gifted (thanks, Pop!).

 

I used a chalk hem marker to mark my desired shortened length.  (Sally Ann has good instructions here.)  It was pretty quick and easy to trim off the excess and roll the edge under.  Much improved!

 

 

Potential

The ability to see potential is a blessing and a curse.  When potential is combined with a little work, you can wind up with something really special.  With potential alone, you can wind up with a closet full of "almost."  I recently set up an assembly line of pieces with potential, and in the coming days I'll show you what I saw in them and how they turned out.

Here are the before photos.  Each of these items cost between $0.50 and $1.50 at garage sales or thrift shops.  From the before photos you'd likely say I overpaid.

 

 



Like all good "before" photos, you can see I need to do my hair and makeup.  It makes the "after" more dramatic, right?

Shr-arf

I need a word for a scarf that has become a shrug.  Shr-arf?  Sc-ug?  This is the second large square shrug I've turned into a shrug.  You can see the first one here.  Large square scarves are harder for me to style than large rectangular ones, so transforming them is a good way to make them more useful.

 

Dress, eshakti.com; scarf/shrug, purchased in India; shoes, Payless Shoes; earrings, handmade by me; necklace, purchased in India.

I made this graphic.  If you really want to use it, please ask permission.

 

The scarf has a came from India and has beautiful elephant pattern, so I added the elephant earrings to coordinate.

 

The Easiest Tutorial Ever

I paired the shrug with the red knit dress I made last summer for extra diy cred.  The dress has stretched a bit from being on a hanger, and I might end up having to shorten the straps a bit to compensate.

 

Shawl, thrifted and altered; dress, handmade by me; belt, thrifted; shoes, Younkers; earrings, handmade and gifted (thank you, Kate!); necklace, Fire Mountain Gems.

 

 

The pattern of the scarf is perfect for style blogger.  The only element I don't understand is a silhouette of Alaska with a husky.  What does that have to do with fashion?

 

Everything's Coming Up Roses

This weekend I went to the Thomasville Rose Show & Festival in Thomasville, Georgia.  This was the inspiration I needed to transform a dress that arrived magically on my doorstep a few weeks ago.

The lovely Gracey of Fashion for Giants sent me a box of fabulous clothing including this rose print dress.  The print is very pretty.  Unfortunately there was something slightly off about the styling of the dress.  It had puffy sleeves of an awkward length and a v-neck didn't hit at the right place.

Of course I started by removing the sleeves at the seams.  Next I adjusted the neck and slightly gathered the shoulders.

 

Here is the final result!  Now I love the dress.  Thank you, Gracey!

 

I added a belt and cardigan (both thrifted), sandals (Younkers), earrings (etsy), and a necklace that I've had since I was a little girl.

 

The dress was a hit with the ladies I traveled with to the festival, and a new lady-like addition to my wardrobe.