Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Kimono Sewing Patterns

First of all, thanks for y'all's input! I'll keep it in mind as I write this month's entries. :)

Tonight I'd like to mention some kimono patterns for my fellow sewers out there, or folks with really nice friends/family who sew, anyway ;).  Making your own kimono can be a good idea if you're after a very specific color or pattern for a costume, if you're too small or big for most vintage kimono or as a hands-on way of learning more about them.

Recommended:
Japanese Kimono Pattern: Folkwear 113(shown on right here)
Simplicity Sewing Pattern 4080 (I've seen some people complain about fine details of the accuracy of this one, but it's a big step above the next two if you can't get ahold of the Folkwear one)

Not recommended, as construction is sort of in the right ballpark but missing major features like proper seams that would come from a narrow bolt of fabric, obi are wonky, weird fabric choices, etc.:
McCall's M4953
Butterick B6698

As a note, beyond the question of accuracy I don't actually recommend sewing kimono as a way to save money on them in general. For example, if you make a cotton yukata (summer kimono), by the time you buy the yardage in a decent quality cotton and spend the time making it, you might as well buy a real one off of the Net as your cost is going to end up about the same.

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