As I love Steampunk, Victorian and Lolita fashion, one of my favorite accessories is the jabot.
Jabots come in all shape and sizes and there are many different ways of making one. After fiddling around with some lace and cameos, I came up with various types that fit different situations. Here is my personal take on three of the simplest ways of making one. Obviously, you can modify any step or material in this tutorial to fit your needs.
- How to make a Victorian Jabot #1 -
Now, the first step is to acquire your material.
Next, take the fabric for the base and seal the sides that were freshly cut. Usually, you should sew up the edges that could fray to make a seam, but I did say that this was a simple tutorial (and that I was lazy.) Just put your base over the scrap paper so as to not stain your worktable and lightly dab the fresh cuts with the fray-stop bottle.
Use very little and ignore the depicted amounts I accidentally over-poured while taking pictures.
The base I used was cut horizontally from a dress shirt and I left a buttonhole for the top for easy wear with collars and shirts.
Lay out your base somewhere to dry.
Note: it's doesn't matter how shabby the base looks as it will be covered with monster amounts of ruffles, so it's okay to half-ass this part.
Measure about 12" of the ruffle fabric. Cut out strips for as many layers of ruffle you want your jabot to have. The length is really variable here: the fatter you want your ruffles on your jabot the longer the fabric should be.
For this tutorial I chose to have four layers of ruffles so I cut out four strips of 12".
The lace I selected is over 5" in width - which I found too large, so I folded it into a 3" width.
Note: You can chose any width over 3" here, though I recommend using a smaller size if you want more than three layers. You can also play around and have layers in different widths.
- A pair of scissors
- A piece of fabric that you cut into either a rectangular or a trapeze shape for the base. It can be any size, depending on your tastes. I suggest that it should at least be three inches long and two inches large at the top. For this tutorial, I used a 2.5"x6" piece from a ripped dress shirt.
- Lace or Fabric that is at least three inches large for the ruffles. I recommend that you buy a higher quality-looking lace for the best results. A whole outfit can be ruined by the look of cheap synthetic lace as I have seen many times.
- A needle and thread the colour of the lace/fabric you choose.
- A needle and thread the colour of the lace/fabric you choose.
- A fastener for the base. There are many ways to wear your jabot, you can either glue a brooch base for pinning or sew it on a ribbon to tie it around your neck. You'll have to use a glue-gun or epoxy glue if you decide to go for the brooch base. You can also be very lazy and use a safety pin, really. [Not Pictured]
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Here are optional items to get:
- A decoration for the top of the jabot. You can leave it plain (especially worn with a collar) but if you feel like adding extra flourish, a cameo or a ribbon tied in a bow are nice touches. [Not Pictured]
- Fray-stop for the base, if you are as lazy as me/don't have a sewing machine.
- A piece of paper/fabric/anything you don't mind discarding afterwards.
Step 2: Prepping the Base
Use very little and ignore the depicted amounts I accidentally over-poured while taking pictures.
The base I used was cut horizontally from a dress shirt and I left a buttonhole for the top for easy wear with collars and shirts.Lay out your base somewhere to dry.
Note: it's doesn't matter how shabby the base looks as it will be covered with monster amounts of ruffles, so it's okay to half-ass this part.
Step 3: Prepping the Ruffles
Measure about 12" of the ruffle fabric. Cut out strips for as many layers of ruffle you want your jabot to have. The length is really variable here: the fatter you want your ruffles on your jabot the longer the fabric should be.For this tutorial I chose to have four layers of ruffles so I cut out four strips of 12".
The lace I selected is over 5" in width - which I found too large, so I folded it into a 3" width.
Note: You can chose any width over 3" here, though I recommend using a smaller size if you want more than three layers. You can also play around and have layers in different widths.
