A Flowy Kaftan Dress

As I have time, I am slowly going through my sewing supplies, streamlining what I can and keeping only what I really love. Decluttering is a constant process in a house with six kiddos and even "my space" is not really mine - they like doing homework in the calm quiet of the tiny sewing room as it's one of the coziest places in the house. So I like to keep everything that can be put up, up.

On one of my organizing evenings I came across a few yards of some flowery rayon fabric that my friend Katherine gave me many years ago. I had kept it with me all those years, wanting to use it for something but never knowing quite what to make. The colors weren't the best for me (rust, gold and olive green) and the fabric itself wasn't suitable for any particular historic period. A modern dress, then? But I never made one.

When I pulled it off the shelf this last time I knew it was now or never. Use it or lose it! I held the length up around me and looked in the mirror and then I knew what it would be - a kaftan!

If any of you have ever watched the old 80's sitcom Three's Company, you probably remember Mrs. Roper, the landlords wife. Slightly eccentric, dramatic and just a little obnoxious she often wore colorful, flowing kaftans.

I knew almost nothing about the history of this style of loose fitting dress so I did a little digging. It's hard to say where the style originated, but it seems that the general consensus is that this type of garment has been worn for thousands of years in Africa, parts of Europe and Asia. It's basic form is a rectangle, with a hole cut for the head and openings left at the sides for the arms.

Vintage kaftan from pinterest

Morocco seems a likely place that the style flourished and it seems that its still part of traditional dress there. Although, the term "kaftan" or "caftan" appears to refer to several styles of loose dresses or tunics, some with cut on sleeves or sewn on sleeves and some opening down the front.

Moroccan Kaftan from Wikipedia

In America, the kaftan became popular in the mid 20th century along with the hippie movement. Patterns from the 1960's and 1970's include kaftans, like this one:

Vintage Pattern from Etsy

Vintage kaftans are very popular today. This absolutely stunning one is from etsy:

Vintage Kaftan from Etsy

I wanted my kaftan to be kinda hippie/boho inspired, kinda elvish/narnian inspired. I ended up making a rounded rectangle, adding a waist belt (placed slightly above the natural waist) and with a simple faced neck slit for a head opening. 

I started with a rectangle of fabric that was twice as long as I wanted my finished dress to be, and as wide as the fabric was, minus a 4" strip I tore off one selvedge to use for the belt. I made a neck slit and faced it with dark grey fabric reused from an old skirt.

I have the best helper!

This old grey skirt was one of those tiered peasant style ones, with a drawstring elasticized waist. It had served me through many pregnancies and beyond and I was ready to finally get rid of it. But it had the prettiest embroidered trim along the bottom edge and I wanted to find a use for it, somehow. It worked well for edging the neckline of the kaftan and the embroidered trim went down the front, just under the empire waist. The dark trim also helps tone down the fabric a bit. 

I had to sew all the trim on by hand since the main fabric is so heavy and slinky! It
took a while but it was worth it! The belts are attached at the sides of the "waistband".

Once I got the trim sewn on I had to finish the edges. Some kaftans are sewn up the sides with a regular seam, allowance towards the inside, leaving just an opening for the arms. I wanted mine to have the side seams sewn in from the edge a few inches so I decided to hem all the edges of the dress. The heavy rayon slinky fabric did NOT agree to this at all. So I ended up tearing up the rest of the old grey skirt into strips and binding the edge instead. This took so long, but at last was done. I shaped the hem into a U shape instead of leaving it rectangular. This is so the sides of the dress won't drag the ground when its being worn. Shorter length kaftans can be left rectangular but my dress is made to be quite long.

Kaftan almost done! Just have to sew up the sides.

I made four faced slits at the waistline, through which to thread the belts so they
can tie at the center back.

I didn't want the kaftan to be sewn all the way down since that could potentially restrict the movement of my legs. So, the side seam starts 12" down from the shoulder and goes for 20". I sewed it 5" in from the edge.

The last thing to do was to thread the belt through the holes on the front and back. Then try on time!

It slips on over the head easily. . .

The fabric feels cool, smooth, heavy and luxurious. It does! 

I do feel very elvish-y and Narnian-y. And Mrs. Roper-y.

I was so happy with how it came out that I considered it the most beautiful thing I have ever made. It's not, of course, (although beauty is very relative), but I do love it and I have been and will be wearing this a LOT. It's a fabulous alternative to my usual around-the-house outfit of yoga pants and a t shirt and hoodie.

I've already started the next one, with another piece of fabric I've had for a while. (I had JUST enough - just about 3 yards of fabric, which cost me 75 cents at a thrift shop awhile ago.) This one will have a visible neck facing of brown linen, which will be edged with beads. I may go for some fringe round the edges; since the fabric is so very lightweight it will help give the dress some drape. 

Here's my notes about making mine:

Cage!

Done!

