Below the cut is how I made the Devil’s trap skirt:

DISCLAIMER: I am not a good dressmaker. Or one at all really. Nor a great explainer. BUT I’ll try my best to do this. (oh also I should probably mention that the devil’s trap is from/used in Supernatural, which I surprisingly do not own)

Materials I used:

Black Fabric (I used polycotton for the main skirt and then it has a lining which I believe is 100% polyester lining material. BUT If you choose a fabric that doesn’t fray you won’t have to hem it. My fabric was width 1.15m, length 1.5m - you need more than a square so there’s fabric for the waistband)

White ribbon (this is 7mm width, and I used somewhere between 11m and 13m. The star&circle took almost 10m alone. Not sure what material but just don’t get anything too stretchy)

Black thread & white thread (I was probably using cotton thread)

Black Zip (~18cm)

popper or hook-and-eye

interfacing

Sewing materials: sewing machine (with standard and zipper foots), dressmaker’s chalk, measuring tape, LOTS of pins, scissors (straight and pinking shears)

I also used some of that tracing papers stuff to draw out the design to scale.

Instructions:

To make the skirt I used this tutorial. However a few people said it wasn’t very detailed and of course it doesn’t include the devil’s trap so the stuff below is expanding on that tutorial.

For the skirt:

Dimensions: This skirt was cut with a 10.7cm waist radius (inc. 1cm for seam allowance) and 45cm length (inc. hem allowance). the trap circle is about 38cm from the waist. Remember if you’re doing a longer skirt you’ll need more ribbon. [ETA: I’m ~5'7"/167cm and it hung from waist to mid-thigh, maybe a little lower]

This skirt was cut with a 10.7cm waist radius (inc. 1cm for seam allowance) and 45cm length (inc. hem allowance). the trap circle is about 38cm from the waist. Remember if you’re doing a longer skirt you’ll need more ribbon. [ETA: I’m ~5'7"/167cm and it hung from waist to mid-thigh, maybe a little lower] Drawing the pattern: I used the pattern paper to make sure the devil’s trap would fit properly on the size circle I was using, but then to cut the fabric I drew the chalk lines straight onto the folded fabric and cut. Also when you’re drawing onto the fabric it helps to have a second person - one to hold everything straight and move round the line and one to draw the circle.

I used the pattern paper to make sure the devil’s trap would fit properly on the size circle I was using, but then to cut the fabric I drew the chalk lines straight onto the folded fabric and cut. Also when you’re drawing onto the fabric it helps to have a second person - one to hold everything straight and move round the line and one to draw the circle. Waistband: when you attach the waistband to the skirt: I cut out little v shapes (less than 1cm deep) every 5cm-ish around the inner circle of the skirt. This makes it easier to stretch each section to lie straight, then pin it all and sew it down a section at a time - basically making it easier to sew a straight line and circle together.

when you attach the waistband to the skirt: I cut out little v shapes (less than 1cm deep) every 5cm-ish around the inner circle of the skirt. This makes it easier to stretch each section to lie straight, then pin it all and sew it down a section at a time - basically making it easier to sew a straight line and circle together. Also , we sewed it it one edge of the waistband (interfacing side), then folded it other and basted it down. We went back and sewed it properly later on when we were inserting the lining

, we sewed it it one edge of the waistband (interfacing side), then folded it other and basted it down. We went back and sewed it properly later on when we were inserting the lining Hemming: If you are hemming, we used this tutorial. Make sure the stitches aren’t to small or it’s harder to gather them. If you chose a non-fraying fabric you have the joy of not having to hem! (and hemming a circle was a bitch so I’d recommend that.)

If you are hemming, we used this tutorial. Make sure the stitches aren’t to small or it’s harder to gather them. If you chose a non-fraying fabric you have the joy of not having to hem! (and hemming a circle was a bitch so I’d recommend that.) For the lining: Cut it shorter than the skirt, either at first or later on when you know how long the skirt is post-hemming. I didn’t hem the lining, but I cut it with pinking shears which should be enough to stop it fraying. The lining got sewn into the skirt by where the zip goes folding the fabric under and sewing in to the zip, and at the waist unbasting the waistband, putting it inside, then sewing the band down properly.

