Like Zulf’s skirt, I decided to sew together strips of fabric instead of using fabric paint. I just felt that it would look better, and I was more comfortable with it than painting.
Materials
- Red stripes = twill
- Pink stripes = quilter’s cotton
- Lining = broadcloth
Though I wanted the whole thing in twill, I already had a bunch of quilter’s cotton in the pink color I needed, so I just went with that.
Pattern
I really couldn’t find a pattern that would work, so I drafted my own, which took me 3 tries to get right. Here is what the pattern looks like:
It’s basically a pants pattern but with a really poofy bottom. The pattern shown does not include the waist band.
Note: I purposely made a lower crotch because it seemed to match with Zia’s artwork. However, I don’t recommend that now that I’ve worn it that way. It restricts movement and can easily rip if you try to move too much with your legs. I’m currently looking into altering them to have a normal crotch.
The Making Of…
I started by making sections of stripes. I cut out strips of red and pink and sewed them together, until they loosely resembled the pattern I was working on.
The red stripes are 3.5in and the yellow stripes are 2in. This includes a 1/2 seam allowance on each side, which means they are 2.5in and 1in after being sewn.
I used the same process as Zulf’s skirt:
- Cut out a few strips of fabric
- Sew them together, alternating colors
- Press open the seams with an iron
Again, I recommend pressing open the seams, so that the fabric lies flat.
After the 4 pieces were done, I cut them out to the right shapes and added a layer of lining. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of that, but it’s just a layer of dark red broadcloth on the inside.
The waist has an elastic band inside. The bottoms are pleated and then an elastic band is attached to each one as well.
I wore them with black knee high socks, because the pants bottom would often ride up, exposing my leg. The socks covered that part and made the boots look longer. Oh, and the boots are 10″ Bearpaw boots in a Charcoal color.
That’s it for the clothing part of Zia’s costume! Next up, I will be covering Zia and Zulf’s wigs.