1

How to Draft & Make Fakie Hakama

by Samantha Lemieux (`taeliac)
Taeliac Studio Cosplay www.BeAnime.com

Thistutorialisonhowtomakefakehakamathatarebothcomfortableandreallydramatic
andstylizedforcosplaypurposes.Thetutorialwillnottellyouhowtotackdownthepleats
intostraightknifepleats,however,becausethatwillbeinawholeothertutorial.Thiswill
justtellyouhowtodraftthepattern,andhowtoputthemtogether.

Theycanbedoneinoneoftwoways,dependingonwhatyouwantthemtobelike:theycaneither
haveanelasticwaist,ortheycanhavetheslitsinthesides,withtiestoholdthemon.

Theprocessisbasicallythesameforboth,andIwillbeshowingyouhowtodothemwiththeelastic
waist,buttherewillbenoteswhensomethingchangesfordoingthesideslitsandties.

Thisismeanttobeanintroductiontohowtomakehakamapantsforcosplaypurposes.These
hakamaarenottraditionalwiththisdraft,thefrontandthebackofthehakamaareusingthesame
pattern.Ifyouwantthemtobemoretraditional,however,*you*cangoaheadandreworkthe
patterntoallowforadifferentfrontandbackpleatdesign.

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 2

Measurements Needed
&
Important Information

Forthistutorial,youwillneedthefollowingmeasurements:

- Waist
- Hip
- Waisttofloor

Tohelpyouwithkeepingtrackoftheimportantinformationneededwhiledrafting,Iveleftthispage
withblankfillinspots.Asyouregoing,writedowntheimportantinfoonthispageintheappropriate
spot,soyoucanreferenceitlateron.

YourMeasurements StartingNumbers
Waist:____________ StartingWidth:____________
Hip:____________ StartingLength:____________
Waisttofloor:____________

PleatInformation Randomscribblingspace
#ofpleats:____________
Depthofpleats:____________

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 3

Drafting the Pattern

Now,personally,Iusually"draft"mypatternssmall,onasheetofgridpaper,toplanitoutbefore
goingontothefabric.Andthen,Itakethat,anddrawrightonmyfabric.

Ifyouareuncomfortablewithdoingthis,youcanuseanysortofrollofpaperforthis(wrapping
paperworkswonderfullyit'swide,andcomesinlongsheets)tomaketheoriginalpattern.Itis
goingtobeuptoyouhowyouwanttodothis,it'smorebasedonyourcomfortlevelwithdrawingon
fabricaccurately.

Forthesehakama,thereare4panelsthatmakeupthepantstwofrontandtwobackpieces,and
theyareallidentical,soyouonlyhavetodraftthisonce.

Starting Width
1.First,weneedtofindthemeasurementweregoingtoworkoffof.

Ifyouaremakingthehakamawiththeelasticwaistband,youwillbeworkingoffofyourhip
measurement(thisistheoneIwillbedoingthroughoutthistutorial).

Ifyouaremakingthehakamawiththetiesandsideslits,youwillbeworkingoffofyourwaist
measurement.

MyExample
2.Takewhichevermeasurementyou'reworkingoff
of,anddivideitby4(androundituptothenearest
1.Mystartinghipmeasurement
half,thereisn'treallyaneedtobethataccuratewith is40
this).
2.Ithendivideby4,toget10

3.10+1seamallowance=
3.Then,add1tothatnumber.Thisisyourextra
seamallowance(about)toactuallysewthe 11
hakamatogether.
11ismystartingwidth

4.*ONLY*ifyouaremakinghakamawithsideslitsandties,subtractanadditional2

Thisisthestartingwidthofyourhakama.You'renotreadytodraftitout,yet,becausewehaveafew
morethingstofigureout.Goaheadandwritethatonyourreferencepage,becausewellneeditagain
shortly.

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 4

Drafting the Pattern

Starting Length
Thispartiseasytofigureout.Simplytakeyourwaisttofloormeasurement,plus3".THISIS
IMPORTANTTOREMEMBER:Thisgivesyou1"ofseamallowanceatthetop,anda2"hematthe
bottom!
MyExample
Yes,youwillhaveabighem.Yes,thereisareasonfor
thistheweightoftheextrafabricatthehem,andthe
Mywaisttoflooris42,
sizeofit,willhelpthehakamatolayinthosenice
wooblesatthebottom,versusjustflaringout.Itreally so42+3is45
willaffecthowtheylook,sojustpleasekeep
remindingyourselfthatthereisa2"hemonthese 45ismystartinglength
pants.We'llgettothehemfasterthannormalpants,
butjustkeepremindingyourselfofit.

