Making a Hera Dai (Kimono Marking Board)

Some of the blogs and videos I've been watching use this kind of folding board that was long and narrow. Perfect for cutting, marking, and sewing Kimono and Obi. I come to learn it's called hera dai. (Google translates it as Spatula Table). Basically, when you use this with a tool called a hera (it is like a resin spatula) you can make indent marks on your kimono fabric instead of using chalk or markers. 

From Morio-Hobby.com

The closest thing I could find that was similar for Western sewing was this Dritz's cardboard pattern making mat. (I have one!) I like it and just realized I can put pins in it (game changer) but it doesn't stay as flat as I'd hoped. Also, it's made of corrugated cardboard which bends easily and can't get wet. 

You might be able to purchase a hera dai by going to a shop in Japan. I did see some online stores, but I don't think they ship these internationally. I haven't seen them on eBay or Etsy either. So, that means I have to make my own. But how? There wasn't a tutorial or DIY on it exactly. 

Found this YouTube. It only makes a 2 panel hera dai but it does go into the basic method. 

I asked some friends from Billy Matsunaga's Kimono School and got some ideas from book binding, making a pin board/cork board, and making your own ironing surface. 

So here's my process/plan on making one. 

Determining Final Size

The size is customizable to your needs. I wanted to recreate one of the 6 panel hera dai I saw in the online shop. It was 40 cm wide and 172 cm long. (About 15.5 inches and 5.6 feet). For reference, in other shops I saw widths vary from 28 cm and go up to 45 cm. (11" - 17") and lengths vary too. 

The thickness of the hera dai when unfolded is between 4.5mm to 6mm in the samples I saw.

For my project I found pre-cut chip boards that were 11"x17" and only 1.25mm thick. Sooooo...like in the video I need to stack my sheets to get the thickness I want. About 4 each. Luckily the package came with 25 sheets so for 6 panels I'd need 24 sheets total. 

So my hera dai has a width of 17" and a length of 66" and a thickness of 5mm when unfolded. 

Materials

From translated ecommerce sites that sell these things the basic materials used were: Chipboard/Foam Board, upholstery cotton, upholstery paper, white upholstery fabric, and white paper. 

To borrow from book binding I knew I'd need some kind of bonding material like PVA glue, Fusible Interfacing (Heat n' Bond), or Double-Sided fabric tape. And clamps or weights or a press to help the glue dry. 

For your project here's my suggested materials: 

Core - Chipboard, foam poster board, Book Boards, foam back corkboard, MDF wood sheets (The easiest and cheapest material is the foam poster board. They're pretty easy to cut with a box cutter too.) 

Spine Reinforcement - Paper and Glue, Linen Tape, Fabric with glue, White colored tape, Permanent Vinyl adhesive

White Surface Cover - Contact Paper/Wallpaper, Muslin (Cotton), 100% Cotton Fabric, Canvas

Printed Fabric - Quilt Cotton, Upholstered Fabric, Book Cover Fabric, Canvas

Adhesives  - PVA Glue, Double Sided Hem Tape, Fusible Fabric Webbing (Heat n Bond), Fabric glue, Fabric Tape, (Staples?)

Process Plans

This is the bit I'm still working out for myself, but I have a three design ideas. 

1. Bare Bones
2. Upholstered + Vinyl
3. Upholstered + Muslin

Bare Bones Process

Materials include: Core, Spine Reinforcement, White Surface Cover

The basic idea is to make 3 "books" of 2 panels each then connect them. 

1. Create the first Book. Place one Panel on top of the other, and reinforce the spine with Vinyl Sticker. 
   
   
   
   
   
2. Unfold and make sure things line up. 
3. Use contact paper 2" smaller than the total size. Smooth it down across both panels. This creates the first "book".  
   
   
   
   
   
4. Do a fold check. Repeat steps 1 - 3 for each segment of the full hera dai. 
5. Now we need to connect the books. Place the first book with the contact paper part facing down on the ground. 
6. Place the second book on top of the first book with the contact paper part facing up. Align the edges.  
7. Reinforce the spine along the right edge of the two books. This connects the two books. 
8. Unfold the book along the new spine so both books are side by side but laying flat. 
9. Use tape to reinforce this "valley fold" between the two books. 
10. For additional panels repeat steps 5 - 9. 
    
    
    
    
    

Note: If you're not using contact paper for the white surface cover, you will use glue and your muslin cloth. Or you may try using tape around the edges. 🤷

Upholstered Hera Dai

Materials: Core, Printed Cotton, Contact Wallpaper, hem tape, Glue

Here's what I used. 

Part 1: Prepare the panels!

1. Cut the core material to your individual panel size. 
1. If you used thin material, stack it on top of each other until you get 4-5 mm of thickness.
2. For the first and last panel, cut a rectangle of fabric a few inches larger than your panel core. 
3. Fold the edges down like gift wrapping and adhere it to the core with glue or tape. 
4. For the central panels, cut strips of fabric 2-3" wide and as long as the longest side of the core. 
5. Fold the fabric around each individual edge and glue (or tape) down.
1. Alternatively, you can use the same method for the central panels as the first and last panel. It will use more fabric though. 

Part 2: Assemble the Panels!

Now it's time to make the panels into books and then the books into the full hera dai. These steps will make a board with 6 individual panels. 

1. Take the first panel and a middle panel and put them on top of each other. The bare side of the first panel should face up. 
2. Reinforce where the spine would be along the right-side edge. This creates a "hinge".  See the Tips section below for methods of reinforcing the "spine" or mountain fold. 
   

   
   
3. Place the next panel and place it on top of the other. This time make a book spine along the left edge of the two panels. 
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you have used all your panels. 
5. Unfold the hera dai so it lays flat. The first and last panel should have the fabric sides facing down and the bare side facing up. 
6. Slowly roll out your contact paper across the bare core boards. Use a burser tool to prevent bubbles. when going across what would be a 'mountain' fold, make sure the contact paper dips into the crease. (Note: It can be easier to just go over 2 panels at a time. Make sure the right edge of the contact paper goes slightly over the edges horizontally.
1. Alternatively, you can use glue and muslin/canvas fabric instead of contact paper. I think that's a bit more traditional.
   
   
7. Flip the whole board over and cover the bare boards with your contact paper as illustrated below.

That should get you a hera dai! 

Here's how my first try came out.

Some Tips

• Book Binding methods are perfect for reinforcing the "mountain" side of the folds. 

•  Foam board is better than layers of chip board. I still think chip board can add some stiffness to the foam board. But if you want to put pins into the hera dai, a foam board as the core material should be softer and easier to pin into. I even think that EVA foam glued to chip board or cork or balsa wood sheet might work better and be a bit more economical.  
  
  
• The contact paper vinyl did work very well, but some caveats. You need a burser tool to smooth it out as you go so you don't get creases or bubbles. But you may still get some creases. Over time pin holes will dot all over so the paper needs to be replaced. Although I found a good price for it I think that the vinyl sticker/Contact paper would be best as the spine reinforcing. But it IS a quick method for making this so I don't regret it. But muslin, cotton or Canvas would be a more suitable material for the actual sewing surface. 
  
  
• Gluing was faster than the double-sided tape only because it was so hard to peel off the backing paper. 😂 But also, the glue does seep through a bit so don't lay the piece on cardboard to dry. Pulled up a lot of residue. 
  
  
• The Cotton upholstery can be used as the mountain fold/hinge if you used the "book binding" method. But for the most part, the "upholstery" parts seem mostly for looks the way I did it.