And another Shearwater Kaftan

Only this time it isn't for me but for David, no that is actually not quite right, it is for Dashwood Studios. David asked me a few months back whether I would like to make something with their new collection "September Blue" that debuted in July.

I was delighted to be asked but didn't fancy making a quilt and suggested an item of clothing. And that is how the second Shearwater Kaftan came about. The first one was made from a gorgeous double gauze.

The fabric was wonderful to work with and I loved sewing it (again !). Admittedly it has been ready some months and I don't know how it happened but I forgot to blog about it (shame on me). I sent it off and forgot all about it until had a look through some pictures.

This is such a lovely and easy pattern and I am sure it won't be the last kaftan I have made.

A Shearwater Kaftan for me

Regular readers may remember that I made a Tova last year from beautiful Nani Iro double gauze. Although the Tova wasn't my normal style I found that I loved and still love wearing it. It is the best piece of clothing to wear on a summers evening when it get a little cooler.
The cut is great but what I love most of it is the double gauze. So I stocked up on more double gauze a while back with the intention of making another Tova but then I saw the Shearwater Kaftan pattern from 'make it perfect' and thought that this was actually a better cut for me and it is a lot quicker to make. The ultimate relaxed kaftan.

Front

So I printed the pattern, cut the pieces from my beautiful double gauze of which I can't remember the name nor the designer (anybody ?). (All I know is that last year I begged Annie from the Village Haberdashery to keep me a piece big enough to make a kaftan)

I followed the very detailed and well written instructions and the kaftan was done in a couple of hours all in all.

Front

But I did make a mistake which could have been disastrous but I managed to turn it into a feature. The kaftan has a placket at the front which I managed to put on the back (yep I did !!) and best of all whilst working on the kaftan and trying it on I kept thinking mmhhh the front is a little high (because I used the back piece as the front) until the thing was almost done and it finally dawned on me....

Back

Some quick thinking ensued and I decided to lower the neckline of the back a bit which shortened the placket opening and then I basically closed the placket at the top with a few stitches. This all worked a treat actually and I now wear the front as the front (as intended) and the slightly lowered back with the little opening feature as the back and it sits perfectly.

The lovely Abigail (my student from the churdash class at the Village Haberdashery) took a photo of me wearing it the other day.