Pleats
Well,rightnow,wejusthavesomenumbersthatcorrespondtoourbodysizes.Weneedtoaddthe
pleatstothehakama,though,toactuallymakehakama!

First,decideonhowdeepyouwantthepleatstobe.AsfarasIcantell,traditionalhakamapleatsare
about1"deep,butIlikedrama,soIhavemadetheone'sinthiscostume3"deep.

Youcangoanynumberyouwant,butifyougomuchover3",theystarttobecomeunwieldytosew,
andyou'llgetheavierhakama.But,ifyouneedmore,additinthisisuptoyou!And,theydon'tall
havetobethesamedepth,buttheyreallylookmoredramaticiftheyarethewooblesatthebottom
willbemoreeven;P

Writedownhowmanypleatsyouwant,perpanel.

Whenyou'redoingthemathtoaddineachpleat,youneedtoconsiderthatpleatsneedtwicethe
depthinfabrictomakethem;so,a3"deeppleatactuallyneeds6"offabrictomakeitwork.A2"deep
fabricneeds4"offabric...yougettheidea!

Thisiswhy,whenitcomestofabricpurchasing,Irecommendyougetsomuchofit.Youllmorethan
likelyneedtoopenupyourfabricandcutjustoneatatime,theybecomeverylarge,veryfast.

Next,youneedtodecideonhowmanypleatsyouwant.Traditionally,therearethreepleatsinthe
front(and,asthesearenottraditionalhakama,youcanhaveasmanyasyouwant!)

Yourlastdecision,atleastatthemoment,iswhereyouwouldlikethepleatstobe.Youcanevenly
spacethem,orputthemallclosertothecenterfront,ordosomethingcompletelydifferent.Itisnot
vitalrightnowthatyouknowexactlywhereyouwantthem,butgetanideaofwhereyoudlikethem
tobe,itwillmakethedraftingaloteasier.

Thisiswheredoingitonasmallsheetofpaperhelps

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 5

Drafting the Pattern

Drafting the actual pattern
Todraftoutyourpattern,youshouldstartdrawingarightangle:
SIDESEAM

Alongtheedge,writeSIDESEAMlikethediagramshows.Thetopseamiswhereyourpleatsare
goingtogo,thatisyourwaistline.
2in
Ifyouaremakinghakamathatareputonwithties,not

SIDESEAM
elastic,you'llwantto'chop'offpartofthisatanangle,at
about2"inalongthetoplineand8"downthesideseam.
8down
(rememberbefore,whenIhadyoutakeanextra2"offyour
startingwidth?Thisiswhy).Besuretomakeanoticeable
markatthe8"downline,we'llneedthatlateronwhen
sewingittogether.

Ifyouaremakingelasticwaistbandhakama,noneedtodoanythingelse.

I'mgoingtoshowyoumypleatingpattern,andyoucanchoosetofollowitifyouwouldlike,orcome
upwithyourown.Yournumberswillchange,however,intheamountofspacingyou'llneedtoleave
betweeneachpleat.Oneachend(sideseamandcenterfront)youneedtoleaveatleast1",soyou
actuallyhavesomeseamallowance.

Ifyoullrememberfrommyexample,mystartingwidthis11.ThatistheamountofspaceIneedto
"takeup",notincludingthepleats.So,mypleatingpatternisgoingtobe:
Pleat#1 Pleat#2 Pleat#2
4space 6space 3space 6space 2space 6space
2space
CENTERFRONT
SIDESEAM

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 6

Drafting the Pattern

Ifyouaddtogetherthenumbersnottakenupbypleats(4+3+2+2.5)youllgetthatstartingwidth,
or11inthiscase.

ThemarkingsofthepleatsisjusthowI'musedtodoingit,soI
canquicklyseewherethepleatis,andwheretheactualwaist
partis.Thepartswiththelinethroughitarethepleats,and
eachendofthepleatismarked,aswellasthemiddle.

CENTERFRONT
SIDESEAM
45
Hooray!Youhavethetoplinedone!

