I bet that all of you out there read my blog about Tecumseh and said to yourself: "That dude seems like an awesome ninja guy, I want dress like him," but then you were like: "OH no, I don't know how to make myself look like this cool guy!" And so I am going to show you exactly how to make your wardrobe match Tecumseh's!
Cool?
So we start off with the headpiece:
What you need to create the headpiece:
A red square of fabric, with the measurements
30cm base and 23 cm height.
You will later cut off the sides of the square on an angle, creating a triangle.
Yarn:
Orange Yarn, White yarn, and a thinner yarn that can be two colours, I used a skinny orange yarn that had little pieces of white thread sewn in, and finally lots of brown yarn.
The brown yarn will be used for the hair, so you can use as much as you
see fit. For the orange yarn, depending on the size of your head you will need 5 strands that are between 75cm and 90cm.
Depending on how much you would like to see used, the orange/white yarn can be as long as you like. However you shall need one strand that is about 10 cm long. This strand will be used for the design on the back of the hat.
The white yarn will be used also for the design. You will need one strand that is 36cm long, one that is 28cm long and finally one that is 18 cm long.
Also, lots of hot glue, (& a glue gun!) as well as an optional needle and thread. Sometimes I find it easier to just use the glue gun if you are not going to be paying much close attention to the smaller details, but by all means feel free to use a needle and thread if you want your Tecumseh to look more professional.
Now if you see on the picture above, the orange yarn is used to hold the hat onto your head, bandanna style. Hold the 5 strands together and carefully loop a large strand of the orange/white yarn around it as many or as little times as you like. This will hold the orange yarn together. Glue or sew the orange yarn onto the top of the bandanna ( the flat part opposite the tip of the triangle), leaving plenty hanging loose on the sides in order to tie it at the back of your head.
The back of the bandanna:
This is where you use the carefully measured white yarn and orange/white strand. Starting with the biggest strand, the 36 cm one, arrange it in a pattern of your choice. I chose to use a triangle/arrow pattern, with the tips of my triangle/arrows pointing to the tip on the triangle of the bandanna.
The Hair!
As I said before, using as much brown yarn as you like, you can place it strategically so it looks like Tecumseh Hair. I chose to place my yarn at the front sides of the bandanna. It gives the illusion that you have Tecumseh hair even though it is only a bit at the front. If you have lots of time on your hands and you would like to have Tecumseh hair around your whole head, you would to the same as you would for just the illusion:
Cut the hair up into clumps, maybe 40cm long per strand and maybe 2 dozen strands per clump. Tie each clump together with a little piece of yarn at the very top. Double knot it, we don't want this hair falling apart. Lay your bandanna down on a hard surface, with the design side down. Remember how we glued/sewed the orange bandana holder onto the side opposite the point? Well that is where you glue/sew the hair, except on the underside of the bandanna. You should glue/sew the top of the hair right under the area where the orange thread is, if the orange thread was on the underside. Please remember to glue/sew it on the UNDERSIDE, not on the same side as the orange thread.
And that is pretty much it. If you have other materials, like wooden beads, feathers, or earthy toned felt, you can add it on as part of the design. Really, there are no limits here, as long as the headpiece comes out looking somewhat like something Tecumseh would wear.
Now the vest:
I had this vest at home, in my costume box, but if you don't have a costume you can make your own using a simple black vest or sweater and just embellish it with bits of felt, scraps of fabric, etc. I am sure that you would be able to find something like this at a thrift shop or a costume shop as well.
Just look at the unique details on the buttons!
And so that's all! I think that you have all of the tools you need to succeed! Have fun becoming Tecumseh!!!!!