I hear the Kaftan Dress is all the rage in Italy. I’m not surprised by this at all because this style can really hit a wide range of beautiful looks and they are so comfortable. I love that 1970s inspired flow during movement. I was more than happy when Stephanie called and asked me to design her one in the summer of 2017.

Pro Tip: The first thing I had Stephanie do is set up a Pinterest board to share with me. She saved her favorite Kaftan styles. I sketched silhouettes of them and she picked her favorite one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made a muslin for 3 reasons, I was not using a pattern, we had plenty of time and I wanted to make sure it was perfect. We ended up changing the sleeve drape just a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that I knew the concept it was pretty easy as far as the construction of the gown. I placed right sides together, cut, pinned, stitched and then under stitched my neck line. Understitching is stitching the seam allowance to the lining layer to create a small bubble that keeps the lining from showing on the outside of the dress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pleats were a lot of measuring, pinning and topstitching.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best part was when Stephanie brought the trim to embellish her dress.

I sent several pictures of the trim draped on the dress before we chose the best look.

The trim was all completely hand stitched on. There was, of course, a little math to help make sure we had enough to make the length before we cut. I found 10 flowers were enough for 1 arm so I needed 20 total. Then I draped the rest around the neck and we had one extra that was a perfect fit to go separately at the bottom of the neckline.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dresses always look best when on a real person.

 

Professional Photos by Goodness + Grace Co

Other Kaftans I have made.

Thank you again Stephanie for letting me design and create a beautiful dress with you.

Behind the scenes~

Every week is so exciting! This is our new Kettering Arts Council photo. I am so proud to be working with such a great team of volunteers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Personally I have been trying to pick a neutral color to paint the interior of our little Huber home.

I chose a neutral color in hopes of selling the house in the next few years and moving closer to Rosewood. I want to be able to ride my bike to work.

I tested grey and decided on Alabaster white because it said it makes small spaces look larger. I also think it would be good for my photo shoots.

Prom and wedding season has peaked and I have 2 awesome custom wedding dresses this spring. I am so busy with alterations this time of the year that I really have to be choose the custom dresses wisely. I made a muslin of the first dress to check for fit. After I finished multiple alterations I celebrated by making myself a swim suit.

Thank you for reading,

Tracy McElfresh

Dream it, Sew it!

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Tracy McElfresh
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