How to Make a Toga

Making a toga is quite possibly the easiest item of clothing you can make. While many people assume that the best way to make this classic Roman outfit is with a sheet, it should only be made with cloth from a fabric store, as you uncut fabric is much less expensive and can be used to make some amazing toga designs that will impress your friends, family, and fellow fraternity members.

What You’ll Need

There is really only one item that you need in order to make a toga - the cloth that you will use. The only question is: how much cloth do you need to purchase? To answer this question, you need to determine how long you want your toga to be and how much draping you desire. If you are tall or if you want a lot of draping, you should purchase approximately six yards. Five yards is perfect for most average sized people who want a lot of draping, but if you want a tight toga or if you are smaller in stature, you should go with approximately four yards.

Once you have selected your fabric size, you should fold the cloth over at the seams and stitch the folded cloth together. This will allow your fabric to stay nice and not fray over time or with heavy use. At this time, you can also choose to color your fabric in whatever design you want.

Putting on your Toga

The next step to making a toga is to wrap it around your body. Start by wrapping the fabric around your body at least one and a half times. Then throw the rest over your shoulder, bring it back around to the back of your body, and clip it there with a safety pin or some other retention device so that it drapes nicely over the front of your body. Depending on your height and the width of the fabric you purchased, you the bottom of the toga around your midsection should be located between your knees and your ankles for a proper fit. Women may also want to use ropes or a belt to tie their toga close to their body for a tighter fit that will reduce the chance of accidental nudity.

You can wear whatever you want underneath your toga, but the most common choice is some sort of undergarment such as boxer shorts or traditional briefs. Furthermore, for the complete toga look, you can also accessorize your design with beaded jewelry, gilded bracelets, acanthus tiaras, and various fancy clips and pins that look Romanesque in origin.