Kaftan dresses are comfortable and very feminine. They are perfect as summer dresses, and keeping one in your dance bag is a great idea because it can be used as a cover up before and after dance performance.
In this video, you’ll see how to make this really easy kaftan dress. So let’s get started! 😀
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To make this simple kaftan dress / cover up, you need:
Lightweight, flowy fabric – It can be light knit, chiffon or anything that drapes nicely. You need about 3m (3.3yd) of this.
Sewing tools
How to Make a Kaftan Dress / Cover Up
First, stand in front of a mirror with your fabric. Fold the fabric wrong sides together, hold it up against your body and see how long you want your dress to be. Hold the fold, and lay the fabric on the floor, and cut the excess fabric.
Next, fold the fabric in half lengthwise, and mark the corner, which is the centre point on the fold. From there, measure and mark 15cm or 6in on either side of the centre point with pins.
Unfold the fabric and cut along the fold to connect the 2 points.
At this point, try it on to make sure the head hole is large enough, and take it to your sewing machine and finish all raw edges by however way you like. I’m practicing using a hemmer foot, so that’s what I used. If you are patient, you can do a rolled hem all the way around, or you can do a zigzag stitch or if you have a serger, use your serger.
Back on the floor, fold it wrong sides together again, and measure about 40cm or 16in from the fold and from the side edge and mark the point with a pin. From there, measure 40cm or 16in down to the bottom, and make a line. Do the same for the other side.
Now all you need to do is sew down along the lines using a straight stitch. 😀
This is optional, but if you want to wear a belt or a tie around your waist area, mark the width of your belt at the top of the lines you just sewed, and we’ll make button holes there.
For the buttonholes, you can make them without a special foot. Simply decide how big you want the hole to be, and draw a line. Then, go around it with a narrow zigzag stitch with the stitch length very close to 0. Try not to sew over the line, just go around it. And simply cut along the line without ripping the stitches.
If you want to make a matching tie, cut a long strip out of the leftover fabric. I used the whole width of the fabric, and made it about 5cm or 2in wide, and sewed a tube right sides together with a 5mm or 1/4in seam allowance. Turn the tube inside out, and stitch the ends shut.
If you want to know how to turn fabric tubes quickly, here is my post on tube turning 🙂
And that’s it! You can wear it over your costume with or without a belt, or you can even wear it as a dress or beach cover up this summer. 😀
Hope you liked it, and if you make one, please share your creation on Sparkly Belly’s Facebook page. And remember to sign up for the Sparkly Belly newsletter from the below link to get updates and free access to special patterns and resources only available to newsletter subscribers.
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Thanks for reading, and keep sparkling! 😀
Want to make more costuming bits yourself?
Thank you, am sending info to my troupe members, also info so they can sign up for your amazing costuming.
Oh you’re very welcome, and thank you so much for spreading the word, Norma! 😀
A great fabric idea to use is a Sari. I find them quite often at my local thrift store.
Yes!!! That’s an awesome idea, Virginia! I think I’m going to do that next time I see a sari at a thrift store 😀
Where did you get that beautiful fabric?
Thanks, Tammy, I was very lucky to find the fabric in the sales section of a local fabric store, called Dressew. 🙂 I love treasure hunting in the sales section!
Thank you for sharing this. I really enjoy your presentation style, and the kaftan turned out so beautiful
Oh thank you so much, Sheila! Happy you liked it!
One improvement might be to do a v-neck opening. It would be a bit more effort, but it makes it easier to get over your head, especially if you’re trying not to mess up hair or make-up. I have a readymade one with the same fabric as the kaftan and interfacing on the inside (turned and topstitched) to finish the neck or folks could use trim like your open front pattern. I like kaftans for folkloric style or practice (with a hip scarf) or just lounging around the house.
Good point! I have another cover up tutorial. This one is v-neck and you can have it open in the front as well 🙂 https://www.sparklybelly.com/diy-caftan-open-front-cover-up-with-pockets/