Goal was to get it done before the new season of Mercy Street and it's done. I finished it last week but didn't get around to taking pictures for a blog post until today. Mostly because I've been obsessing over caftans lately and I am sick of the 1860's at present. And it's a pain to put on all those undergarments. Ugh. I couldn't find my civil war chemise so had to use my regency one for these photos.

It's about 110" around the bottom, which is about the maximum I'd ever want for a cage. My little covered hoop is around 90", I think, so this is a big jump up for me. It fills out the skirts of my blue dress quite nicely and definitely supports better than the little hoop. I still like the little hoop, though. It's perfect for active wear and takes the place of multiple plain petticoats quite nicely.

The new cage is made of two kinds of wire. One kind was left over from the rolls of hooping steel I bought a few years ago. One kind was heavier and thicker. I used the heavier wire at the bottom and the lighter at the top. I sewed casings for each wire out of a heavish blue-grey cotton upcycled from a curtain. The casings are suspended from seven 2.5" wide straps and placed about every 2". It took a lot of both math and eyeballing to get the shape right but I am happy with the final result. 

I kinda want it more boufy in the back. For that, a cloth bustle would work quite well. The WWG has instructions for a few different kinds of bustles, the simplest being a double flounce gathered and sewn to a waistband. I may make one before our first event, and I'd like to make some new petticoats, too.

Yay for a new cage! I never want to make one again! So glad this is finished. Now, back to caftans. . .

Heavy Winter Mantle

It's done! It was made with bits of leftover materials so ended up costing nothing. It's a great feeling to be able to make something useful from what otherwise may have been waste.

One layer of lightweight grey wool, one layer of pieced cotton batting scraps, one layer of black cotton sateen lining pieced from scraps and quilted closely to the batting. The silk flounce and trim are made from a piece of fabric I bought at a going-out-of-business sale last summer for $1 a yard! Talk about a great deal. . .

It is very warm, rather heavy and the colors work well with the two dresses I have and are likely to go just as well with any future gowns. I hope to have a chance to wear it soon and take proper pictures but for now, these will do. WHY IS OUR WINTER SO WEIRD? One day it's 9 degrees and the next it's 75. No, I'm not joking. It really happened. And there is no sun, and everything is either frozen mud and grey skies or sticky, thick mud and grey skies.

I'm currently almost done with my new cage, which is being worn beneath the dress on the dressform here. I hope to finish that up this week. It's another free project, made with found and recycled items! So far it is turning out quite nicely! I don't want to have to ever make another one though, at least not for a while! So much work!

1860's Mantles

Here is a basic illustration of how to make a simple mantle. I used these instructions to create the  mantle pictured below, which was made with a lining and a flounce. Following are some examples of original mantles. These are wonderful, versatile garments that are easy to make, wear and care for. 

1850's Silk Mantle from the Met

1850's Silk Mantle from the Met

1857-1860 Mantle from the Met

1840-1860 Fringed Silk Mantle from Tasha Tudor Auction

1830-1860 Fringed Silk Mantle from Tasha Tudor Auction

1860's fringed silk mantle with quilted lining from Bustle Dress

1850-1890 fringed silk mantle from Augusta Auctions

Sewing Project Review 2016

2016 was a really weird year for me. Not a bad year, just a weird one. All year long I struggled with sewing. I either didn't have time to work on things or I lacked motivation. In some ways I felt overwhelmed since outfitting all the kids seemed like an impossible thing to do. I was irritated with most of my projects. But I kept on, bit by bit. And really, I am kinda amazed at how much I did get done. Hey! Not so bad. 

There were a few projects that stand out so for the sake of wrapping up this year, I will highlight those few:

1. My Favorite Project

This would have to be the Jedi outfit I made for Judah to wear for Halloween this year. I loved making this costume from start to finish and it gives me a happy feeling to see Judah throw his Jedi robe on after school, hop on his bike and head down the street to visit one of his friends, robe flowing in the wind. He totally owns the look. It was fun to work on something non-historical! 

2. Least Favorite Project

Well, all the undergarments. I made a crap ton of undergarments this year for both the kids and myself. It gets so entirely boring. Really! I mean, how excited can you get about the umpteenth tuck you are sewing into a white petticoat? I wasn't excited. Still, undergarments are the most important part of a correct looking impression. I still hate them. I don't want to sew another undergarment for a long time. Unless it's a corset. 

Sad thing is, the next thing I make will almost certainly be an undergarment! Grrr...

3. Most Challenging Project

Benjamin's yellow plaid dress was completely frustrating because it looked terrible when I first sewed it. I had to take it apart and redo the bodice and I hated that. I wasn't that passionate about it in the first place and I still kinda don't like the dress, but he did look cute in it, even if he did only get to wear it two or three times before he outgrew it. 

2017 projections: 

• Cage crinoline (plan to start this in a few days)
• 1870's undergarments (start in January)
• 1917 outfit (will need everything. Plan to make a simple skirt/blouse/jacket ensemble)
• 1870's day dress
• 18th c. undergarments
• Colored/printed regency round gown
• Updating the kids reenacting wardrobes as needed
• SOMETHING for SCA use!

