Now we will start part two of the kameez tutorial.
Here again for reference, the measurements list that you need.
-Measurement one is your chest measurement. Measure across the widest part of your bust, I add about three inches of ease because I like my suits on the loose side.
-Measurement two is what I call the "under bust" measurement. It is roughly 2-3 inches below your bust or about 4-5 inches above your belly button. I also add three inches of ease to this measurement.
-Measurement three is your hips, measure at the widest part. I only add two inches of ease here.
-Measurement four is your sleeve length, measure from the top of your shoulder(where the seam of your shirt sits) to the length that you want and add 3 inches.
-Measurement five is around the widest part of your upper arm. Here also I add three inches ease.
-Measurement six is your wrist, if you want half sleeves measure around the area you want your sleeves to end. If you go for long sleeves, you may want to measure around the widest part of your forearm, to make sure your sleeves are loose enough that you can push them up if you need to.
-Measurement seven is the kameez length. While standing measure from where your shoulder seam is to where you want your kameez to end, then add three inches. I like a finished length of 38", and I am 5'2" tall. The kameez is exactly at the middle of my knee cap. Current fashion in Karachi is longer kameezes, but for my daily wear I try to stick to regular length/fit.
-Measurement eight is your shoulder measurement, just measure from one shoulder seam to the other, and add 2 inches.
Step one is to cut the sleeves, you will need two rectangles. The width should be the number you got for measurement 5(including ease)plus an additional 2 inches for seams. The length should be the number you got from measurement 4 plus three inches. If the original cloth you got for the kameez was only 32" by 96", you may need to join two pieces together to make each of you sleeves wide enough. If you want short sleeves this should not be a problem.
Step two, place the two sleeves with right sides facing each other and fold in half. In the picture below the fold is on the bottom and there are four raw edges at the top. From the bottom left corner, measure a diagonal line across to the raw edges that is nine inches long and mark. Then draw a curved line from the fold side to the raw edges as shown below.
Then cut along the line.
Step three is to hem the sleeves, fold the raw edges to the wrong side half an inch and then fold it over another half an inch. Sew one line of stitches on the fold, and another on the very edge of the sleeve.
Step four, mark the center of the sleeve on the shoulder side. You can kind of see in this picture and the one above where I made a join to widen the sleeves. With my regular suits the cloth comes in a set length, so I end up with joins on almost all of my sleeves, because I don't wear short sleeves. For fancier suits the cloth comes in larger sizes, and I sometimes get a little extra just in case.
Step five, place your kameez front and back together with right sides facing each other. sew a one inch seam across the top of the shoulders, taking care to make sure the neck openings match up.
Step six, place your shirt piece on a flat surface with the right side facing up. Then take one of your sleeves, and place it in the sleeve opening, matching the mark you made with the shoulder seam. Put a pin throught the sleeve and the shoulder seam to hold it in place. Now hold one corner of the sleeve up to the corner of the sleeve opening and pin, do the same for the other corner. Place pins along the sleeve to hold it in place. If your sleeve edges and the edges of the opening don't match up exactly it is not a big deal. I find the easiest way to make sure the sleeves end up even is to start sewing at the shoulder seam and sew to one edge. Then I start again at the shoulder seam and sew to the other edge. Do this for both sleeves.
Turn the shirt to the right side and check the sleeves to make sure there are no weird bumps or anything. If it looks a bit strange, turn back to the wrong side and sew along the seam again, straightening out any strange looking sections. If you have some experience sewing clothes it may be a bit easier to get it right the first time. If you don't have a lot of experience, after the first or second try it gets easier to figure it out.
Step seven, fold the shirt in half with right sides facing in, and mark your sleeve and side seams. Starting at the end of your sleeve using measurement six, measure down from the fold, and mark. I like very wide loose sleeves so I used 6 inches. Repeat for second sleeve.
Step eight, Make one mark at the armpit of the shirt, one inch in from the edge, and then connect that mark with the mark at the wrist. Repeat for second sleeve.
Step nine, you will now mark out your side seams. You should have one line already marked from when you cut the kameez. Mark the opposite side in the same way. Measure across the chest, underbust and hips to make sure that the measurements match your own measurements.
Step ten-Your lines should look like the photo below, starting at the end of your sleeves, sew straight to the armpit, with the needle still down lift the presser foot and turn the cloth. Continue to sew along your line until you hit the mark for the hip, stop and sew backwards over about 1 inch to secure the end. At this point you should try on your kameez to make sure the fit is correct. If you find it too loose or too tight in any area re-sew the seam until it fits the way you want.
Step eleven, Lay your kameez down flat, there should be one inch of cloth on the outside of the hip. From the hip mark to the bottom of the kameez, fold the raw edge in half an inch, and then another half an inch, pin every couple of inches. Be careful not to pin the front to the back. Repeat this folding and pinning on the remaining three edges.
Step twelve- Start on the bottom of the kameez, sew one line on the very edge of the fold, straight up, turn 90 degrees, sew over one inch, again turn 90 degrees and sew straight down to the bottom of the other side. sew a second line on the inner edge straight up one side, and then down the second side. Repeat for the other side of the kameez.
Step thirteen- On the front side fold up the bottom of the kameez half an inch and another half an inch, and sew two lines. One on the fold side and one on the edge of the hem. Repeat for the back of the kameez.
Your kameez is now finished.
If you have any problems or suggestions please leave a comment.
