Rainbow Shibori Kaftan Pictures

I’ve been meaning to post better pictures of this rainbow silk kaftan ever since I wrote about the process of making it during the winter, but I didn’t get around to taking them until last week.  The lighting in my apartment is dreadful, but I was not willing to take pictures outside in February.  So here they are, finally!

The day I took these pictures was very hot and humid, but I felt so breezy walking around in this…

Hmmm…I feel it all the way up my skirt.

I’m definitely going to make myself some more kaftans.  By next summer my muumuu collection will rival that of Mrs. Roper!

Linen Mini Kaftan for Summer!

In addition to my blue shibori dress, I’ve also added a mini kaftan to my summer wardrobe!

My birthday was in May and as a present to myself I went fabric shopping!  I love linen and I wanted something easy and comfortable for the hot weather, so I thought–KAFTAN!  With big pockets of course!

I used my own pattern, and I adjusted the neckline a little from the last time I made this one.  I changed the v-neck to a u-shaped neck and I lowered it about 2″.  I think I lowered it a little too much.  I like the way it looks, but on such a loose fitting garment it doesn’t stay in place very well, so my bra straps peek out from time to time.

Why do I look so bummed here? Don’t I know that I have a fancy new kaftan on?

I also added big patch pockets.  What is it about big pockets?  I’ve noticed my pockets have been getting bigger and bigger with every dress.  I wonder when I’ll reach maximum satisfactory pocket volume?

Rainbow Shibori Kaftan

My fabric buying budget has been a little low lately, but I won’t let that dampen my zeal for sewing!  Whenever I run out of new fabric I start hunting through my “archives” to see if there are any pieces that I can recycle.  I found a few test scarves that I made when I first started experimenting with shibori, and I thought they might look cool pieced together into a colorful patchwork of some kind.

Close-ups of the shibori scarves.

I laid out the scarves in different ways until I found a combination I liked.

Too busy?

I decided to go with a long flowing kaftan with shoulder cut-outs.  I like to keep the silhouette simple when the fabric is so colorful and kaftans are basically a rectangle with holes for your arms and head.

I first stitched all of the scarves together to make two larger pieces of fabric, then cut out the front and back pieces from these.

The front pattern piece of the kaftan.

I sewed all of the seams with french seams.  It does take a little longer because you have to sew each seam twice, but they look so nice when they are done.  They make the inside of your garment look as good as the outside!

French seams for the persnickety seamstress in us all…

And here is the (almost) finished product:

After photographing it, I thought the shoulder cut-outs needed a little adjusting.  With such a colorful voluminous garment I think there needs to be a good balance between fabric and skin, so you don’t look like Mrs. Roper…

I made the cut-outs a little bigger and finished them with blue bias binding.  The binding added definition and the hint of blue picked up the blue in the rest of the dress.

I think it tied the whole thing together!

I can’t wait to wear this during the summer!

(And to take some better pics outside when it’s not freezing:)