See you in 2017!

Fashions of the Gilded Age

Look! I received this gorgeous book as a gift for Christmas and I am blown away by the sheer depth of information packed within its pages. I've never done anything remotely bustle-y and have always been rather intimidated by these styles. But now I have literally hundreds of patterns to work from.

2017 will be the Year of the Bustle. I've had this image saved for a while as I love how the striped fabric dresses up what is a very simple natural form style. Doesn't it look rather Mrs. Oleson-y?

I really like the printed one as well. The self fabric scalloped trim is delightful. The scallops are echoed on the hem of the bodice, which is just darling! I can picture Caroline Ingalls wearing such a dress. I can't wait to make one of my own!

I think my 1860's corset is close enough in shape to work for this era. But I will need new petticoats, possibly a small bustle, and a new chemise, preferably sleeveless or with tiny sleeves. Goal: Complete outfit by September 2017 to wear for the Old West festival. That is definitely doable.  

Merry Christmas! May your New Year be fabulous!

Clothespin Dolls

I acquired quite a few of the old fashioned peg kind of wooden clothespins this summer, put them up and promptly forgot about them. Recently I needed some kind of new activity to keep Anne occupied, though, so I remembered the forgotten clothespins and pulled them out and showed her how to make a very simple clothespin doll, the kind without arms. She loved the resulting dolls and quickly made several of her own. Her latest were these 3, which I thought were too cute to not share!

I helped her just a little with the sewing of the top of Mary's dress and wrapping baby Jesus in some string to keep his swaddling cloth on. She carries the finished 3 dolls around in a tiny basket and sets up mini nativity scenes all over the house. It's like the Elf on the Shelf, only it's Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus popping up in unexpected places!

I made 3 dolls altogether; the first one was an angel doll made of different types of lace as a prototype for teacher gifts. Cute but not really "me". These last two are angels, to go with Anne's nativity and double as this years Christmas ornaments for me and Rose. 

Mid 19th Century Quilted Petticoat

I am SO glad that this is done! After Thanksgiving we all came down with a terrible cold thing. Or maybe a flu thing. It was bad. The kids bounced back after a day or two but I'm still sniffling and shuffling my way through gloomy, coldish, grey days and battling a wearisome round of fever and chills.

So. My goal was to finish the petticoat by November 30th since my first goal of getting it done by Thanksgiving wasn't accomplished. I pushed myself and got most of it done but I still had a bit of finishing to do that wasn't able to be completed til December 1st. I wanted to wear it last night to a Christmas festivity but I didn't go since I was sick.

I love this petticoat. It's warm and cozy and light and fluffy. Like wearing a comforting blanket wrapped around you all the time. Which, at this point, I need. It's made of two widths of a striped fabric I've had since before Anne was born. I am not totally sure of the fiber content. I originally thought it was a nice cotton but after quilting it for so long I really believe there is some silk content as well. It handles like silk and has that distinctive whooshy sound when you quilt that you only get from silk.

It's lined with plain white and grey striped cotton (I think I have had a thing for stripes lately. . .) and interlined with cotton batting. I quilted it on many evenings in front of the tv watching Walker, Texas Ranger (which is Malachi's new favorite tv show that he simply must watch every night from 7 to 8).

I made a short yoke to gather the lower skirt at the hip. I didn't want a ton of bulk in the waistband so this seemed like a good idea. Then the top of the yoke was gathered into waistband. The yoke isn't lined, so the seam between the lower skirt and yoke is finished with a strip of scrap fabric. The outside of the seam has a decorative band of bias cut self fabric.

The total width is about 120" and I'm happy with that. I thought it might be a bit too wide but I think it's just about right at this length. If it were shorter, I may have made it a little narrower. The hem falls at lower calf which is probably on the long side for quilted petticoats but hey, my lower legs need to stay warm, too!

I'm fitting this into the HSF "Red" challenge because the stripes on the skirt are a darkish pinkish red color. And in case that wasn't enough to bump it into a red category I used a bright red cotton for the inside seam finish. So! There ya go.

HSF info:

What the Item Is:

Mid-19th century style quilted petticoat.

The Challenge:

Red

Fabric/Materials:

Outer fabric, cotton batting, cotton lining.

Pattern:

My own, but all rectangles!

Year:

Meant for use for Civil War reenacting but could theoretically work for 1830-1865 as the skirt silhouette is similar.

Notions:

Button

How Historically Accurate Is It?

Fairly so. The only thing I'm not sure of is the yoke - it was a last minute idea to add it and I didn't look for an original example with a yoke. :(

Hours to Complete:

Tooooooo many. There are 18 rows of quilting and each row took about an hour to do. Then the finishing work was at least 4 hours. And cutting the darn thing out and sewing the layers together before quilting took about 2.

First Worn:

Not yet; just for pictures. Hopefully I'll get a chance to wear it in a historical setting very soon!

Total Cost:

All stash stuff. If I bought new of everything I guess it would be around $40 or so.

Love,
Sarah