Heather
Materials:
1 yd Silver Pleather
1 roll of paper towels
1 bottle of acrylic black paint
1 base miniskirt (any color, any kind)
Elastic
Gray thread (quilter's thread -highly- suggested)
Newspaper
Pencil/Pen/Sharpie
Scissors
Sewing pins
If you don't have a base skirt, or just don't want to buy one and would rather make one out of scrap material, please see my tutorial [here] for how to make a -very- basic elastic-waist skirt.
Making the scales:
For this you'll need your pencil/pen/sharpie, and some newspaper. You'll want to grab a reference picture and figure out how you want the scales to look. I did a basic "L" shape with a straight line on the other side. The shapes are pretty organic in nature, and I only made 3 that I used over and over again. Once you decide on the basic shape, it'll be a good idea to make a "Skirt Map".
It's blurry, but I think you can figure out the numbers.
There are 7 that you can see from the front, not including the chainmail-esque looking "scale" on her right side.
Cut out about 7, which will cover only the front, and hem all the edges. It'll make it look nicer.
Next, get your black paint, some paper towels (you'll need 2-3 per scale) and a small bowl of water. You wont need much water, just enough to cover the bottom of the bowl.
Take one paper towel and fold it into a square. Pour a good amount of paint on it. Take another and fold it into a square again, and, using it like a paintbrush, paint the scale black. Immediately get another towel and get it wet and wipe off the paint. It will not come off completely, but it will make it look worn and weathered.
Here's an idea of what it will look like when its all done. This process takes less than a minute.
This will also make each scale look unique too~ The pleather will remain shiny and will not get hard or stiff.
The best part about these is that it will act more like armored plating than fabric! Except for when you sit of course.
If you -must- iron these, please spray the underside (with the cotton) with water and iron VERY QUICKLY or the foil will melt. I know this from experience. Only iron for 3 seconds at a time and let cool off before doing it again.
Another example of what the scales look like before (Right) and after (left) the painting process.
Not much difference but it makes it look less "cartoonish".
After that you just sew everything on the skirt.
Heather via How to Train Your Dragon Wiki. Digital image. How to Train Your Dragon Wiki. Dreamworks, n.d. Web. June-July 2016.
