sewingoflove

So I’ve gotten plenty of questions on just how I made the jester cuffs for my Harley Quinn outfit. Let me tell you, I agonized on them for the longest time!! The first set I made did the job, since the convention was the next day, but they weren’t GREAT. Since I plan on using the costume again, I decided that there were plenty -coughcough most- of the pieces of the costume that I wanted to re-make. This was the first. I absolutely ADORE these new cuffs–they fit better, as well as looking fabulous!

Now, the great thing about this part of making these cuffs is that you can use it to make really any sort of band that goes around a body part. Wrist band, arm band, ankle band, thigh band…pretty much anything. The example that comes to my mind is if your costume or outfit has a sweatband on the wrists. Doesn’t that get kinda warm in the summer months? You can use this to make a band to go aroun your wrist out of non-stretch fabric that’ll look really clean and nice! Anyway, onto the tut!

The first thing that you’re going to want to do is measure the body part that this is going on to. Since I already made the RIGHT cuff, I want to measure my left wrist. This can be a pain in the butt–measuring my right wrist is so much easier, but different sides of your body are going to be different sizes, unfortunately. And since we’re working with non-stretchy fabric, this is a rule we need to abide by closely. So my left wrist measures just under 6 inches around (my right is exactly 6). [Note–if you need to see any of these bigger, right click and choose “View Image”]

From here, you’re going to measure out the amount of fabric needed for your band. I made mine a little small (you’ll see later on, when I’m attaching the snaps) but I used six and a half inches of fabric LONG (that’s the part that goes around the wrist) by two and a quarter WIDE. The width of the fabric is going to be doubled over, PLUS the seam allowance, so I know my band will be about an inch wide when it’s finished. Make sure you add over half an inch to your measurement around the body-part to make sure you’ll have enough room for the seams on the side.

Next you want to fold your band in half and pin it on two sides. Keep one of the short ends open so you’ll be able to turn the band inside out for a more professional and finished look. Nobody likes seeing seams! Sew the two sides with just under a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Cut across the corners as shown, including the ones that are opened. Turn it inside out and, using a chopstick or a pencil or something long and skinny, push the corners out. Stick it in the open end and just maneuver it until your corners look less round and more, well, corner-like!

Take the open end of your band and tuck one side onto the inside, followed by the other. Be careful to make sure you do it relatively evenly. One end of mine was slightly higher than the other, but it didn’t bother me since the ruffle from the jester cuff would cover it up. Pin it together like this, and then sew a line across either on your sewing machine or by hand. If you’re making ruffles, the seam will not be seen. If you’re making just a band and don’t want the seam there, you’ll have to sew it closed like you would a pillow. If you need more help with that, look at my next entry. I’ll be explaining the ruffle, but I’ll have a bit on the pillow closure.

Next you’ll want to test your band and make sure it fits the part you’re making it for. I made mine a little small, as you can see the edges just touch. (Man this was an awkward camera angle!) The nice thing about snap closures though, is that you can make one end a hanging snap, which will allow the two edges to meet up just right!

To attach your snaps, first you have to disconnect them. I was really confused when I first bought them, I didn’t understand the packaging at all! But it’s easy enough. Unsnap them, put one end aside, and figure out where you want the other end to go. The trick of the hanging snap is that one is completely on the fabric, while the other is held onto the other side of the fabric by a single hole. I chose to put two snaps onto this because it is wide enough that a single snap in the middle would cause the edges of the fabric to bend in and look strange. The easiest way to attach your snaps is the whipstitch, but I prefer the button-hole stitch. There is an awesome tutorial on attaching sew on snaps here. The main thing to keep in mind is that you only want to go through ONE layer of fabric at a time–it’ll hide the snaps and make it look like MAGIC!

Make sure you align the fabric (try it on again) and figure out where your other snap has to go. It’s attached just the same way! If you’ve got a hanging snap, you only attach one of the holes to the fabric and the rest will just hang around. It’s recommended that you use four stitches to hold it in place, but since I figure my ruffles will pull on it a bit, I used seven or eight for each snap. Make sure you align and try on your band a couple of times before you finish, otherwise you’ll be upset if you have to rip out the seams and try it again.

And that’s it! You’re done!

If you didn’t want to or can’t understand using snaps (they can be annoying if you don’t get it just right) Velcro is also an awesome option ^^ I just happened to have snaps lying around in my sewing bucket from when I made the collar for Harl’s costume. Any questions, leave a comment and let me know!

Happy stitching!

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