have u ever wanted to handmake a mamianqun (ma mian skirt)? boy do i have the sheet for you!
u can open this in excel (ugh), google sheets (eurgh) or better yet, libreoffice calc. Instructions on how to make your own ma mian skirt, some pictures, and all of the math done for you. Intermediate level sewing (or beginner with audacity). I've done mine all handsewn but you can use a machine if you want.
This is a great thing to make if you have an extra bedsheet/comforter cover/etc lying around. You /will/ need a lot of fabric.
This pattern uses only rectangles: no curves or weird shapes.
I haven't tested this on other body shapes besides my own, but since all of the measurements are input by the user I'm pretty sure it will work for a very large range of sizes
Time for handsewing (i'm relatively fast tho) is about 10 to 12 hours. Time for cutting and pressing and measuring is about 3 to 5 hours.
contact me if u have any questions/notice typos/have issues with the sheet
For everyone who likes this dress, it's clearly a copy of Thierry Mugler's 1997 piece La ChimĂšre (the chimera):
If you want to see how much work goes into making a dress like this, a costuming youtuber hand-made her own version over the course of months and it came out looking incredible:
instantly enamoured with this bag so decided to make a similar one! i thought the drawstring looked a litlte like barbels, and so I modeled mine loosely on a redtail catfish!
I'd meant to make the mouth opening a little larger than it turned out, but I can still fit my whole forearm in there so I'm pleased.
I wanted to make a post I could copy and paste and or link when I see folks asking where to buy fabrics when Joann is gone. I sew a lot, generally between 100-200 items a year and I don't do it on a big budget. Stores are not in a particular order.
Notions:
Wawak.com - start here, mostly stay here. Wawak is a supplier for professional sewing businesses and have the prices that show it. I will not pay for gutermann Mara 100 anywhere else. I buy buttons, tools, thread, and most elastic here.
Stitch Love Studio - this is where I buy lingerie supplies https://www.etsy.com/shop/StitchLoveStudio?ref=yr_purchases
Fabric:
Fabric Mart - this is one where you want to sign up for emails and never buy unless its on sale. They run different sales every day and they rotate. Mostly deadstock fabrics but I buy more from here than anywhere else. Fantastic customer service and if you watch you can get things like $6 wool suiting or $4 cotton jersey. https://fabricmartfabrics.com/
Fabrics-Store - again, buy the sales not the full price. Sign up for the emails but redirect them to a folder because it is TOO MANY. They stock linen or good but not amazing quality. https://www.fabrics-store.com/
Purple Seamstress - This is where I buy my solid cotton lycra jersey. They have other things, but the jersey is what I'm here for. Inexpensive and very good quality. If you ask she will mail you a swatch card for the solids. https://purpleseamstressfabric.com/
LA Finch - deadstock fabrics with a fantastic remnant selection https://lafinchfabrics.myshopify.com/
Califabrics - mix of deadstock and big brands, easy to navigate and always seem to have good denim in stock. https://califabrics.com/
Boho Fabrics - good variety, nice bundles. I have also gotten some really great trims from here. https://www.bohofabrics.com/
Firecracker Fabrics - garment and quilting fabrics, really nice selection and great sale section. I've bought $5 yard quilting cottons here several times. https://www.firecrackerfabrics.com/
Hancock's of Paducah - Quilting fabric and some limited garment fabric. AMAZING sale section. Do not sleep on the sale section. This is my first stop when buying quilting fabrics. Usually the last stop too. Not particularly speedy shipping. https://www.hancocks-paducah.com/
Itokri - This is something a little different. Itokri is an Indian business with incredible traditional fabrics. Shipping to the US is expensive, but the fabric is so inexpensive it evens out. I generally end up paying like $30 for shipping. Beautiful ikat and block prints. https://itokri.com/
Miss Matatabi - this is a little treat. This isn't where you go to save money, but there are so many beautiful things in this shop. Ships from Japan incredibly quickly. https://shop.missmatatabi.com/
Lucky Deluxe - Craft thrift store, always has an incredible selection and fantastic customer service. I need to close the tab fast because I never go to this website without finding something I need. https://www.luckydeluxefabrics.com/
Swanson's - the OG of online craft thrift stores, but I find their website harder to navigate. https://www.swansonsfabrics.com
Honorary Mentions: I haven't shopped at these places yet but I have had them recommended and likely will at some point.
A Thrifty Notion - https://athriftynotion.com/
Creative Closeouts - https://creativecloseoutsfabric.com/ being rebranded to sewsnip.com on March 1 - quilting deadstock
Hawthorne Supply Co. - I just got this rec and I think I need to not look too closely or I'm going to slip with my debit card. https://www.hawthornesupplyco.com/
This is not an exhaustive list of everywhere you can buy fabric, or even a full list of where I shop. There are SO many options out there in the world. You also need to think outside the fabric store box. I thrift men's shirt fabrics for quilts and sheets for backing fabric. I don't do a ton of in person thrifting and my local stores don't get a lot of craft materials but every thrift store is its own universe and reflects the community it is in. Go out and find something cool.
