Filler
Photo of Shira

PHOTO CREDIT: Above photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California.

Arabella

Narrow Salwar:

Only 1 1/3 Yards or Meters of Fabric!

By Arabella

Materials

1 1/3 yards or meters (48 inches or 125 cm) of 45-inch-wide (or 115-cm-wide) fabric
Thread
Either elastic large enough to fit around hips or drawstring that is hip size plus 1/2 yard (or 1/2 meter)
1/8 yard (12 cm) of heavy interfacing for bottom edge

These tools will be needed for construction:

Shears to cut fabric
Scissors to cut thread
Measuring tape to measure & create shapes
Yardstick or other straight edge to use in drawing shapes
Pencil, pen, or marker to draw shapes
Needles
Bodkin or safety pin for threading elastic or drawstring through hip band

Construction

Creating the Pattern & Cutting It Out

One of the diagrams below provides the measurements using metric units, while the other provides the measurements in yards and inches. Click on either diagram to see it in more detail.

Yards and Inches

Metric

Measure and cut the pieces as shown above from the pants fabric.

From the interfacing, cut 2 pieces, each 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide and 12 inches (31 cm) long.

Sewing It Together

Using seams 1/2 inch (13 mm) deep, assemble the pieces as shown in the diagrams below. Click on this diagram to see it in more detail.

Sew front pieces to back piece.
Baste interfacing strips to the inside of the bottom edge of each pant leg.
Right sides together, sew facing to bottom edge of pant legs, sewing through all 3 thicknesses (pant leg, interfacing, facing). Turn to inside. Turn raw edge under 1/4 inch (6 mm) and pin or baste into place.
From right side, do decorative top stitching to anchor top edge of facing. This can be either matching thread or contrasting thread, depending on look desired.
Pleat or gather top edge of pants to fit the length of the hip band. Stitch to hip band, right sides together.
Sew center front of hip band and front pieces of pant legs together at crotch.
Sew inside-leg seams.
Turn under 1/4 inch (6 mm) of top hip band, then fold to the inside to cover the seam joining the hip band to the pants. Stitch into place, leaving 1 inch unstitched to allow insertion of elastic.

Finishing

Click on the diagram to the right to see it in more detail.

If using elastic, cut to size of hips minus 1 inch (2.5 cm). If using drawstring, cut to size of hips plus 18 inches (46 cm).
Use either a bodkin or a safety pin to thread elastic or drawstring through the hip band.
If using elastic, sew edges together, then sew opening shut. If using drawstring, place a knot at each end and don't sew hole shut.

Belly Dance Costume Patterns. For the dancer who would prefer to purchase a ready-made pattern instead of drafting her own.
Pants In The Sixteenth Century. Information about the use of pants in historical clothing ensembles.
Easy-to-Make Baggy Pants. By Arabella.
Quick Salwar. By Arabella.
Ask the Costume Goddess: How to Make Harem Pants. By Dina Lydia.

How To Make A Narrow Hem. If you choose to put side slits in your harem pants, these instructions offer an easy-to-make hem for finishing the edges.
How To Make A Hip Elastic Casing With Wide Bias Tape. A suggestion for an easy way to finish the top edge of the pants.

About the Author

Arabella, the author of this article, has contributed many informative pieces to this web site on a variety of topics, including:

Analysis of technique for doing certain dance moves
Costume ideas
Essays and opinion pieces
Understanding Middle Eastern music
Helpful how-to's, such as remembering choreography

Please visit Arabella's home page on this web site for a full list of articles she has contributed.

Arabella began her dance studies with Russian Ballet classes. Frustrated by ballet's impossible ideals, and curious about more ethnic dance disciplines, she moved on to study various other dance forms. Moving further east each time, these included Spanish flamenco, Escuela Bolera, Middle Eastern, and East Indian Odissi.

Arabella, based in Toronto, Canada, is also a certified Mastercraftsman in crewel embroidery, with a special passion for metal thread and ethnic embroidery. Currently she particularly focuses on Palestinian and East Indian embroidery.