Hakama material & tips

[Rasheab]

For this pattern ( http://fibers.destinyslobster.com/Japan ... hakama.htm ), which has been linked several times (I believe Derian and Arrakis have posted saying they use this pattern):

If heavy linen cannot be had, does Joanns Rodeo, Target, and/or twill work as a material?

Are there any tips/modifications which you have used on this pattern?

Thanks. Garbin up for Chaos Wars.

- Rasheab

[Soo Ma Tai]

I like to use any type of good heavy material for haks. They lay down and flow better that way IMO. Don't get material that stretches, it's a pain to work with and sew.

[Arrakis]

Sure. Get like a bottomweight twill or something and you'll be in good shape.

Also, those haks are dimensioned for a guy who's like 5'3" tall and like 130 pounds. My measurements required this mod to the cutting layout:



Sorry if that's a little obscure. Basically I had to use ~45" inches (circumference/width) for each leg and a LOT more height than they did (~42"). On the pair this layout is for, though, I did seal up the sides and put in belt loops, plus green stripes down the outside legs, so.

PS: They came out looking like: http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak- ... 4041_n.jpg
or
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d124/ ... hopjpg.jpg
, for your reference.

[Richard le Gris]

I was wondering about that... I just made a pair of the ladies hakama from that site for my girlfriend, and that required a bit less tweaking. That should give me a good foundation for fitting them to my 5'7", 240lb bulk.

[Soo Ma Tai]

i have a couple different pairs, all made by me or my wife. The ones I like best have 5 yards per leg ( I know it's a lot) and I am 5'10" like 160#. They take a little work getting them pleated etc. But they are well worth it, and look awesome. They are the ones in my avatar pic.

[Rasheab]

Duckcloth canvas would be to stiff for hakama, wouldn't it?

Ok, I'll double the amount of fabric (6 yards total) called for in the original pattern, which will put it between the yard and a foot of Arrakis' pattern, and the 5 yards of Soo Mai Tai's pants.

[Arrakis]

Dude, my pattern was 2.5yd by 58" wide fabric.


Soo Ma Tai, how can you walk in those pants? I always hate telling someone they're wrong about **** they can see and I can't, but you have to be mistaken, dude. 5 yards? That's 15 feet AKA 180 inches of fabric! Your pant legs are half as big around as a semi-trailer's back loading door!

[Rasheab]

Yeah, I noticed that a bit ago when I was working out math. (Both on the "not needing to double the fabric" and the "5 yards per leg.")

[Soo Ma Tai]

I swears it, they be 5 yrds per leg. The cloth is actually fairly thin, it's a plastic like material I guess. There is a ton of it, they are huge, I can pull the edges over my head and not have the inside edges move. Slagg once used them as a blanket, he's like 6'2". Not the best blanket, but it worked. The second pair I made had 3 yrds per leg, they look great, flow great, and were much easier to put together and work on.

[Ralimar]

I'm guessing Soo Ma Tai's hakama have the pleats in front and back like they're supposed to, as opposed to just being baggy pants like a lot of people make. I had a pair of hakama made for me years ago from a Japanese pattern, and they ended up using about 4 yards of fabric per leg.

[Arrakis]

Soo: Good God, man!

Ral: Mine are actually pleated. Actual pleats, actually permanently sewn into the fabric. They're standard pleats. Do your guys pleats super mega ultra overlap or something? Because that's kind of atypical, isn't it?

[Soo Ma Tai]

The 5 yrd pants had to have some extra pleats, and they are pleated front and back, prolly 2-2 1/2" pleats. The 3 yrd pants were much easier to deal with, made pleats both front and back at about 2" each. % yads is prolly too much for most types of fabric/applications, I would go with 3-4 depending on your size. I have a 32-34" waist and the 3 yrd ones are great.

[Satanaka]

I got a pattern from Japan back in 1995ish. Cost a lot- hard to figure out. I do not make the back piece for them. I use about 3 yards per leg if I remember. I have only made about 15-20 pair.

I think I have 3-4 pleats that are about 2" to 3" inches wide each on each side for a total of 6 to 8 pleats in the front.
I think the backs only have 2 pleats BUT they are much larger.

So- I think I use about 6 to 8 yards for each pair. I try to use a cloth that will hang good (no wrinkly). I used a thick cotton for a while BUT it is tough to make sure the pleats are not wrinkled- and it takes a while to iron out Hakamas...

It's fun to make once I get everything and sit down and get to work.

Best of luck on your Hakamas.

[Tobia Blackthorn]

I bought mine, so I'm can't help with material. I believe its 7 pleats in the front, 2 in the back. On a side not, if you fold them correctly, you don't have to worry about loosing the pleats. I have always folded mine properly, and never had to iron them. Just look up on youtube how kendoka fold theirs.

[Turin]

For material, look in the curtain/upholstery section in Joann. Better feel, thickness & pattern selections.

[Rasheab]

I wasn't going to mention it, because the thread had kinda run it's course. But since Turin brought the thread back up, they worked out fine: