Charlie Caftan in Silk Charmeuse

There are certain fabrics that say luxury to me. Perhaps top of that list is silk charmeuse. It just feels so luscious when you wear it, like a gossamer but has that substance and depth of color that is found in silk.  I just clicked the dictionary to make sure I spelled charmeuse correctly, and it says "from French: feminine of charmeur, "charmer" to charm".  Well that seems apt, it is a feminine and charming fabric that can be sewed up into so many different things.

But when your friend goes shopping at Mood and brings back a stack of very disparate fabrics some of them get set aside until inspiration strikes. Thus this very bold silk charmeuse print was purchased by my friend Heather in July of 2015, but we could not come up with an ides of what to make with it. It really is a panel print, which repeats about every 5 feet, and had a 2" geometric border on either selvedge that I didn't use. There are some good size pieces remaining which might make perfect sleeve linings for a hidden touch of whimsy in a plain coat or jacket.

But one day I happened to be showing her some various patterns online and she caught a glimpse of the Charlie Caftan pattern and said "that's it!"



A bold choice but I think she was right. It turned out perfectly for lounging around at home or perhaps wearing during cocktail hour at some beachy resort. (doesn't that sound great and we all wish were there at said resort right now!)

We will have to make do with photos in my backyard but you get the idea. The caftan is definitely loose fitting and doesn't have a lot of shaping. Before I cut into this unique fabric I made a muslin using an old sheet. Which very much resembled a hospital gown. And needed some additional shaping for sure.




On the slightly side view you can see some shaping which I achieved by adding a bust dart. It's not difficult to do on this pattern but if you have a full bust or just want it to be a little less block-y here's what I did.




This is the order that I made these adjustments, and if you are interested I suggest you make a first muslin, work out the dart and then you will be good to go.

1. Sliced pattern horizontally perpendicular to the center bodice seam. I added 2.5" of length which is shown by the aqua section.
2. Created a bust dart, shown in pink. I made the width of the dart equal to the amount I added in the horizontal section, so that the front would stay matched to the back. I ignored the arm opening when adding the dart, deciding to adjust that later.
3. Note that the dart points upwards slightly. I marked the bust apex on my first muslin (the one with no adjustments, and angled the dart from that point downwards slightly to the side seam. (Few things bug me more than completely horizontal darts - to my eye they look jarring and like something on a kid's crayon drawing). 
4. Armhole opening - the blue line drawn through the side seam is the original pattern, the sleeve opening was quite low (and is even lower on the other version in the pattern envelope) So with the dart and just for comfort I raised that about 1 inch. 
5. Shortened the sleeve by 1/2". It's not really a sleeve, more of a cut-on sleeve but in any case it seemed a bit long. Note if you shorten the sleeve you have to adjust the hem allowance, see that angle at the outer edge, it needs that for the turn back of the hem.  Same change on the back piece. 
6. No other changes except I lengthen the dress by two inches. It is very mini to start with so if you don't want a mini you might have to add. What is mini on tall people is knee length on the rest of us :).  I outlined the front pleat here in black but I didn't make any changes to any other portion of the pattern. 

Here's a look at the pattern piece before adjustment, you can see the bodice area is going to be a bit square-ish which is fine if you don't need any shaping.

Here's the pattern in case you haven't seen this one. This is the first Closet Case pattern I have sewn and I don't really have any feedback - didn't really look at the cutting layout or instructions except to check how I was doing the pleat in the front. A pattern with this many sizes is both beneficial in that the size range is wide but distinguishing between all those lines gets a little hard to see. I found the same thing on Sewaholic and Jalie patterns but I suppose that is the trade off for getting all the sizes.

Here's a look a the dress on the form so the bust dart is visible, but not really noticeable, if that makes sense. It does it's job but is not really obvious. Also note the dart point is a good 2 inches away from the bust point, another pet peeve, bust darts that are too long and end up looking a bit headlight-y.




A look on the dress form. This is one of those garments that look so much better when worn than on the form. You can see the fabric a bit of a puzzle, and I didn't want any bullseye effects so I was really careful with the print placement. As it happens the busy part with the squares is across the bottom so that worked well.



Sewing detail,actually cutting details, I cut everything out in one layer and did all the marks with tailor's tacks on each piece before I picked up the pattern piece to move it and cut the mirror image. It might seem like extra work but actually when everything is flat it is easier to mark rather than move the pieces and then have to lay flat, try to match up two pieces and do the markings.



I am so glad to get this fabric sewn up and a glamorous version of the caftan was a perfect idea.




Now I just need to make a dent in some of the fabrics I brought back from Mood in October of 2016! I have a few ideas percolating and autumn is approaching.

Up next, some late entries to the summer sundress wardrobe,  plus doing some pattern testing for a coat for which seems crazy as it is supposed to be over 100˚F for the next 7 days in a row. !!! Oh well I need to enjoy it because summer is on the way out. But we will hang on until October here in N.California and pretend we have endless summer. Well, we almost do 😎 thank goodness, I couldn't live in the frozen tundra (talking to you, Minnesota).

Happy end of summer sewing, 
Beth

today's garden photo, a yellow dinner plate dahlia. Not quite a dinner plate, but a good 8" across. 
Plus plenty of blooms - this one is a keeper.