Now,youwanttocompleteyourrectangle.Alongthesideseam,
measuredownyourstartinglengthnumber,tothehemofyour
pants.

Inmyexample,mystartinglengthis45

But,youcan'tcutitoutnow,unlessyouwanttomakeahakamaskirt,orunsplithakama.Ifthatisthe
case,goahead,andcutfourofthese,andyou'regoodtogo.Ifyouwantthemtobepants,however,
weneedtoaddinthatallimportantcrotchseam.

Adding the crotch seam

PleaseNote:Thisisjustmyarbitrarymeasurementforacrotchseamyoumayneedtomakeit
larger,ifyouarealargerperson,ormaywanttobringtheheightupifyouareshorter.But,this
shouldcovermostpeople,butifitdoesn'tworkout,youcanmostdefinitelychangethesenumbers.

We'regoingtonowmakeyourcrotchseam,branchingrightoffofyourexistingrectangle.

First,measuredownyourcenterfront(CF)seam11",andmakeamark:
11down
CENTERFRONT
SIDESEAM

Now,squaredofffromthat,makealineout7":
CENTERFRONT
SIDESEAM

7out

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 7

Drafting the Pattern

Thisiswhatyouuseasaguidetodrawyourcurve:

CENTERFRONT
SIDESEAM

And,yes,theseamallowanceshouldbeaddedinhere,too;PBecauseI'mtrickylikethat!

Now,you'regoingtodrawanotherline,allthewaydownto
thehem,andthisisyournewINSEAMline(markitas
inseam,soyoudon'tgetconfusedlateron).

Hooray!Youhaveyourpatternforyourhakama!You're
goingtoneedtocutfour(4)oftheseout,twoforthefront,

CENTERFRONT
SIDESEAM
andtwofortheback.

INSEAM

Tofiguretheamountoffabricyou'llprobablyneed,just
takeyourstartinglength,andmultiplyitbyfour.Getthat
amount,plusahalfofayardextra,fortheties.

Goaheadandcutthem,beingsuretotransferallofthe
markingstothefabricpieces,andwe'llgetreadytostart
sewing(thehardpartisover,bytheway,sofeelgoodifyoumadeitthroughallofthat!)

Sewing the Hakama

Alright!Thereareafewdifferentstepsdependingonwhattypeofhakamayou'remaking,butthe
sewingisbyfartheeasypart,althoughtheorderinwhichyou'regoingtobedoingthingsmaybea
littledifferentthanyou'reusedtowithsewing.

Step 1: Sew the side seams together

First,we'regoingtoputthesideseamstogether,tomaketwopantlegs.Ifyouaremakingtheelastic
waisthakama,you'regoingtosewtheseamallthewayfromthetoptothebottom.

Goandpressthisseam.Pressingeveryseamwhenyousewitisthekeytohavinggoodlooking
hakama.

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 8

Sewing the Hakama

Ifyouaremakingthetiedhakama,youwillwanttosewthemfrom
themark,8"down(Remember?Waybackatthebeginningwhen
youweredraftingthepattern,andIsaidtodotheanglething?),all
thewaydown,leavingthattoppartopen.

Presstheseamopen,allthewayup,andthentopstitchtheopening Topstitchthe

SIDESEAM
areadown.Thisiscreatingthefinishededgethere,soyoudon'thave foldededge
down,onthe
toworryaboutitlater. inside,soyou
cantseetheraw
edgeanymore.
Step 2: Hems
Nowisthetimetoputtheheminyourhakama.Youmaybewondering"whyamIputtingthehemin
whenonlyoneoftheseamsistogether?"andthesimpleanswer
is,it'saloteasiertodonow,thanlateronwhenthey'reallsewn
together.Theinseammaylookalittlebulkywhenit'salldone,
butitisasmallpricetopayforthisbeingeasiertodonow.

Tofinishthehem,youhavemanyoptions,suchasusingpinking
shears,awidezigzagovertherawedge,or,ifyouhaveaccessto
anoverlockmachine,doanoverlockonit.Eitherway,finishthe
verybottom,rawedge,tokeepitfromfrayingwithlongdaysof
wear.

Then,stitchyourhemup,eitherbyhand,astraighttopstitch,or,
ifyouaredaring,usingablindhemfootandstitchonyour
machine(Irefusetogointohowtodothisreadthemanualif
youdon'tknowhowtouseyourblindhemfoot,becauseeach
machineisdifferent,andifyouhaven'tdoneitbefore,Ihighly
recommendjusttopstitchingitinplace.)

