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Kimono Project 1: Ruka Rengoku

 My first kimono project is to recreate Ruka Rengoku (Luka in the english dub...ugh...) blue flower kimono from the anime. 

This one!
So some quick analysis. 

What kind of Kimono is it?

Going through my "design tree" I have these main questions to answer: Who is wearing it, what's the occasion/formality level and what time of year is it?

Who: A middle aged married woman. This means that the height of the garment is my full height and the sleeves will be shorter. 

Occasion: Sick in bed. So this will be a very casual kimono...even though it's pretty. They're pretty pajamas basically. The screenshot doesn't show it but she's not wearing juban, the sleeves are horizontally and vertically short, the obi is not very wide. 

Season: Summer based on the colors and floral designs.

Based on this information, I deduce this is likely a yukata. (Or possibly a sleeping kimono.) Either way, I will be making a yukata which means: 
  • short sleeves
  • A hanhaba or heko obi
  • cotton, cotton blend or hemp fabric 
  • No juban or extra underthings. 
  • No tabi...technically no footwear at all, but I got some geta anyway
However there are other design decisions to be made like "how do I get that flower pattern onto the kimono".

Flowers on Fabric

How I plan to place the flower designs

This is made a bit easier because the base color of the yukata is white. So I could use any method of applying a design to fabric including: painting, embroidery, applique, heat transfer vinyl, or heat transfer ink (sublimation).  Because of how these are arranged (in a komon-tsukesage hybrid) I would not be able to order this as printed fabric. This is a kind of pattern that should be applied once things are sewn together. 

Painting: I have the colors already. I've made vector images of the flowers so I could make stencils, so a very inexpensive method. (There are only 2-3 colors so it's not super expensive anyway.)

Applique: HTV is a possibility but it would not "blend" with the fabric well. Embroidery feels too bulky. Fabric applique for the smaller flowers would be tedious. So while that is an option, it is not one I am considering for this project. 

Sublimation: I also have Infusible ink pens which would be as if the designs were printed on the fabric. But this would require that I use 100% polyester for the fabric instead of a natural fiber. However, I also have all the materials I need for this method: Pens, Laser Printer paper, a heat press, and my Cricut. The only thing I may need to get more of is butcher paper. 

So these are my options. My current plan is sublimation because I think it looks cool and I want my pens to get some use. That does mean I'll be using a different fabric though. Instead of cotton, I'm using Peachskin which is a synthetic silk-like polyester. It's the same fabric I used for Wisteria fox so I am comfortable sewing with it. 

Obi

I have to figure out what kind of musubi that is. 

I purchased a gauze fabric with the stripes printed on it already. I could have gotten baby blue gauze and painted the darker blue stripes, but the striped one was on sale. 

The musubi (obi knot) might be Katabasami or it might just be a slip knot with the ends tucked into the top of the obi. No muss no fuss. 

Construction

This video provides the outline of what I want to do: 
I will likely serge the seams to finish them. 
I will be using Pattern pieces from Alice in Cosplayland's Kimono/Yukata Pattern. 
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