Perfect Weekend for a Caftan: McCalls Fashion Star M6552

I sometimes forget that there is anything in New York outside of the eponymous city that is my hometown. But a long weekend relaxing on the shores of Lake George is a good reminder of all the things NYS gets right.

I get my cheek bones from my mom. 

Our family reunion was a ton of fun, complete with swimming, bbq-ing, boating and a silly string fight.  I delivered the finished wax cloth caftan to my mom and she wore it that weekend. This pattern was a cinch - actually, I can't imagine any caftan pattern being truly difficult - but here's a review anyway...

So, this is M6552, part of McCalls Fashion Star line of patterns. Based on my mom's high bust measurement, I made the x-small. There is so much ease in this pattern that fitting the loose bodice and then just making sure the skirt measurements would fit was the reasonable way to go. My mom is a pear.

The bodice is actually all one piece, front and back, (ie: no shoulder seam) with cut on kimono sleeves.  The neckline is finished with self bias binding. There is a dot on the pattern which marks how high you should whip stitch the neck closed, but I stitched it closed to the point my mom wanted since she likes a more modest neckline.

Mom Muse is a tall, slender lady (5'11" peeps!) I compensated by adding 4 inches to the skirt pieces at the lengthen/shorten line. The only other change I made was to shorten the bodice. It's supposed to be an empire style, but I discovered during our fitting that the bodice was half way to my mom's waist. Shortening acted like an SBA, which I would normally do for anything sewn for my mom. So, it was lucky that I added the additional length, since I used it all to give the final dress a toe grazing hem.

Maxi's are hard to come by when you are so tall. 

The bodice and skirt are sewn together with a 3/4" seam, which then forms a casing for a drawstring under the bust. Two small button holes allow the self fabric drawstring to be tied at the base of the bust.

My only difference of opinion with my mom is that she likes the drawstring very loose, whereas I think that if she cinched it just a bit it would create a lovely shape and accentuate her height and svelte figure. But it's my mom's prerogative to wear it loose, and well, when have mothers and daughters ever agreed on the finer points of fashion?  I'm just happy she likes it. :-)

And here is one final action shot of both of my parents in their natural habitat - behind their cameras.

Pattern review here. Final thoughts: this is a great beginner pattern and wax cloth is a great beginner fabric because of it's stability. I used my serger for all the seams except the waist, where the seam allowance is used to make the casing. The hem and sleeves can just be turned twice and top stitched. Easy peasey.

Hope you had a great weekend whether you were celebrating or not. And now, on to some sewing for myself!