Sewing an Egyptian Goddess Costume

Create an embellished collar to ornament the costume.

No girl wants to turn down a chance to dress up as an exotic, decadent Egyptian goddess. Sewing a costume befitting Cleopatra is no small task, but you can still pay homage to her in regal style. Tailoring and fitted garments were not common in Egyptian clothing. The skirts and tops were basic, much like T-shirts and A-line skirts in modern wardrobes. Accessories contributed the luxe detail for which people remember Egyptian style. Embellishing some metallic accessories is all you need to elevate a beginner's sewing project to heights of royal renown.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring tape
• 1 to 2 yard opaque, white cotton
• Scissors
• Straight pins
• Sewing machine
• 1 1/2-inch wide elastic banding
• Safety pin
• White cotton T-shirt or tank top
• 2 long chiffon scarves (72 inches or longer)
• 1 yard fusible lining
• Marker
• 1 yard metallic fabric (gold silk dupioni or brocade)
• Iron
• Flat-back rhinestones or fabric paint markers

Instructions

Skirt

1. Take waist and length measurements for the skirt, with measuring tape. Measure from the natural waist to the desired position of the skirt's hem, to find the length measurement.

2. Add 1 inch to the waist measurement and 4 inches to the length measurement to find the dimensions for the skirt fabric. For example, if the waist measurement was 22 inches and the length was 36 inches, your skirt dimensions would be 23 inches by 40 inches.

3. Cut a piece of opaque, white cotton to the skirt dimensions. Lay the cotton on your work surface. Position the material so that the top and bottom edges are the waist measurement.

4. Fold a 2-inch hem at the top and bottom of the fabric. Secure the hems with straight pins.

5. Place the fabric on a sewing machine. Sew a straight seam along each hem to secure them permanently. Leave a 1/4-inch seam allowance between the stitching and the raw edge of the folded fabric. Remove the straight pins as you sew.

6. Subtract 2 inches from the original waist measurement. Cut a piece of 1 1/2-inch-wide elastic banding to that length.

7. Fasten a safety pin on one end of the elastic band. Feed the safety pin in through the side of one of the hems on the skirt fabric, and push it all the way through and out the other side -- forming the waistband of the skirt. Secure each end of the elastic band to the edges of the fabric with straight pins. The elastic is shorter than the fabric, so the cotton should gather when you pin the pieces together.

8. Sew a straight, 2-inch seam over each end of the hem to secure the elastic.

9. Fold the skirt in half vertically to match the unhemmed ends of the material. The raw edge of the waist hem should be visible on the outside of the folded fabric. Pin the unhemmed edges together from the waistband to the bottom hem.

10. Sew a straight seam from the waist to the bottom hem to finish the skirt. Leave a 1/2-inch seam allowance.

Top

1. Lay a white, cotton T-shirt or tank top facedown on your work surface. Fold two long, chiffon scarves in half. Lay the scarves on the cotton top -- laying the folded part of the scarves on the neckline of the top.

2. Unfold the scarves. Pin the center of each scarf to the neckline.

3. Sew the scarves to the neckline of the top with a straight seam. The scarves should hang, doubled-over, from the neckline of the top -- looking like four scarves are hanging there.

Collar

1. Measure from shoulder-to-shoulder to determine how long the collar should be. Measure over the shoulder from the back to the collarbone to determine how wide the collar should be.

2. Spread 1 yard of fusible lining on your work surface. Draw two lines with a marker to indicate the length and width, on the shiny side of the fusible lining. Overlap the lines to make a cross. Connect the four endpoints of the lines in an oval, and then cut the oval out of the lining.

3. Spread 1 yard of metallic cloth facedown on your work surface. Lay the oval on the metallic fabric. Cut a piece of metallic fabric identical to the oval.

4. Lay the metallic oval facedown. Then lay the lining shiny-side down. Iron over the lining to fuse the pieces. The lining makes the cloth rigid enough to act as a broad collar.

5. Fold the oval in half. Snip the center of the oval with scissors, then unfold the oval. Insert the scissors in the cut. Trim a circle or oval out of the middle of the fabric, to make room to wear the collar.

6. Cut a straight line from the outside edge of the oval to the center, to make a split that facilitates putting the collar on and taking it off. The rigidity of the lining should keep the collar from slipping off. Try the collar on to ensure the neck hole is large enough.

7. Affix flat-back rhinestones to the collar to embellish it. Alternatively, draw hieroglyphics on the collar with fabric paint markers.

Tips & Warnings

• To wear the costume, tuck the top into the skirt. Put the collar on. The back of the collar does cover the top of the scarves if you used a T-shirt for your top, but it does not detract from the costume.