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[may55]

So I will be cosplaying as Lys from a manga called Hanatsuki Hime (A Princess with a Flower) and I will be cosplaying her in one of her dancing outfits (the colour I've chosen is blue with a purple fading, since there is no real colour shown).

Reference from manga: http://mangafox.me/manga/hanatsukihime/v02/c007/24.html

I was thinking of doing a very simple belly dancing looking skirt, but any patterns I find are nothing close to what this looks like.

I was thinking of either making a plain simple skirt (with an opening in the side) and then just adding layers to the top. This most likely will be with a very light weight fabric. It's either that or I go buy a light skirt from a thrift store and add light see through layers to it.

Any suggestions on how I should approach this?

[Kelley]

Based on this and some others it looks like a long under-skirt and another piece that is suspended from the belt by loops of pearls.

It just looks like a rectangle, possibly gored, pleated into a waistband with another rectangle that's being held on by the pearls.

I can't really tell from the artwork I'm seeing but it might also be implied to be all one piece. that is wrapping around itself - which would be useful as it would let you have a split in the skirt but it wouldn't be gratuitous and would sort-of stay shut to an extent by itself.

If I did it in two pieces, I'd probably overlap the long rectangle in the front a bit for the same thing. It has fullness at the top, so even if you gore the bottom you wouldn't want just a circle skirt.

[may55]

I think it was supposed to be a two piece as well, much like belly dancer skirts where they have a skirt and then the belt that makes a noise.

I do not mind having the slit in the skirt not obvious, as long as if I put my leg through it would kind of be obvious that it's there.

How would you do it in two pieces where there is a circle skirt which is gored and pleated on the bottom with other piece put overtop as the smaller rectangle with the pearls?

Also I was thinking of using a lightweight fabric, would that be a good idea or should I go with something a little more medium weight?

[Kelley]

I'd probably go with a plain lightweight silk (not a satin or anything, just plain) - it would be appropriate for the implied cultural style and it would look nice !

You can (and will probably want to) use an interlining to give the top more body and stability.

Originally Posted by may55

How would you do it in two pieces where there is a circle skirt which is gored and pleated on the bottom with other piece put overtop as the smaller rectangle with the pearls?

I wouldn't do a circle skirt. For the cleanest look I'd probably do a few trapezoids that are wider at the bottom - that way you don't get a lot of seams. You want the waistband to be a bit gathered from what I can see in the reference. If my hips were 36" I would want maybe between 2-3 yards of fabric (2-3x the hip measure) at the "waist"-band. Since it's a lightweight silk it won't be bulky - I'd want the bottom to be wider - maybe ~5 yards. It sounds like a lot but with fairly thin silk it's not going to seem like much - I have a Greek chiton/tunic that gathers 4 yards of light/medium silk into the waist with a cord and it feels like a lot less (compared to being used to much heavier fabrics).

You'd sew the skirt and attach it to the waistband and then attach the overskirt - you could also attach that into the same waistband but that depends on how exactly you view the art. It looks more like a sash held up by pearls than an actual overskirt to me but I haven't seen that many pictures !

Since the waistband is going to be covered in flowers you have pretty much all options open. I'd probably want an invisible zipper hidden in the side under the sash - hide it where the flower part opens and closes. That would be the most secure - and you would probably want to use some of the interlining from the top in the waistband too. It will be more secure than elastic, I think, but that could work too - although it might stress the flower "belt" if it's not stretchy (though you could attach the flowers directly to the waistband itself in either case).

[Penlowe]

These dancers are wearing what is commonly referred to as the Ten Yard Skirt. Google that for easy instructions. For a cosplay you could half the yardage and still have a beautiful look. It's all just rectangles and gathering, but a very light weight fabric combined with the volume is what gives it that beautiful flow.

[may55]

Originally Posted by Kelley

You want the waistband to be a bit gathered from what I can see in the reference. If my hips were 36" I would want maybe between 2-3 yards of fabric (2-3x the hip measure) at the "waist"-band. Since it's a lightweight silk it won't be bulky - I'd want the bottom to be wider - maybe ~5 yards.

So since it is gored it would be maybe 4 pieces, but would each piece be 2-3xhip measurement? My hips are actually 36" coincidentally, so would that be 72 - 108" for the top of each trapezoid or the whole thing.

