Those of you who have known me for a few years – going back to the B-C-ing-U days will know that one of my favourite hobbies is sewing.
I can follow a pattern, but have found great delight in making up my own shapes, my favourite of which is the easy sew Kaftan – many of which take up space in my wardrobe.
From a heavy blanket to keep warm, to the finest chiffon to look pretty, this pattern is easy to cut and sew.
Just recently I was gifted some fabric, and I have several supportive friends to thank, so I decided to make them each a kaftan.
As I was sewing I was thinking about each friend in turn, so there is lots of love in each garment.
I hope they like them.
We have a delivery system from our local supermarket, so I used one of their delivery bags to make a pattern!!
I started to zig zag the edges and the stitches kept slipping. I persevered, but it was very frustrating. I thought there must be something wrong with the machine, so I went online to find out and it turns out I needed a special stretch fabric needle. Off to the shop to buy some, change the needle and voila – after that it was plain sailing.
I have to admit that all the things I needed were already in my work baskets. I found cottons and bindings to match. I used the sewing machine, but also hand stitching for the neck binding. I love sewing by hand. It is very time consuming, but the results are usually better – especially when you use tiny stitches that can hardly be seen. The biggest thrill is using the needle case that my father made when he was in the airforce during WW2.
Then there are the shaping lines to put in place – I always like to make the garments loose especially for our hot and humid summers.
Of course I had to make myself one first – just to see that the pattern worked!!!!
