As the movie release date approached, more and more videos were surfacing showing the wonderful, luxurious and eclectic designs of the African inspired costumes for The Black Panther movie. I was feeling left out.....
I did not have time to make an over the top outfit with the Ankara fabrics that I've collected. Plus, I'm not ready to cut into them because I have not received my divine inspiration for those pieces yet!
But I did receive some inspiration for this stretch dashiki that I had been holding on to. Just like the Ankara pieces, I was afraid to cut into these two panels, so I've been holding on to them for over a year now.
I decided that I would keep my outfit simple and not arrive to the movie theater as part of the royal family of Zamunda.
I used two panels to create this look. I cut into the "centerpeice" and wanted the length to run along my shoulders instead of down the front and back as we typically see dashikis made. I love having my shoulders exposed! It makes me feel just a tad-bit sexy!
So as I placed the first panel along my shoulders, I knew I would need more length. From the other panel, I cut the borders off, first by cutting the shortest ends off completely. The edges that were once the longer sides, are now the same length as the short. (The photo is a bit distorted and does not show the true size/dimension.)
I attached the pieces together to create the bottom portion of the blouse. There was plenty of room to let it be a loose fitting dashiki style blouse, but I...wanted to feel sexy! I mean, I don't have my shoulders exposed for nothing! And since there's stretch to this fabric, I wouldn't want that function to go to waste!
You can see that I used a stretch stitch on a sewing machine. Nothing fancy. The fabric does not ravel so not a lot of need for finishing the seams. Plus, this top is just for me, and I'm making it during the 11th hour before the movie. But I did finished/hemmed the sleeves and the bottom to 1)create a finished look and 2) because the back of the fabric is white and I didn't want it to be so prominent. I did not finish the neckline because I wanted the details of the fabric to show, and the fabric does not ravel.
To accessorize, I also created the necklace and bracelet.
I posted my pictures in some facebook groups and SO many people were in love with the neckline. I am very surprised that I was unable to find ANY images online with a similar use. So dare I say it? That I did something new and unique? That I have changed the look of the dashiki?! That I can be a trend setter?!?!? That I Took Fashion Into My Own Hands?!?!?!? Yeap....I am saying it!
Thanks for reading guys!
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