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Pantaloons
Note: I've been sitting on these instructions for about a month and a half now (Yesh, I am teh lazy). In the meantime, Folkwear patterns and FCBD has come out with "Tribal Bellydancer Pattern #144." The instructions for making a yoked pair of pantaloons are similar, although I constructed my first pair about eight months ago after seeing similar pants on bellyrolldesigns.com. These instructions are not intended to teach you how to make a full set of pantaloons; rather, they are intended to help modify some of the existing patterns out there.

Pantaloons. I love 'em, and the pooftier the better. The only problem with that much poof to your pants: all that material gathered at the waist is bulky!

To reduce bulk at the hipline, gather leg material on to a "yoke." The yoke is constructed to be a little larger than your waistline (for wearing ease) and has a gathered waistband that is secured either with elastic or a drawstring.

I've used panne for the yoke portion (despite my general antipathy for panne) because it is stretchy (and thus forgiving) and "grippy." Anything that helps the belt/skirt/whatever stay up is good in my book! Other materials, such as quilter's flannel, would make good waistbands as well. In general, avoid fabric with a smooth finish.

To construct the yoke, cut a rectangle of fabric that is ~7.5 inches tall by 3 inches + widest hip measurement. If you sew a half inch seam, you'll be left with a yoke that is 2.5 inches wider than your widest hip measurement. Sew the short ends together to form the yoke.

Take the time now to sew the casing for the elastic or drawstring. If using something like quilter's flannel, press under 1/4 inch, then press under 1 inch to form the casing. Topstich to secure the casing, leaving about 2 inches unstiched for the insertion of elastic or drawtring.

Construct the lower portion of your pants according to your favorite method (I'm partial to the crotch depth calculation on Aziza's page, but I like very wide legs otherwise), leaving out the waist casing and making sure to adjust the top portion legs/crotch to accomodate extra length added by the yoke. Depending on the pooftiness you desire, this may not be a very large correction from a "standard" pantaloons pattern, perhaps three inches or so. Corrections to length can always be made at the foot end of the pants, although a little extra generally isn't a problem.

Gather the fabric of the lower portion of the pants by stitching two rows of gathering stitches, one 1/4 inch from the edge of the fabric and the other 1/2 inch from the edge. Divide the upper edge of the leg section into four equal sections and mark. Repeat with the lower edge of the yoke. Pin the yoke to the bottom half of the pants, right sides together and matching the yoke seam with one of the seams of the pants. Match the quarter points of the lower half of the pants to the points on the yoke and draw up threads on the gathering stitches until the gathers fit the yoke. Once the material is gathered, tie off the gathering threads and sew the yoke to the bottom portion. If your fabric will tolerate pressing, press the seam towards the yoke.

Construct the ankle casings as instructed and insert elastic or drawstring into the three casings. Be sure to try the pants on with the elastic pinned before sewing the elastic at the waist and legs! Adjust fit to elastic or length of the legs if necessary, then sew elastic and stich casings closed.

Other general notes: It's a good idea to reinforce the crotch seam with an extra line of stitching about 1/8-1/4 inch in the seam allowance. The serger is nice for finishing seams, although a zig-zag stitch would work as well. Safety pinning is an alternative way of securing the elastic; although not as secure, I've not had a pin pop open on a pair I haven't sewn.

Clear as mud, eh?


Three-Tiered Skirt
I've used the pattern on Turbans, Tassels, and Tattoos!, with one modification. Instead of gathering the tiers by using two rows of gathering stitches, I used the gathering (shirring) foot on my serger to attach the tier to be gathered directly to the tier above it. For my particular foot, the gathered tier will be on the bottom and the non-gathered tier will be fed through the top of the foot. I sew with the differential set to 1.0 for an inch or so, then increase the setting to 2 to gather. Once you get to the end and you see that things aren't going to match up, fool with the differential feed to even things up. The serger is nice because it finishes and gathers in one step; however, it is a good idea to add a reinforcing row of stitches with the sewing machine along the seamline.

The two halves of the skirt are joined as instructed in Annabella's pattern.

Coming soon:
Cowrie Tassels
Mock shisha

last updated 12/7/2005

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