Looking to sew some clothing? Doing historical research on clothing patterns or sewing?
Welcome to the Commercial Pattern Archive!
Patterns going back to the 1850s!
Now, I am not going to lie, searching is not the most user intuitive. It will take some research and playing around with the site if you are looking for something specific. If you are like me though, and just curious to see what you can find, well then enjoy!
Some results from just looking at 10-Gore Skirt options
Patterns are free to print and use for personal projects. As far as I can tell they do not include the instructions that originally accompanied the patterns, just the piecing. They are not instantly ready to print and use but will require some work to use. But at minimum you will have all the pattern pieces and shapes to get you started.
Grab your inner pentagon piece and lay it face-up. Lay one petal face-down (outside up) atop your pentagon. This will put them right sides together. Make sure the bottom edge of your petal lines up with one flat side of your pentagon, perfectly centered, then sew along the seam allowance. You may end up seeing some of these stitches on the outside of your flower, so you should use some pretty thread here.
Do this again for each petal, making sure not to catch any already-attached petals in the crossfire. When you fold all the petals out, they should force the seam allowance under towards the wrong side of the pentagon. Your seam allowance should not be sticking out on the pocket-side of your petals.
Attach the outside base:
Lay your flower face-down. Take your final piece, the outer pentagon, and lay it face-up (wrong sides together), aligned to the existing pentagon. Now comes the tricky part. Fold the extra seam allowance under so that itâs tucked inside. Pin it carefully in place. Do this for each side of the pentagon. You may have to go back and adjust so that it covers everything as neatly as possible and none of the seam allowance is trying to sneak out. Pressing your fabric to get it creased in the right places would be really helpful here. Topstitch the pentagon in place. You can also take this opportunity to stitch shut any weird corners of the petals that might not have made it shut the first time around.
Your flower is done!! Pick it up and admire it. You did that! What?!? Youâre so powerful. Youâre so brave. Iâd give you a kiss, but youâre too far away.
Attach the two bags:
I used pearl snaps. I chose to put the pretty side on the bottom but you can do what you like. If you buy a pack of snaps, itâll have instructions on there. All you need is a hammer. If you donât want snaps, you can sew the drawstring pouch down. Either way, lay your drawstring pouch open, face-down. Center your flower face-down on top of it. Make sure the drawstring exit point is visible and where you want it to be (not hidden behind a petal). Attach the two bags in the way you choose.
Using the safety pin method, feed your drawstring through the holes in your petals. Add the slider thing to that string as well. Okay now youâre done!!!
Now youâve got a fancy fuckin bag and you can put all sorts of goodies in there!! Sewing supplies? Dice? Shiny rocks? Firecrackers? Live your truth.
If you have notches, you can align your pockets to your inner petals (or outer, if youâre getting fancy) and lock them in place with a basting stitch along the extra fabric of your seam allowance. A basting stitch is basically a weak, temporary stitch that isnât expected to be used by the end of the project.
If youâre adding pencil pockets, give them a topstitch (visible, pretty stitch) straight up the center.
Attach the inner and outer petals:
With right sides together, align the inner and outer petals. Pin them in place and stitch from the bottom corner up to the first of your twin notches (where the drawstring will pass through) and stop. Leave a small gap and then continue up around the tip. Stop at the next twin notches, leave a gap, then continue down to the other corner. Do not stitch the bottom closed.
If youâre adding a zipper on one petal, leave one side unstitched up to a twin notch.
Snip the curves and trim excess fabric if yours is particularly bulky, then flip the petal inside out. Tada! Pretty!
For the zipper people:
How to sew an invisible zipper - donât pull the zip off the teeth!
Align the zipper so that the zip will stop just below the drawstring hole. The end of your zipper tape can be sewn onto the petals, one on either side of the drawstring hole, that wonât cause any problems. If your zipper is too short for the side of the petal, sew the fabric shut as normal past where your zip ends (make sure to catch the zipper tape with these stitches). If your zip is too long, cut it to align with the edge of your fabric.
Make sure to leave the gap open at the top of your zipper so your drawstring can pass through.
I chose 3 fabrics for my bag. Velvet for the outside, floral for the inner petals, some pockets, and the inside of the pouch, and purple jaquard for the outside of the pouch and some more pockets.
Pre-work: drawstring hole and pocket hems
If you have a buttonhole foot on your machine, add a buttonhole no less than 5/8â from the edge of your outer circle. This is where the drawstring will exit. Donât add it too far inwards, because everything left over between the buttonhole and the seamline will be extra bulk at the top of the bag. If your fabric is delicate or fray-happy, you can reinforce the buttonhole with some interfacing or a scrap of stronger fabric.
How to sew buttonholes
If you donât have a buttonhole foot or if youâre doing this by hand, it might be easier to leave a small gap at your seamline for the drawstring to escape. Iâd recommend no less than 1cm for this, no more than 1 inch. Remember youâll need room to get the string in there after sewing.
Prep your pockets by folding the top hem under (wrong sides together) and topstitching it in place:
Make the drawstring pouch:
Put the two circles right sides together and stitch around most of the circumference. Leave a gap in your stitches wide enough for your hand. Clip around the perimeter so when you turn the bag inside out, the leftover fabric of the seam allowance wonât cause too much extra bulk.
