PHOTO CREDIT: Above photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California.
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Ask the Costume Goddess |
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Ask the Costume Goddess:
Making a Handkerchief Skirt
by Dina Lydia
The Question
Dear Costume Goddess:
I am looking for a pattern to make a handkerchief skirt. Hope
your can help.
---Donna
The Costume Goddess Responds
Dear Donna,
Since a handerchief skirt is a simple square, you don't really
need a pattern.
For a woman of average size, a yard and a half squares, or
the full width of the 45" fabric should be about right — but
cut a pattern of cheap muslin first. Trim the points if necessary,
to an inch or two from the floor.
The size of the circular opening
should be just big enough to pull over your hips, and can then
be tightened with elastic. If I remember my basic geometry, the
circumference of a circle is about 3.14 times the diameter. Thus
a 12-inch diameter circle would measure about 37 3/4 inches around,
a 13-inch diameter circle would measure 40 3/4 inches around,
a 14-inch diameter circle would measure about 44 inches around,
and so forth.
Click on the diagram at the right to see it in more detail. |
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The trickiest part is cutting the circular opening the correct
size to fit hips through without too much extra space. The circumference
of the circle will be about 3.1 times its diameter. This should
add up to slightly larger than the largest part of your hip.
Generally it's cut on the straight grain (parallel to the edge)
but if your fabric is wide, you could try putting on the bias
(diagonal) and you will get a more ripply effect on the edge,
since it will stretch as you sew it. If your fabric is narrow
or your size large, the pattern can be pieced, with a seam down
the sides.
--The Costume Goddess
Related Articles
Other articles on this web site related to making a handkerchief skirt include:
About the Costume Goddess
Dina has been sewing for more than twenty-five
years (yes, she started as a toddler!)
She's also an artist (Maryland Institute of Art) and perfected
her sewing techniques apprenticed to various designers, freelancing
for small theaters, restyling vintage garments, and altering
wedding gowns.
Dina fell in love with belly dancing costumes upon her very
first lesson. Now the pleasure of wearing her own designs, and
seeing others wear them, offers as much pleasure as dancing. She's
become expert as well in altering those troublesome ready-made
Egyptian costumes, and modifying designs to flatter individual
figures.
She holds workshops in Seattle to teach design and construction
of cabaret costumes, and analysis of figure characteristics.
She will also give private lessons, or resize or repair a secondhand
costume. She's thus earned her Costume Goddess title. |
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The Costume Goddess Tells All Costuming Books
Dina has published six books of her own on belly dance costuming
as well as writing nearly all the costuming section for The
Belly Dance Book. For information on her series of books, The Costume Goddess Tells All, see her web site at www.costumegoddess.com.
For reviews here on Shira.net of some of her books, see:
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Costume Goddess Photos
To view a photo gallery featuring pictures of Dina, costumes
she has designed, and her friends, either click on the choices below or visit her web site:
The contents of this page are copyrighted 2009 by Dina Lydia. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication is forbidden.
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