So you have decided you
want to make your own Mongolian clothing. If you have done any
research on the subject, you will find numerous patterns on how to
make the Mongolian coat commonly referred to as a deel or terlig. The only real difference between deel and the terlig is materials and complexity. Terligs are made from light materials and are unadorned, while deels are made from heavier and/or fancier materials. Terligs are often worn under a deel.
The same garment is also called a jama in Mughal culture. 1 For simplicity we will refer to the Mongolin coat as a deel through the rest of this document. The form of deel this tutorial covers is the simplest form which is not pleated. By the time of the Yuan Dynasty, it was very common for the lower portion of the deel to be pleated. 2 Instruction on the construction a pleated deel will be providing in a future tutorial. The design of the deel evolved in many way of the after the disintegration of the Mongolian Empire. The image below shows the influence of deel in Asian couture during the Middle Ages. 3
The problem deel patterns available is that they range from slightly confusing to downright head scratching. The final pattern from which my own deel making methodology has derived was more than a little confusing to me at first. It took taking a class explaining how to construct this pattern to finally drive home how it was done. Since then I have constructed a fair number of deels with varying levels of success. I have slightly modified the way a deel is made to make the job a lot easier. The end result is the same, with a lot less headaches during construction.
The same garment is also called a jama in Mughal culture. 1 For simplicity we will refer to the Mongolin coat as a deel through the rest of this document. The form of deel this tutorial covers is the simplest form which is not pleated. By the time of the Yuan Dynasty, it was very common for the lower portion of the deel to be pleated. 2 Instruction on the construction a pleated deel will be providing in a future tutorial. The design of the deel evolved in many way of the after the disintegration of the Mongolian Empire. The image below shows the influence of deel in Asian couture during the Middle Ages. 3
The problem deel patterns available is that they range from slightly confusing to downright head scratching. The final pattern from which my own deel making methodology has derived was more than a little confusing to me at first. It took taking a class explaining how to construct this pattern to finally drive home how it was done. Since then I have constructed a fair number of deels with varying levels of success. I have slightly modified the way a deel is made to make the job a lot easier. The end result is the same, with a lot less headaches during construction.
The first clarification we
must make is what the period deel looks like. The majority of modern
deel's look fairly different to how the standard deel would have looked
during Chingus's time. Most modern deels have a front flap which goes
across the chest, and then dips down sharply at the ties on the right
side near the right arm in either a rectilinear or (more commonly)
curved fashion, often held in place with frogs as seen in the image above. The actual design of
this will very based on both tribe and region. The exception to this
design, is the deel of the Kazakh
from the extreme Western Mongolia. The design they use today is
almost identical to extant examples of the unpleated deels from the Yuan period and
earlier. Period deels have an inner panel which
angles from the right and ties to the left inside of the outer panel.
The outer panel is the exact inverse of the inner panel. The
pictures included illustrate this far better than the description. 4
You
will need the following measurements to make your deel:
Loose
arms eye:
Widest
point on the torso:
Length
from shoulder to knee, mid calf or high ankle:
Back
of neck:
Duck
hand:
Loose
Bicep:
Length
from shoulder to knuckles:
Step
1:
Cut
out three identical rectangles. This will be the back, left front
and right front panels. These will be as wide as ½ of your torso
measurement. You may need the front or back panels larger depending
on body type. This will is only discovered from experience. The
length will be your shoulder to desired length measurement. Don't
forget to add a 5/8-3/4” seam allowance on each side and the top,
and an inch or two hem allowance on the bottom. Seam allowance will
vary due to material type or, in my case, skill, or lack there of.
:-)
Step
2: Cut your arms. For short sleeves make a trapezoid with widths of
the arms eye and the bicep measurements with the length being an inch
or two shy of the elbow. For long sleeves, take the arms eye to
bicep trapezoid shape and extend out a second trapezoid from the
bicep end to a total length of the shoulder to knuckle ratio with the
knuckle end being as wide as the duck hand measurement.
Step
3: Mark off half the neck measurement each direction the center of
one of the top of one of your rectangular panels. This will be the
back of the del. Sew each of the top of the front panels front the
outside panel to the corresponding neck mark in the middle of the
back panel.