Turn the bag inside out and close the remaining gap with a ladder stitch.
I topstitched about 1/8â from the edge of my circle because I think it looks nice and it keeps the leftover seam allowance from getting too unwieldy in there. You can skip this part.
I also added a line (or a circle, I guess) of stitches on the far side of my buttonhole to create a tunnel for the drawstring to live in. This prevents it from falling all anyhow in the bag and becoming useless. You should not skip this part.
To add the drawstring, attach one end to a safety pin and thread it all the way through that tunnel and out the same hole it entered through. A good scrunch-pull-scrunch-pull method will serve you here.
Add the drawstring slider thingy and youâre done! Easy peasey!
If you want less bulk and more work, you can swap out the circle for a 5-sided bag that attaches to the pentagon at the bottom. I didnât draft that but it seems like itâd work. Good luck.
This post has been going around where op shows off their absolutely stunning embroidery work on an Elizabethan petal hussif. Truly, itâs so cool. In the post, they mentioned how hard it was to find a pattern for the bag itself, and Iâve been learning how to draft my own sewing, so I tried my hand at making a pattern!
Pattern under the cut. Post 1/2/3/4
Now, I know nothing about embroidery so this doesnât go into the gorgeous work op did, but if you want to try sewing a more basic petal bag, this is what worked for me. My pattern is in inches, apologies to yâall who prefer cm. Also, I chose fabrics that are finicky and donât like being ironed so i didnât press my seams. If I had, my flower would look a lot more symmetrical. Donât be like me! Press in between each step! Also, always make sure to backstitch at the start and end of every seam. Iâm holding your hand as we journey together.
Materials:
Approx. 1/4 yard of woven (non-stretch) fabric for each:
Outside of the flower (petals and base)
Inside of the flower (petals and base)
Outside of drawstring pouch
Inside of drawstring pouch
This should allow leftover fabric for pockets
Topstitching thread (& cheaper plain thread if you want to save a couple bucks)
Scissors, pins, fabric marking tool
Protractor, ruler, & compass if youâre drafting your own pattern. Printed version of mine if youâre not
2x 72â drawstring (I used leather shoelaces). Drawstring sliders
<7â âinvisibleâ zipper (optional)
5 snaps (optional)
1/8 yd interfacing or reinforcing fabric (optional, if your fabric is delicate and youâre using snaps)
Pattern:
I used a 5/8 inch seam allowance because it works well with my machine. You can use whatever seam allowance you like. Also, itâs easy to adjust these to change the final size of the bag if you like, just make sure the ratios stay the same.
Base:
Cut 1 outer and 1 inner.
A pentagon with 4â sides. The inner angle of the pentagon should be 108°. Add seam allowance coming off each side but without including the corners - basically, just extend each intersecting line by 5/8â outside the body of the pentagon and use that to create tabs for your seam allowance. This cuts down on bulk. If thatâs too complicated, just leave the corners on and youâll end up with a pentagon with sides that are 5.25â long (4â + 5/8 + 5/8 ââ=â5.25â). If you plan to use snaps later, itâs worth cutting out an extra pentagon of interfacing and ironing on the wrong side of one piece before starting.
Petal:
Cut 5 outer and 5 inner.
Basically a teardrop shape with a flat bottom. The bottom should match the length of one side of your pentagon (NOT including seam allowance). Mine has a 4â base and is 8â tall, and 6â at its widest point (again, not including seam allowance). I added twin notches where I want the drawstring to pass through, about 1cm apart, nearish the top of the petal. You could skip that and attach little hoops for the drawstring to pass through like op did. I also added notches that helped me place pockets. You have total freedom with pockets, so plan them any way you like.
Pockets:
Cut however many you want, outer and/or inner.
I made 3 kinds of pockets. A large, a small, and a pencil pocket. For the lg and sm, I traced the petal and cut the top off, ensuring the shape and notches would automatically match. For the pencil pocket, itâs just a rectangle with a notch at the center bottom. I gave myself a 1â hem allowance at the top of all pockets. Your pockets should overlap the petal similar to this:
Drawstring pouch:
Cut 1 outer and 1 inner
This is just a circle. The dimensions should line up so that if you place the pentagon base in the center of your circle and then align one petal at one side of the pentagon, the tip of the petal should just reach the perimeter of your circle. This piece also gets a 5/8â s.a. so you can use the s.a. at the tip of your petal to account for that. Just make sure the s.a. of your pentagon and the bottom of your petal are not also included. You can draft your own circle by lining up the petal & pentagon pattern pieces, measuring that length, then folding a big piece of paper into eighths and measuring that length against one side of the paper. Cut it out so itâs shaped like a pizza slice and you should end up with a circle thatâs more or less the right size. Or use a compass to make it perfect. If you plan to use snaps later, itâs worth cutting out a 7â diameter circle of interfacing and ironing it in the center of one of the circles.
Hereâs how your aligned pieces should look:
Pre-work and drawstring pouch instructions in post 2!
