I indulged myself by purchasing some Indian ikat fabric when Fabric Mart had one of their cotton sales. I wasn't sure at the time what I wanted to make with it but it's such a lovely light weight that I knew it needed to be a summer dress of some sort.
I typically wear 50s styled dresses and this textile just didn't lend itself to that style. I thought a caftan type dress might do the trick so I set out to search for a pattern. I was delighted to find the Charlie caftan dress by Closet Core. I love the longer version.
This dress went together really fast with minimal hand sewing. The belt was a little tricky as it is actually an inset in the center front with ties coming out of the sides of the inset. The back of the dress is just one long loose piece and the belt ties in the back. It has slits on both sides. Did I mention that it also has pockets? I may have to make a short version of the same dress--I don't particularly care for the short one in the pattern picture as I much perfer a looser flowing fit. This was really comfy to wear on a recent road trip to see the kids in Pittsburgh.
Anyway, if you are looking for something cool, comfortable and quick, I recommend this pattern. This company has some cute stuff in a large size range. I used the pdf version to save on shipping plus I wanted to get started right away.
Here's the finished project:
