How to Make a Sailor Moon Pleated Skirt
Sailor Moon is a Japanese anime-style cartoon that achieved some popularity in America. Sailor Moon costumes feature fitted bodices with a large bow in the front and an attached pleated skirt. Pleated skirts can be made with or without a pattern. Beginning sewers should use a pattern to help make the process easier, and you will likely end up with a more professional-looking product. Pleats are simple to make, and you can adjust the length of the skirt as desired.
Instructions
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1
Choose your fabric. The Sailor Moon costume usually requires a shiny fabric like satin or taffeta. Choose a lightweight fabric that drapes well; fabrics that are too stiff will not lay well when the finished skirt is worn. The most common Sailor Moon costume skirt is cobalt blue, but you can choose purple, orange or green if you want to be one of the other characters.
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Cut out a rectangle shape of fabric. The length should be three times the measurement of your hips. The width should be however long you want your skirt to be, plus a few inches for the hem.
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3
Pin pleats at the top of your skirt. To make pleats, tuck a half inch or so of fabric underneath itself. You do not have to run the pleats down the entire width of the skirt, but simply pin them at the top. Measure the length of the skirt with the pleats to ensure it is the proper length for your size.
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4
Iron your pleats and make sure you have them where you want them. Baste the top of the skirt to help keep the pleats in place without the pins.
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With right sides together, sew the raw side edges together. This will be your side seam. Alternatively, you can have this seam in the back. Finish the edge if you have a serger.
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Fit your skirt to a waistband or to the bottom of the bodice of your Sailor Moon costume. With right sides together, sew the skirt to the bodice. If you are not sewing the skirt to a bodice, make a waistband by cutting a length of fabric equal to your waist measurement plus a couple inches. Fold the fabric in half and press with an iron. Sew the two raw side edges of the waistband together. With right sides together and matching the seams, sew the waistband to the top of the skirt. Adjust the fit as necessary.
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Hem your skirt by finishing the edge if you have a serger, or fold the edge in once and again to cover the raw edge. Sew around the skirt where the fabric is folded in.
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References
- Photo Credit Liquidlibrary/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
