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My Broken Process for Making a Kimono - Part 2 Project Analysis and Patterns

 My plan is to make a total of 4 kimono. 2 are cosplay kimono and 2 are original designs. 

I am taking a different approach to these (and any future kimono) than I did with the Wisteria Fox project. Recently I sent images of it to fellow kimono stylists for feedback and got some helpful advice. I also got access to a Patreon video for tailoring kimono from bolt to finished product. Haven't had a chance to watch it yet, been busy with Halloween and Dance Comp dress which I finally got in the mail! I'm sure it will give me even more insight than I have now. But, I need to get this post out of my head and onto the digital paper. 

So, first, if you want to make a kimono, These are the 3 videos I recommend you start with from Billy Matsunaga

  1. Ultimate Kimono Measuring Guide (video)
  2. Make an Authentic Kimono (the easy way) - Video (Men's Version)
  3. How to Put on Kimono by Yourself - (video)
From there, it makes following these patterns and sewing tutorials a bit easier: 
After the inspiration, theme, or deciding on the character, this is the general outline of what I need to know to get started. This is great for analyzing a character's kimono, it's a little different if you're making an original design. Some of the questions or decisions may seem horribly obvious. 
  1. Determine if you are making a male or female kimono.
    1. This makes a big difference on what measurements you need
  2. Level of Formality
    1. Is it for a special event with expected customs and rules like a wedding or funeral?
    2. Female: How tall can the sleeves be based on age or marital status
    3. What kind of prints or images are on the kimono and where are they placed?
    4. Are Kamon (Family Crests) included?
    5. Female: How wide is the obi?
  3. Seasonality/Weather
    1. Is the garment lined or not?
    2. What material or fabric is the main kimono made from? (This also ties into formality, btw).
    3. Does it follow the common color and motif associated with a season?
  4. Accessories Needed
    1. Does the wearer require padding? 
    2. Does it need a nagajuban or hanjuban?
    3. What style of obi goes with this? 
    4. Will the obi include the Obi-age, an obi jime or obi dome?
    5. Does it need a haori (jacket)?
    6. Will it include hakama?
    7. What kind of footwear does it need? Tabi? Zori? Setta? Geta? 
    8. Any hair accessories?
    9. Does it have/need any handheld accessories?
  5. Other personal details
    1. Am I going to make my own printed fabric? 
    2. Will I follow Western coloration suggestions to make sure I'm in "my season" color family when picking fabric?
    3. Do I need to make adjustments due to some aspect of performance? (i.e. I need to include a false arm and manipulate a puppet.) 
After going through all this I will know what measurements I need, how much fabric to buy, and what kinds of fabric would be appropriate. It should be obvious but, you can just find fabric you like and start making a kimono from there and answer these questions later to determine if it is formal or semi-formal. 

The 4 6 Kimono Projects

These are the planned projects: 2 4 Demon Slayer inspired kimono and 2 original designs. For the cosplay, I'm planning on making Ruka Rengoku's Yukata/Sleeping Kimono:

This haori-hakama male kimono based on some alternative/promo/fun side art of Kyojuro Rengoku:
I swore I wouldn't cosplay him. Not doing the hair.
I also decided to go ahead an make Ruka's pink pregnancy kimono and Shinjuro Renogoku's Demon Slaying Kimono.
Both of these outfits. 

For the original stuff, I had 2 themes: Gothic Rose (like my dance outfit.) and Polish Folk-art Embroidery. 
The gothic rose was inspired by some of my Pinterest finds of Purple and Rose based kimono. 
Found this on Spoonflower
And my Pinterest Board/long back-burner project to make the vest inspired my Poland themed one:
I'll find some way to include the Winged Hussars!

I'm going to make new posts for each of these projects with my analysis and current plans. Pretty much all of these are going to be utilizing the patterns I got from Alice in Cosplayland but blending them with the stuff I learned on Billy's Patreon and YouTube channel. And a pinch of my own knowledge. I'll need to make my own embroidery pattern I think. 

One of the MAJOR points for all these projects was how to get the motif I wanted onto the fabric. There are many solutions which again, probably deserves it's own Cosplay 101 type post. So, I have to plan that one. 

Okay it's 1 in the morning. I better call things here. 

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