This article is a supplemental part of Hanfu Making(2) - Aoqun Cutting & Sewing Patterns.
Together with a series of pictures on making a Ma Mian Qun (马面裙, horse face skirt), it will analyze the structure of Ma Mian Qun and mainly explain how to calculate the pleat width of a Ma Mian Qun. All dimensions are in centimeters (cm).
"The data in this article does not take into account the seam allowance, you need to leave 1cm+ space in the seam allowance when you are actually making the dress."
1. About fabric
prepare 6 identical pieces of fabric with a width of 60cm and a length that combines your actual needs.
Sew 3 pieces together into one piece of fabric with a width of 180cm.
Since the most fabric used for making Hanfu is about 150cm wide. So it needs to be pieced together to achieve a longer width.
Please note the distinction between the horizontal and vertical directions of the fabric. You can choose a fabric with a nice print for your skirt and it is easier to confirm if it is in the right direction.
2. Structure of the Ma Mian Qun
Ma Mian (马面, skirt door, ①): Each Ma Mian Qun has four skirt doors. When put on, two skirt doors can be seen in the front and back. When laid flat, three skirt doors can be seen.
①=skirt door, ②=pleats
Zhe (褶, pleats, ②): The skirt door is connected to the skirt door by pleats.
For the skirt part of the Ma Mian Qun, two identical skirt pieces need to be made separately and then spliced together. Each piece has 2 skirt doors (Ma Mian) + pleats (Zhe) sections. When piecing together, overlap two of the Ma Mian and sew them together at the skirt head section.
3. Data needed to make a Ma Mian Qun
- Waist circumference: obtained by measurement, it can usually be added 3-5cm to the original data.
- Width of the skirt door: usually 20-24cm, depending on personal preference.
- The number of pleats: depends on personal preference. Currently, the Ma Mian Qun sold by Hanfu merchants, with most 4.5m/6m skirt hem, which means more pleats.
- Width of each pleat (both sides/single side): needs to be determined by a simple calculation.
In this article, a set of numbers will be assumed to simulate the calculation process to fit the quoted picture.
- Waist circumference: 66cm.
- Width of the skirt door: 27cm.
- The number of pleats: 4 pairs / 8 pleats (each piece).
4. How to calculate the width of the pleats
Based on the three known data: the width of the pleats part can be calculated as follows.
Width of the pleats part (2 piece) = 66cm-27cm-27cm = 12cm
Width of the pleats part (each piece) = 12cm/2 = 6cm
Total width of a single skirt piece = 27+6+27 = 60cm
Total width of two skirt piece = the width of skirt = 27+6+27+6+27 = 93cm
5. How to hide the pleats
The prepared fabric is 180cm wide, the fabric needs to be "hidden" by pleating.
The width of the fabric to be pleated = 180cm-27cm-27cm = 126cm
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Detail of pleats (②)
Among these 126 cm, only 6 cm will be shown in the skirt, the rest 120 cm will be "hidden" in the pleats.
Red is the hidden part, Green is the shown part
We have assumed that the number of one side pleats is 4 pairs / 8 pleats, so we can calculate (one side):
- The total width of the hidden part of the pleats = 126-6=120cm
- The width of hidden part of a single pleat = 120/8 = 15cm
- The width of show part of a single pleat = 6/8 = 0.75cm
- The width of each pleat is = 15+0.75 = 15.75cm
Of course, do not forget that this is only one side, the other side of the skirt is also the same data. The position of the pleats can be recorded with chalk first to facilitate the subsequent ironing process.
Once the pleats are formed, the next step is the sewing of the skirt to the skirt head and tie.
The data mentioned in this article can only be used as a reference, please adjust it according to your actual needs during the making.
We hope this article has helped in your Ma Mian Qun making. Feel free to discuss with us in the comment section.
Hi! I made 2 mamianqun (first one for me and the other to my friend) and i want to share my experience (i'll give my best since english is not my native language) 1- The pleats: I had a ??? moment doing the pleats, if u want X pair of pleats between the front an back doors: add 1 pair more. As shown in the drawings, the front and back doors counts as a "pleat", so if u do the math for 8 pleats, u will end with 6 pleats between the doors. 2- Fabric width: The first time i cut 2 pieces of 180cm BUT as i did the sides and bottom hem, i ended with 176cm (i did the math with that final width). The second time i cut the 2 pieces with the hem allowance so i could work with the 180cm. 3- FABRIC CHOICE AND PLEATS: If u don't like to iron: choose a polyester fabric. My friend doesn't even have an iron, so i went to every fabric store and scrunch those baddies until i found one that doesn't wrinkle, that skirt has 6 months and pleats are still there. I don't mind having to iron so the first one i made it with a cotton fabric... It's a pain in the a**. Not bc it wrinkles easily, but bc pleats don't last even a day. So to avoid fixing and ironing the pleats everytime i wanted to them to really show, i just did a top-stich about 2mm from the edge in front and back folds. I'll try to update if that worked. Oh, and i also added POCKETS. I did a vertical "welt pocket" inside the center pleat, a big one so i could carry my phone and something else lol
This is SUCH a useful article! Now I think I know enough to make a mock-up qun using my own measurements.
This is really helping but I can't find the length of the ribbon that ties the skirt
Thank you for this! I've been searching a guide to make hanfu for a long time!