Making a 'Loin Cloth'

I had been researching pictures of Celtic Women, but all I could really find were pictures modern art depictions.

Most of the ones that had jumped out at me for inspiration for an item of clothing were the ones that had featured a sort of loin cloth. It looked like a good way to cover up the model whilst still having the legs out, allowing me to paint them.

(Napier, 2012)

(fanshare, 2013)

(Anon, 2012)

These images inspired me to create something very similar, but not as detailed (as I'm not a costume designer!) and also because the bodypaint will be very detailed. 

I went to the market and purchased some teal cotton, leatherette, and some weighting. This was the cheapest place to buy the material and came out with a lot more than I needed in case something went wrong and I needed to make another piece. 

Unfortunately I was concentrating so hard on sewing that I didn't take any step by step photos! I started by holding a measuring tape up to myself to figure out roughly how long and wide I wanted the front and back piece to be. It didn't matter if it wan't custom made to the model because I planned to tie each side together.

I cut out the leatherette pieces and doubled them up to make them stronger and thicker. This was the basic structure for the rest of the skirt to be sewn on to. 

I cut some cotton to create the front part of the loin cloth, and created a little pleat. I pinned it on before sewing to keep the shape. 

I also used a glue gun to attach these three spine bones that I had purchased as a set from eBay (see blog post: moodboard: crows and skulls) because I thought that it looked a bit boring without them, and also distracted the eye away from my bad sewing!

For the back piece, the cloth is slightly wider, and also includes feathers for a bit more coverage. Again I attached a bone to the back to make use of the set I had purchased, and also because it looks more interesting. 

I tried to neaten the edges of the cloth by folding them behind and stitching them as shown in the above picture. the stitches are virtually invisible from the front. I also sewn in some weighting at the bottom and folded it up, to help prevent the fabric being too floaty when the model is walking, in case it wraps around her legs!

Anon. (2012). 83a68b88affb41b719f75b73829d9cfb.jpg (JPEG Image, 498 × 750 pixels) - Scaled (49%). [Online]. Available at: http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/83/a6/8b/83a68b88affb41b719f75b73829d9cfb.jpg [Accessed: 10 May 2014].

fanshare. (2013). Celtic Warrior Woman Sword And Armor Tattoos. Fans Share. [Online]. Available at: http://fansshare.com/topic/tattoos/1523092/celtic-warrior-woman-sword-and-armor-tattoos/ [Accessed: 10 May 2014].

Napier, G. (2012). The Art Blog of Gordon Napier: Warrior Women. Dashinvaine. [Online]. Available at: http://dashinvaine.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/warrior-women.html [Accessed: 10 May 2014].