Hi Everyone! Paj ntaub cog ci is trending again and I’m ecstatic! This outfit took me so long to make! I finished just in time to wear it to Hmong New Year. Honestly, it’s worth buying over making since I spent so much time sewing on sequins. Unlike the other outfits in my Hmong Outfit Series, this outfit doesn’t belong to a specific region. Paj ntaub cog ci was popular in the late 80’s and 90’s and showcases a period of innovation, transition, and adaptation.
:: Paj Ntaub Cog Ci ::
My cousin’s outfit reminded me of the outfits that I wore when I was younger. I had various Hmong outfits made out of the Thai skirt fabric material and I wanted to make an outfit that had elements of the past, incorporated my favorite colors, and that was more fitted.
Photographer:: Tou Yang
Paj ntaub cog ci consists of embroidery and sequins. There are different patterns – some with more embroidery than others. Sequins are applied in the empty spaces. Sometimes lace is added on top of the borders surrounding the embroidery. I chose to omit the lace to have the blue stand out. I also took out the little triangles for two main reasons – I’m lazy and I don’t like them poking me. The outfit looks clean, simple, and there’s more focus on the blue and sequins.
I made my shirt the traditional style just not as loose. This was because I thought that the fitted style with princess seams would be more difficult. Since it would require me to align the diamonds at every seam and I had a limited amount of fabric to use.Then, I ran into another problem with the print of the fabric. I wanted the diamonds to run vertical and not horizontal because it give the illusion of being slimmer and if it ran horizontal I would look wider. So in the end I still had to align the diamonds. Usually with traditional shirts there isn’t a seam across the shoulders but if you look really closely on my shirt you can see the seam. I didn’t really care about the pattern matching super closely where I attached the sleeves though.
Originally I wanted a 3/4 sleeve shirt but I made the mistake of cutting too much off of my sleeve embroidery. Do you see a trend here? This entire process was a cycle of failure and compromise with way more patience than I thought I possessed. So I had to settle for a long sleeve shirt. Additionally, I made the shirt a little to small for me. Despite the mistakes along the way, I’m super excited to wear this outfit to Hmong New Year. I’m pairing it with the hat that I featured in this post.
:: Outfit Details ::
Sequin Outfit
Phuam
Crossroads by Nancy White Pleated Skirt (37 X17.5)
:: Photography ::
Thank you for reading! I can’t wait to show the finished princess hat that I made to go with this outfit too. I’ll showcase it with a different outfit though. Something that is different than what I usually go for. I’m trying to stay away from sequins for a while squeezing in some last minute projects before the year is over because I won’t be able to sew for a while.
