Ginger Made: McCall’s 6552, or, the Psychedelic Caftan
Guys, Clio made me do it. I’ve had caftans on the brain ever since she posted the beautiful caftan she made for her mom. And of course, if we’re going to go caftan, we may as well go completely over the top and make a psychedelic caftan!
I decided to make this for August’s Mood Sewing Network project and was immediately drawn to this printed cotton at Mood Fabrics NYC. I tried to convince Man Friend that he needed a matching shirt, but he wasn’t on board. Just think how cool we would look together, like a two-person luau! MISSED OPPORTUNITY, DUDE.
The fabric is probably a bit on the stiff side for a caftan, but I don’t mind at all. I like how breezy cotton feels on a hot day! Sometimes drapier fabrics can feel a little too warm when they cling to your skin. But I imagine this style would look really lovely in something like rayon challis.
The pattern is McCall’s 6552, a Fashion Star pattern. It’s really, really simple to put together, since the bodice is made from one single pattern piece. Crazy, right? The center back is cut on the fold, and the front is folded over the back and stitched from waist to the sleeve hem, forming giant kimono sleeves. The bodice is sewn to the skirt with a 7/8″ seam allowance, which is then folded under and stitched down to form a casing for the drawstring. Clever! The waistband is gently curved in the front, which I really like. It’s much more flattering than a straight-up empire waist.
Holy cow, what’s happening with my face here?! I’m posting this despite the uggitude of this pic so you can see the gigantic batwing-ness of the sleeves!
One thing to know about this pattern is that it’s really low cut, which is not good for me. I took a note from Coco and extended the center front at the waist level by about 3/4″ to form an overlap. I wish I could have overlapped it a bit more, but in my size, that was the most I could do before I ran off the fold of the fabric. Speaking of size, after looking at the finished dimensions, I decided to cut a size smaller than my measurements indicated.
Overall, this was a really fun project- the fabric and pattern were so easy to work with, but the final garment makes a big impact. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to get away with wearing this dress multiple times in a week… somehow I think people will notice! :)
OK, before we go… I need to announce the winner of the Casual Sweet Clothes giveaway! Not counting duplicate comments and folks who didn’t want to enter, we had 71 entries. The winner is…
…#56, Katy!