Originally Posted by Kelley

You'd sew the skirt and attach it to the waistband and then attach the overskirt - you could also attach that into the same waistband but that depends on how exactly you view the art. It looks more like a sash held up by pearls than an actual overskirt to me but I haven't seen that many pictures !

It's called a sash, that is good to know. I called it an over skirt because it was over the skirt and I had no idea what to call it.
I was looking over many things and I thought, would it be possible to put it over the skirt like a sash or a scarf, but instead of tying it, I tie it a certain way and sew in snaps or something close to it and apply it on top. Do you think that would work? Or should I sew it into another elastic 'waistband' but make it look like it is naturally there?

Originally Posted by Kelley

Since the waistband is going to be covered in flowers you have pretty much all options open. I'd probably want an invisible zipper hidden in the side under the sash - hide it where the flower part opens and closes. That would be the most secure - and you would probably want to use some of the interlining from the top in the waistband too. It will be more secure than elastic, I think, but that could work too - although it might stress the flower "belt" if it's not stretchy (though you could attach the flowers directly to the waistband itself in either case).

I cannot find a flower waistband so I will be making fabric lotus' (because I prefer the look over fabric roses) and sewing each individually into a waistband (most likely the top if there is one). The zipper idea is genius, I would never think of that. Most likely if I put the flowers on the waistband of the sash it will not be an elastic but more like a normal hem, with a very loose elastic (or maybe none at all).

Originally Posted by Penlowe

These dancers are wearing what is commonly referred to as the Ten Yard Skirt. Google that for easy instructions. For a cosplay you could half the yardage and still have a beautiful look. It's all just rectangles and gathering, but a very light weight fabric combined with the volume is what gives it that beautiful flow.

The gathering (in her skirt) only seems to be around the waist instead of the whole skirt. I have a ten yard skirt actually, but the gathering in between each section is not entirely what I envisioned the skirt to look. If there is a way to get the volume and flow, without the cuts in the gathering, that would be very ideal.

[Kelley]

1. I would say for the whole thing, not each piece - but it's not an exact science. I would probably take some test fabric and hold it around myself and see what I liked (something I've done many times :P ).

2. I honestly don't know what it really is - I haven't seen any pictures that I was 100% sure of what I was looking at, I'd need to see more and from more angles. I can't tell if it's connected or just a sash.

Like, I think it's held to the main wasitband by loops of pearls - but, again, I'm not 100% sure what I'm looking at (I feel like they're loops, but they could also be clips or decorations over stitching that is holding the fabric gathered). Since you're read this / looked at it more, you would have a better idea !

There are already the bands there, so you could use something strong behind the decorative pearls to hold them both together if you do it that way. Otherwise, I think hidden snaps or buckles would work, too ! It's always a good idea to keep everything together so it can't all move around willy-nilly.

3. I think fabric for them would look great !

You could also use the stronger hook and eyes for holding different pieces together - the kind where they more "click" together instead of like the cheap ones for dresses where they like to come apart all the time. :P

[may55]

1. Ok that makes sense. I will probably do 3 yards on the top and 5 yards on the bottom. My only other question would be how to do that on fabric. Like the way to arrange it on the fabric. Also I have decided on a chiffon material (haven't bought it yet, maybe after Victoria day). EDIT: I answered this myself haha.

2. I have no idea what it is either. There is maybe 10 reference pictures from the manga, but it looks like it is attached. So most likely there will be a zipper in the side as recommended, but it will be behind (and under) the sash.

At first I thought the loop of pearls looked like belly dancer coins, hence a reason I thought it was a belly dancer-like skirt. I feel like they are attached to the bottom of a rectangle that is folded over twice, with it gathered. If they'd be any kind of coins though they would be silver.

Reference on belly dancer sash : http://image.dhgate.com/albu_2606227...-hip-skirt.jpg

The buckle sounds like a neat idea I would never even think of. I most likely will stick to snaps though because it looks like the two sides of the sash is crossed over.

3. God no. I hate the small snaps. I use the really heavy duty ones that are in between a nickel and a quarter. I almost have to rip them apart to open. Haha.