Charlie Caftan + Indiesew

Hey everyone! I’m super excited to share my latest make in collaboration with Indiesew. With summer practically here, I have been in need of a swimsuit cover-up. We have a little community pool that I foresee my three kids and I spending most of our time at over the next few months. With a new baby in tow, I probably won’t be in the pool very much, but more likely on the edge watching my other two littles swim. I needed something I could wear over my swimsuit that was cool and lightweight enough to wear while out in the sun and also functional for toddler/baby wrangling! I love the idea of a caftan, and I really love this slightly more structured version designed by the genius that is Heather Lou over at Closet Case Patterns. I give you the Charlie Caftan! I picked up my pattern from Indiesew.

This pattern is pretty quick to sew together. The hardest part was sewing in the front panel. I read a few reviews before making mine and most people suggested making a muslin first. (Whose got time for that!? Not me!). Let’s be honest, I wish I had time to make muslins but right now I’m lucky to even find 20 minutes of uninterrupted sew time. I pushed forward without a muslin and it wasn’t really that challenging. I would suggest using the sew-along to get a better visual of the steps though. Mine isn’t perfect but it works and I’m happy with it.

I sewed up a size 4 in view B with the ties and raised the v-neckline up by an inch with no other alterations. I used Indiesew’s Herringbone Rayon Navy Stripe fabric that is now sold out. I did have to do a little stripe matching on the front bodice (there’s not really a way out of it based on how the front panel piece goes in). Keep this in mind when choosing your fabric! This particular rayon had a looser weave and was super drapey making it challenging to get my stripes to match exactly. I took a tip from Allie Olsen (co-founder of Indiesew) and used starch to stiffen up the fabric a bit to get a better match. Thanks Allie!

I took this little cover-up along with me on a recent trip to Mexico. I loved wearing it and was hopeful in getting a few pictures of it for this post while visiting down there. I found this really cool tiled wall that worked great, but didn’t have as much success when trying to get some shots with the ocean behind me. Too much wind, sun, and bad angles haha. (It’s all about those good angles!!). I did manage to get this one my mom made me take with my seaweed crown, so there you go. Haha, thanks mom.

Thanks for reading along, and happy summer sewing to you! I’m really struggling to find time (and mostly energy) to get more sewing done right now. I want to really focus on sewing things I really need and want in my wardrobe, and at the pace that works best with a new baby and two toddlers (and a really busy husband). I do have a few things I’m hoping to find time for this summer, and I can’t wait to show you! I’ve spent a lot of time dreaming (both awake and asleep) of the things I want to make, and it’s really helped me focus and narrow down what items I really need in my wardrobe. In the mean time I’ve tried getting by on RTW items, but every time I go into a store to shop I really struggle to purchase things because I can afford to be picky about style, length, and fabric substrates used because I CAN make it exactly how I want on my own, and that feels pretty cool.  So basically, time to suck it up, grab some caffeine, and make all the things!

Fabric and Pattern was provided by Indiesew for this post, but all opinions are my own.