Step
4: Sew the arms eye measurement section of the sleeve open to the top
of the front and back panels of each side of the main body of the
deel. Once they are attached to the main body of the deel, sew the
sleeves shut starting at the arms eye and sewn to the wrist.
Step 5: Try on your unfinished deel and mark where your hip points are on the panels and measure from there to the bottom of the panel. This will get you your gore length. Cut four gores. On me, they are a 28”-29” x 14” right angle. If you are taller, you may need a longer gore. The width should be around half the height. For shorter deels, you may need a shorter gore following the half width rule with a minimum width of 12”. The whole idea is for the top of the gore to be at the hip point.
Step
6: Sew the gores to the bottom panels of the deel. The back panel
gets gores on both sides. The left front panel gets one on the right
side and the right front panel gets one on the left. The gore is
attached by it's longer right angle side. Once the gores are attached, hem the gores along the hypotenuse.
Step
7: Sew entire length of bias tape together on both sides and then cut
the tape into eight even sections.
Step
8: Sew the back panel to each of the front panels from the gores all
the way to the sleeves. Your will need to sew two straps to each of
these side stitches. The strap's length is on the inside on the left
side of the garment, and on the outside of the right. The top strap
can be placed anywhere from two inches from the arm pit to a hands
distance depending on the cross angle you want. The larger the
breasts size in women, the higher that strap will need to be from my
experience. The bottom strap should be around a hands width distance
from the top of the gores. You kind of have to intuit this part, so
doing a mock up your first time is not a bad thing.
Step
9: Hem the sides of each of the front panels.
Step
10: Fold the corners of the front panels inside from the neck to
where a tie can be attached to tie to it's partner on the opposite
side to create a diagonal. Safety pin the bottom of the diagonal to
the base of the top tie on the side to make sure the angle and fit is
right. Pin the fold in place and then sew it together about
3/8”-1/2” from the fold. Cut off all but 2”-3” of the excess
from the corner. Fold the materiel underneath to the sew line and
then sew in place to create a hem. Do the right to left panel first
and then rinse and repeat with the left to right panel.
Step
11: Hem back of neck slightly overlapping into the hem of the
diagonals.
Step
12: Attach the straps to the sides of the front panels. The top one
goes about an inch from the corner with the diagonal cut and the the
bottom one goes a matching distance from the top gore as the
corresponding straps sewn into the side.
Step
13: (Optional) Cut
a curve along the base of each panel using the curves from a
patterning cutting board.
This will keep the bottom of your del from having gore points.
Step
14: Hem the bottom and sleeves of your deel.
Following these steps will make you a very basic deel. Keep posted for an upgrade section to this article for instructions on how to add high collars, horse hoof cuffs, and general commentary on ways to vary from this basic deel design.
1. Author Unknown, "Difference Between Mongolian Coats Terleg and Deel," November 29, 2017
http://nationalclothing.org/asia/57-mongolia/177-difference-between-mongolian-coats-terleg-and-deel.html
2. Ildiko Oka, "Mongol Clothing in the Yuan Period," Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hung. Volume 68 2015, Pages 385–414
3. Woohyun Cho, Jaeyoon Yi, Jinyoung Kim, "The Dress of the Mongol Empire: Genealogy and Diaspora of the Terlig," Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hung. Volume 68, 2015, Pages 269–279
4. Ildiko Oka, "Mongol Clothing in the Yuan Period," Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hung. Volume 68 2015, Pages 385–414
Updated April 23, 2019
Citations
http://nationalclothing.org/asia/57-mongolia/177-difference-between-mongolian-coats-terleg-and-deel.html
2. Ildiko Oka, "Mongol Clothing in the Yuan Period," Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hung. Volume 68 2015, Pages 385–414
3. Woohyun Cho, Jaeyoon Yi, Jinyoung Kim, "The Dress of the Mongol Empire: Genealogy and Diaspora of the Terlig," Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hung. Volume 68, 2015, Pages 269–279
4. Ildiko Oka, "Mongol Clothing in the Yuan Period," Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hung. Volume 68 2015, Pages 385–414
Updated April 23, 2019