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Hakama Tutorial

~Just as an FYI: After this tutorial, there will be a tutorial about how to tye a hakama properly~

Getting the measurements of the Hakama are rather simple.
First, Measure your waist.
Multiply that number by 4.
That'll be the amount of fabric you'll need.
(For example: 30 Inch waist x 4 = 120 inches)

Next, measure from the waist down.
Add 2 inches to that.
That'll be the length of fabric you'll need.
(For example: 40 Inches + 2 = 42 Inches down)
But! I've learned to NOT cut the fabric length. So, if you get fabric that's 45 inches, leave it as such.

Along with that panel of fabric, you'll need a 5 inch by 120 inche strip of fabric and a 5 Inch by 72 inch strip of fabric.
~What I've learned: If you get a fabric with a width of 60 inches, just cut 15 inches off the bottom and turn that into the strips of fabric. If you don't get 60 inch fabric, you can get an extra yard, just that into strips and sew the strips together. Not too many people will notice.~

When it comes to picking out a fabric, something good to remember is that cotton BREATHES. Also, when looking at real hakamas, they tend to be made out of heavy duck canvas. Or something similar to this. My suggestion would be to use demin or twill fabric since this fabric will flow, fold and look like a mirror to the real thing.
~If someone starts to debate me on this, I shall have to point out that I have seen, touched, admired and cleaned a custom made Hakama, specifically made for martial arts. I KNOW what I'm talking about. If you're going to debate me over this when this pattern was made to help you, then just stop reading here.~

*The Beginning*
~Make sure you have plenty of room, you'll need it!~
Lay out the fabric, then fold the fabric in half. Right sides together! This is the best time to make sure your edges are even.
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If you have 60 inch fabric, cut the 15 inches off now. Once that's been done, cut the fabric in half. So you should have two pieces of fabric that are even sizes.
(Example: 120 cut in half = 60 inch pieces.)
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Find the middle point of the fabric width-wise. Mark that point. From the middle, measure 6 inches both ways and mark that. Once again, from the middle, mark 18 inches up. Put a dot there.
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From the two 6 inch marks, make a curved line up to the 18 inch mark to form a bell shape.
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On the OPPOSITE side from the bell curve (Do not flip the fabric over, just go to the top of the fabric), mark 2 inches. Mark 2 inches again. Going up the side, mark 10 inches.
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From the 10 inch mark, fold the fabric over to the FIRST 2 inch mark. MAKE SURE TO DO JUST ONE LAYER! Crease the fabric.
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Fold again to the second 2 inch mark.
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Repeat on both sides, both layers.

~Note: the next image I put the folds on the wrong side. They should be on the top corners, not the same as the bell curve.~
Cut the bell curve out, but DO NOT discard that piece of fabric. You'll need is later.
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If you have a serger, serge the bell curve. If you don't have a serger, just sew around the bellcurve. Also, sew the sides together.
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Now, flip the fabric right-side out and lay flat again.
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~Note: NOW the fold points are on the right side. Silly me~
Sew the side folds in place. Just a small hem on the side will hold the folds perfectly.

The hakama should look a little like this:
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*Pleats*
This is when you shall decide what is the front and the back of the hakama. To be honest, it doesn't matter what side is what. It's just the pleats you'll need to be concerned about. I started on the back first.

~Note: In the next few pictures, I marked each item with a different color pin. I will let you know what is what.~
Find the middle of the fabric and mark with a pin. ~Green~
Measure 3 or 4 inches over on both sides (the smaller you are, the smaller the amount needed. Play around with what looks right) ~Dark Magenta~
Measure around 3 or 4 inches ~ Yellow~
Measure around 3 or 4 inches. ~Pink~
Measure around 3 or 4 inches. ~Red~
Measure around 3 or 4 inches ~White~

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All the pins on one side of the green:
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This is where the pleating comes in. Holding the middle pin ~Yellow~ Fold the third pin ~pink~ to the first pin ~Dark Magenta~ The 4th pin ~Red~ should be on top of the second pin ~Yellow~
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Holding the 4th pin ~Red~ Fold the last pin ~White~ NEXT TO the first pin ~Dark Magenta~ Do not place the two pins on top of one another. make sure both pleats are visible!
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Repeat for the other side.
~Note: all pins have been changed to Red so you can see the pleats easier~
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*Back Pleats complete. Onto the front pleats.*

