The word Kaftan is derived from the Persian word ‘kaftan’ that is used to describe a long, flowing dress.
Kaftan was traditionally worn by men over their clothes like a coat in the ancient middle easternand African countries. In the early days, kaftan was made out of silk, cotton, and wool and is worn usually with a belt or waistband.
In the 1950’s western fashion designers incorporated kaftan for women in their collection with many new designs and it became very much popular among women in Europe and North America. In the 1960s the dress gained even more popularity in the west with people starting to wear this dress for more casual occasions.
In today’s world kaftans are often used majorly as a beach dress and as normal and casual wear in some countries. Since it is long and free-flowing, the looseness it provides results in great comfortable wearing for women, especially during warm and sunny days.
Kaftan dress provides super comfort and is a favorite nightdress other than pajama for most of the women. It should be your first go-to for running any household errands, during some restful me-time.
This dress has become more famous recently with lockdown making people stay at home. Many preferred to wear kaftan even for zoom meetings. Women all over the world have started to use kaftan as a dress or they choose to wear these as an overcoat with their modern, colorful, and edgy looks.
But, is it possible to make one by yourself?
The answer to that question is yes, anyone can make a kaftan with a bit of creativity and interest to make one. It just requires some basic stitching tools that are mostly available in everyone’s home or easily accessible from the stores nearby.
As you skim through any bazaar for fabrics to choose from for your kaftan, you will get an idea of which one would be a better option for you. And for stitching or styling ideas, do some research on the internet and you could be flooded with a variety of results from every corner of the world.
You could choose from a wide range of fabrics, depending on your need. For people in the areas with a warm and sunny climate, cotton and silk would be a great option since it is light and very breathable. And people in areas with cold weather can choose to wear wool, which would keep them warm.
Making of a simple kaftan:
To make a kaftan for women at home, you would first need to choose your fabric. It determines when and where could the dress be useful or in other words, you could choose your fabric depending on where the sewn kaftan will be worn.
For a rich and luxurious kind of attire, velvet would be a great choice. Many prefer wearing a kaftan that is made out of velvet for any special occasion or function to attend.
When you have made your mind about what type of fabric to choose for your kaftan, the next thing to consider is the color of the fabric. People generally tend to wear pastel and light colors during the summer or autumn season, and darker colors during the winter season.
But when it comes to choosing a color for your own kaftan, you could choose from a wide range of colors that are available in the market. Sometimes even multi-color, or patterned fabric would be of great choice for making a kaftan.
When you have decided on both the fabric and the color you need your kaftan to be, it is time to actually cut and sew your own kaftan by using a sewing kit.
If you have done some searching on Pinterest for ideas on kaftan designs, you could have found more different types of designs for a kaftan. Mainly there are three types of kaftans and it is based on the length of the dress. Namely, short kaftan, mid-length kaftan, and long kaftan.
Short kaftan:
Generally to make a short kaftan you need a fabric of at least 2 yards wide. This type of kaftan is usually made out of chiffon and crepe fabric.
It is ideal for warm areas and summertime and could be seen commonly worn by people on beaches. This could also be combined with another dress so that your kaftan acts as an overcoat, which would be great as party wear.
Mid-length kaftan:
For a mid-length kaftan, you could require a fabric that is a little more than 2 yards wide. Normally this type of kaftan is made out of fabric like cotton and could be used as casual wear for any small festivals or day out.
Long kaftan:
To make one of these you might need more than 2 yards of fabric since it is long and flowing. This is mostly used as an overcoat that goes with matching tops and jeans which could give out a more formal look. With more fabric, the more lengthy and flowy the kaftan would be.