Step 3: Pinning the pleats

Now,gobackuptothetopofyourhakama,andwe'regoingto Hakama,withthehemsputinthe
startpleating. bottom,topstitcheddown.

Thisisthetimewhenyoucanchoosewhichdirectionyouwant
yourpleatstogoyoucanhavethempointingoutwardsorinwardsthechoiceiscompletelyupto
you.Traditionalhakamahavethempointinginwards,butyoudon'thavetodothatifyoudon'twant
to.

Pleatdirectionscanbeconfusingifyoureavisualperson,tosaytheleast,sowhatIliketodoisuse
justaplainoldstraightpin,andpinthepleatclosed.

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Sewing the Hakama

Then,turnyourgarmentsothatyou'reseeing
therightsidefacingoutwards,andplaywiththe
pleat,movingitsothatit'spointingoutwards,
andinwards,andseewhichyoulikebetter.
Heck,theyalldon'thavetogointhesame
direction,either;it'suptoyou,again,howyou
wanttodothem.

Onceyoufigureouthowyouwantthepleatsto
go,pinthemdowninplace.

Ifyouhaveanypinslostsomewhereinthefoldsofthe
pleats,removethembeforestitchingthisdown!
Otherwise,youmaywindupbreakingyoursewing
needle,ormessingupthestitchingandhavingtoredo
it.

Thisfinalpictureshowswhatthehakamapleatslook
like,fromtherightside,witheverythingpinneddown.

ThecrotchseamhereiswheretheCenterFrontis,so
thepleatsarefacingtowardsthecenter.

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 10

Sewing the Hakama

Step 4: Stitching the pleats down
Thisisjustgoingtobeawayofholdingthe
pleatsinplace,sothatit'seasiertoworkwith
fromhereonin.

You'regoingtoberemovingthisstitchlateron,
justtoletyouknow.

Youcaneitherhandbasteormachinebaste
alongthetopofthepleats,alittlemorethan1"
belowthetopseam(say11/4"down).Make
surethatthepleatsdon'tgetcaughtandtwisted
inthisstitchifitdoes,takeitoutanddoitagain.Thiswilljustcreatenicelookingpleats,andthatis
thewholepointofthesepants!

Step 5: Sewing the pant legs together

Now,we'llgetthemtoactuallystartlookinglikepants!First,youaregoingtowanttosewthe
inseamstogether,tocreatetwoseparatepantlegs.Youshoulddefinitelyhavetwo,separatepant
legs,ifthey'reattachedatallyou'vedonesomethingwrong(unlessyou'redoingtheskirthakama,
thenyoushouldhaveaskirt...)

Step 6: Sewing the crotch seam

Now,takeyourtwopantlegs,andputtherightsidestogether,andsewthecrotchseamfromfrontto
back,pinningthemtogethertobesurethattheinseamslineup.

Hooray!Youhavepants!Almost,butcloseenoughtoputthemonandbeagoon!

Step 7: Ties and waistband

Fortheelasticwaistedband~

Cuttwo4"widestripsof45"widefabric,andsewthemtogethersoyouhaveonelongstrip.

4
45 45

Foldthisinhalfthelongwaythisisyourwaistband.

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 11

Sewing the Hakama

Pickonesideofyourhakamathisisnowyourfront.Startingattheseamatthecenterfront,pin
yourwaistbandtothehakama,allthewayaround.

Whenyouhittheotherseam(nowthecenterbackseam),leave
theexcesshangingoff
rightnow.Pintheother
halfofthewaistbandon,
andonceyouhitthe
centerbackagain,leave
Fromhereonin,thephotosthatgo
alongwiththeinstructionsaredone
withascrapoffabric,togetthepictures
foryouall,asmyattemptatillustrating
whatneededtobedonewasatotal
failure.

theexcesshangingoff. So,ifthepieceImworkingwithseems
alittlesmall,comparedtowhatyoure
Now,you'regoingtocut workingwith,dontworry:DTheseare
justtoshowyouthestepswithpictures.
theexcessfabricoff,
exceptforanextra1"or
so.

Takethisextrainch,andfolditintothewaistband,justtocreateanice,finishededgeonthecasing.
Pressitflat,soitlookspretty.