Flip the fabric over.
The next part, you'll have to decide what measurements are best. I'll guide you as best as I can.
Measure from the middle of the fabric to where the folds are.
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Now, the front needs a total of 3 pleats on each side. What I did was measure 3 inches, mark, 1 inch, mark, 3 inches, mark, etc. I was also making this for someone with a 32 inch waist, so decide what you think would be best for the pleating marks.
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So that you can understand what I did, I held the Magenta pin, folded the yellow pin to the blue and used the next blue as the next mark for the next pleat. In the end, the pleats should look something like this:
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~Side note: If you fold all the pleats and the fabric is visible from the side fold on accident like this:
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Just hold the pleat fold and tug softly. Your pleat will slide to the side and hide all the fabric:
Photo~

The front pleats should look like this:
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*One Last pleat*
On the last image, you can see a lot of place between the pleats. It's an easy fix. From the back, fold the two sides and make one last pleat on both side.
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Sew across all the pleats (both front and back) and place this section to the side.

*Back Piece*
Remember the bell curve fabric? Time to grab it. At the bottom, draw a line that's 10 inches. Measure 4 inches up and measure 7 inches across.
~Note: The easiet way to do this is a such. Draw a straight line, draw another line 4 inches higher.
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Find the middle point of the fabric. From that, mark 5 inches on each side on the bottom line and 3.5 inches on the top line.
Photo~
Mark a line from one dot to the other dot.
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~Note: I did mine upside down, but you should get the idea~
Cut the fabric out, giving a bit of seam allowance.
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This is where you get to decide a little more as to how you want to do this. The back piece tends to be STIFF. I've heard that you can get a plastic piece and use that as the innards. Personally, I use stiff felt and some interfacing. So, my pattern will show you that.
On a normal piece of felt, you can cut 2 pieces out of it.
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Cut the pieces out and cut out the interfacing as the same. Glue all the pieces together. That should be stiff enough, but still fexible enough that it doesn't feel like it'll bother you.

*Strips*
Now the two long strips.
First, fold the fabric in half. I learned to iron this crease in.
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Open the fabric up and fold the sides into the center line.
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Fold in half again and iron once again.
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*Back to the Back piece*
I am going to give you a more of an authentic look with this part. You can ignore this part if you wish. Create two triangles that are just a touch smaller than the back piece.
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~Note: Sorry that I didn't measure it and mark what I did better. If I remember, I measured half the size of the back piece. After heming the sides, it became that, but it looks great any. Feel free to skip this part is it confuses you too much.~
Sew across the bottom of the back piece.And yes, the right side.
Grab the smaller strip (72 inches) and find the middle. Place the middle on the middle of the back piece, under the triangles. Sew the strip in place.
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Stitch the top of the triangles in place. Leave them a little open. This is a good time to starch the piece if you wish.
Sew the back two pieces together. If you put the strip on, DO NOT SEW THEM IN!! What I did was I folded them in so you only sew the two back pieces. Leave the bottom open. Cut the two top corners off so the corners are a little more crisp. Flip right-side out and place the felt and interfacing center inside it. It should be as snug inside as possible. Remember, it's easy to cut a piece off, it's harder to put it back on.
Now, fold the bottom into itself. Pin the back piece to the center of the hakama back and sew in place. Most machines will have a hard time sewing through that many layers, so feel free to hand sew this part.
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~Note: Sorry, my digital hates me, but I used large stitches. Looking at the real thing, they also used larger stitches to hold it in place.~

*Finishing touches*
Sew the back strips over the hakama folds.
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If you used a serger, the strip should hide the serger marks for you. Continue sewing the strip closed all the way across it. The idea of this is to seal the whole thing together. So the strip should fold over the hakama.
Sew the front strip onto the front also. Same idea as the back also. Find the middle of the strip and sew it on the middle of the hakama.
Don't forget to hem the bottom of the pants!!

Now, you have a completed hakama! With this, you can iron the pleats and stiffen them, or leave them loose, pending on the cosplay you're doing.

If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me.