Fastening: Although it’s already a whole circle, you will need to cut a line through it so you can do the seam-and-zip thing in the tutorial. With the lining we just cut a line down as long as the zip was. Then I used black poppers instead of a hook-and-eye since they were to hand. I used two because the waistband was too long (I also chopped off a lot. we didn’t measure it when we did it). Whilst sewing on the poppers I also sewed down the ends of the folded waistband.





For the Devil’s Trap:

I used this and this image for reference

Initial drawing: When I drew it on paper I started with the circle then marked where the star points would go with the help of a protractor - the points are at 72 degree angles from each other

When I drew it on paper I started with the circle then marked where the star points would go with the help of a protractor - the points are at 72 degree angles from each other Transferring design to skirt: When I drew it on the skirt I used the measuring tape to measure 38cm out from the waistband and drew a series of marks in chalk for the circle. I then placed the paper design over the top to show where the points should roughly go and marked the points on the fabric with crosses. (oh yeah, at this point we had already cut the seam and basted it back together, but not sewn it properly.)

When I drew it on the skirt I used the measuring tape to measure 38cm out from the waistband and drew a series of marks in chalk for the circle. I then placed the paper design over the top to show where the points should roughly go and marked the points on the fabric with crosses. (oh yeah, at this point we had already cut the seam and basted it back together, but not sewn it properly.) I then roughly pinned out the circle and star with the ribbon, using one continuous piece for each (technically I used opposite ends of the same 10m piece of ribbon, then when I knew how much the star would take but that end off with some to spare). Start at the seam each time. My mum figured out a fancy way to fold the corners of the star so the ribbon was always the same way up (but this ribbon looked the same on both sides anyway)

I then made adjustments to the lines since they were a little off from even. Furthermore, leave some slack by the seam - have the ends of the star bit of ribbon there, and where a line of the star crosses over pin about an inch of slack. when you sew in the zip and seam proper you can sew these bits into the seam stitching.

Order: I sewed in the star before the seam, and then did the circle after the hem. (the original plan was to sew down the circle and hem at the same time, though after we found the hemming technique we used we did it after instead) to keep it circular i used A LOT of pins and you just have to go slow with the machine taking pins out as you go.

I sewed in the star before the seam, and then did the circle after the hem. (the original plan was to sew down the circle and hem at the same time, though after we found the hemming technique we used we did it after instead) to keep it circular i used A LOT of pins and you just have to go slow with the machine taking pins out as you go. I unpinned the circle before I sewed on the star and redid it. When I repinned it I used a pin of the right length as a guide to keep it equidistant from the edge of the skirt. this actually meant some of the points didn’t meet it, so I sneakily folded a bit up to meet the tip of the point and sewed those down later (the sewing machine didn’t like it much though - may be better to hand stitch those little bits.)

because I wasn’t sure I’d have time for them, I did the symbols after the skirt was fully made. This again required a lot of folding and pinning; I simplified some by leaving out the short lines or v shapes at the ends of the main lines. Also, after the first one the sewing machine decided it hated me so the others are sewn down by hand, using backstitch in a zigzag line (with improvised extra stitching around corners).

Hopefully this helps! Sorry I’m no pro. If you have questions message me (though if it’s about dressmaking techniques google is probably a better resource). If people do actually make these I’d love to see them, just tag me or submit or something?

Also, I’ll just say again that of course I can’t force you to do anything, but it would be quite nice if you credit the devil’s-trap-on-a-skirt idea back to me. (because I’m proud of it. so please?)

And have fun catching demons, remember to wear shorts underneath if you’re going to whip it off!

I personally avoided that when I ran into a Meg cosplayer:

(that’s the start of the latin exorcism written on my arms btw. full on inanimate object cosplay)