Sewthewaistbandtothehakama,withtheseamallowancefacingtotheinside(rightsidestogether),
1downfromthetop(remember,that1extraseamallowanceweaddedforthelength?Thatswhat
thisisfor.)Finishtheinsideedgehoweveryouseefit(Ichoosetouseanoverlockonit).

Pressyourcasingagain,tomakeitlooknice.Feedtheelastic
throughthiscasing,andseworpinclosed.Iusuallycuttheelastic
4"shorterthanyourwaistmeasurement,andleaveitjustpinned
together,sothatmycustomerscanadjustitasneededwhen
they'rewearingit,tomakeitmorecomfortableforthem.

And!Youshouldbedone!Hooray!
(unlessyouweremakingthehakamawithties,thenyourinstructionsarenext)

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 12

Sewing the Hakama

Forthehakamawithties~

Forthistypeofhakama,you'regoingtowanttocuttwo4"wide
Ifyouarealargerperson(withawaist
stripsof45"widefabricalso,butdonotsewthemtogether. ofmorethan38orso),youmayneed
Instead,findthemiddleofeachoftheties,andmarkthemwitha tomakethetieslonger,bycuttingmore
4widestrips,andsewingthem,edgeto
pin. edge,tocreatelongerties.(seeabove,
withtheelasticwaistedhakama)

Dontforgetthesetiesneedtogetall
Leavingthetiesopen(i.e.dontfoldtheminhalfyet,eitherway) thewayaroundyourbody,andtieina
matchthecenterpinwithyourcenterfrontorcenterbackseam. knot,sotheyshouldbeatleast6longer
thanyourwaistmeasurement.
Stitchthetiesdowntothehakama,withrightsidestogether.

Stitchinglocationontheinside andwhatitlookslikewiththetiefoldedup

Now,pressthewaistbandup,eventhepartsthat
arentsewndown(theextratielengthwellbe
finishingtheentiretieatonce!)(pic@right)

Next,folddownthetoprawedge,matchingitto
therawedgethatyoujustpressedup.Ironthat
edgedown,soitlooksnice.(pic@bottom)

Fromhere,weregoingtofinishtheendsofthe
ties,stitchitalldown,andweredone!So,just
abitmoretogo

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 13

Sewing the Hakama

Tofinishtheendsoftheties(sotheylookprettyanddontfrayallovertheplacewhileyoure
wearingthehakama)isaneasymatteratthispoint.

Simplyfoldintherawendsoftheties,andtrimthecornerslikepictured,sothatnoneofthebulk
pokesoutthebottomwhenwesewthisalltogether.And,usetheirontopressthoseedgesdown
(youregettingtheideaofhowimportantironingis,arentyou?)intoacrispseam.
Irealizethatthesepicturesarealittlehardtosee,soIhaveoutlinedoverthemtohelpyouseetheedgesofthefabricbetter~

Youcanstitchtheedgedownifyouprefer,oryoucanjustleaveititshouldntcomepoppingout
aftereverythingissewndown.

Tofinishthiswholethingup,youregoingtowantto
foldthetiesinhalfagain.Allofthoserawedgesshould
beontheinside,encased.Thisisaneattrickfor
finishingjustaboutanythingthatcanbeputonlike
this,tokeeprawedgesfrombeingoutandvisible.

Ifyouarenotcomfortablewithsewingwithoutusing
pins,goaheadandpinthisclosed.Then,youregoing
towanttotopstitchthewholetie,fromoneendtotheother,closed.Ifyounoticethatonelayerofthe
fabriciscreeping,orcreatingpuckers,stop,grabyourseamripper,pulltheseamout,andusepins
toholdthefabricinplace.Ifyoujustignoreit,andthinkyoucanfixitwithaniron,itsgoingtoget
worseandworsealongthelengthofthetie.Noironingcanfixthisproblemagain,riptheseamout,
anddoitagain,withpins,or,if
youwereusingpins,addmore
pins.Andmakesure,when
yourepinningitdown,youre
onaflatsurfaceandnot
pullingonelayerortheother.

Giveitonemoregoodpress,
forgoodmeasure,and
hooray!Youaremost
definitelydonewithyour
hakama!

Putthemon,havesomefun,
showeveryonetheawesome
thingyoujustmade!
And,postsomepicturesonlineandletme
see,too!(taeliac.deviantart.com)

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