Modesty's Costume Closet

 This is going to be the last planned kimono I'm making for this project. There are a few extra things on my to-do list and some things on my wish list too.  Here's how the Wisteria Cat kimono went.  So some things that went well:  French Seams done well! Even on the sleeves! Bless the walking foot! Got the pattern on the fabric to be upright on front and back. Collar went on smoothly! Even hem!! OMG...finally! Some things I wish went better:  I had to make a seam on the shoulder line which is not authentic. :( I did it to make the motif on the pattern look better so I didn't have upside down cats on the back of the body and sleeves. The sleeves are a bit short  I rushed my cutting and it got sloppy making me cut a part I didn't mean to cut and having to fudge around my mistake.  There's a bunch of little extra things I've been doing for these projects. Including kumihimo braiding!  So far I've made:  A kumihimo obijime 3 kumihimo haori himo Recreated the ha

Over the past two weeks, I've worked on the male kimonos and got them put together.  The ensemble is not quite finished yet, I am working on hakama for both of them.  Color-wise they look similar, but you can tell they are different material. I've sewn the haori for the more matte red one.  With the haori As you can see, it's a very shiny haori. Needs a haori himo and some paint on it. But significant progress was made!  Kimono and Haori What Went Well I did my French seams correctly!  I figured out MY way of attaching the Okumi with French Seams These did not take long to make Pinking shears really help reduce fray They fit! What I learned Took me a bit to figure out how to put on sleeves since there no opening.  I did have to fudge some measurements because I was a little short on some of the fabric when I cut it and did not want to buy more.  The collars were still kind of a pain to put on but I'm getting better at stitch-in-the-ditch.  Blind hemming was not as clean

 Another week, another kimono constructed and I feel this is my best one yet!  Before putting on the collar and sleeves.  All put together Such a pretty pattern! I used a walking foot to make this one which meant I had to sew a bit slower, but that gave me nicer seams.  I will be going with serged seams or "hair line" seams, but I have not done that yet as of writing this post. For now, she's set aside so I can start working on the NEXT kimono which is my burgundy men's kimono. (I've already had some trouble with it. I really have to pay attention to right side wrong side when using fabric that has no obvious pattern.😅) So we're chugging along at a good pace with this project. Here's what's left:  Hem, attach collar and sleeves to burgundy kimono✅ Construct the Red Men's Kimono✅ Cut, mark and construct the Cotton Cat Kimono Sew the grey hakama✅ Sew the red haori✅ Sew the black lady's haori  Sew the black hakama Some of the extra little project

 The next kimono I made was Ruka Rengoku's pink spring Kimono. Making this a cosplay kimono. Currently, the kimono is unpainted. But I wanted to pause and admire the progress made since starting these kimono projects.  Things that went well:  All the major seams are French seams. I did it correctly this time!  The collar was a bit easier to do this time.  I put the chikara nuno in correctly this time. At least for one of them.  I was able to do a blind hem by machine!  It fits!  Some things I learned:  Matching thread color is important. Hot pink really shows up.  This polyester silk is a bit more slippery than I expected.  My Clover Seam Iron is hottest on the rod part and not the flat part. Burned a little hole! (I was able to hide in the hem.)  What still needs doing:  I want to paint the flower pattern onto the kimono. I'm trying to make stencils to help me with clean lines. But I'm having trouble with placement. It's really annoying that my only reference has been

 I bumped up the Polish blend kimono on my project schedule so I could have it done in time for the cultural festival at church. Then I realized the event was in May and not in March like I originally thought. Oh wells, better to get her done.  And while trying to get'er done, I started embroidering on my machine. My original plan was to embroider the patterns directly onto the fabric then sew it together.  That worked for the corner of the sleeves, but then I got to thinking, "perhaps it would be better to sew on some of the other designs after I put things together. After all, my hems tend to be a bit unpredictable in placement." After breaking 2 needles while embroidering the sleeves, I got to thinking again, "perhaps sewing on the finished garment is a bit risky. Going over a seam while embroidering will surely break a needle!" So maybe it would be better to sew on some of the designs as patches. A couple of the designs are very dense and would suit patches

 A couple days ago I finished constructing the Green Polish Embroidered Kimono. I still plan on making the haori for it but I have not gotten around to it yet. For now here's what I did: Embroidery  So technically this part isn't done according to plan, but I am done with it for now.  For the sleeve corners, I machine embroidered directly onto the fabric using a design I got on Etsy .  Then I designed and created my own embroidered designs to make patches.  Based on my cat.  Two horses Here is what went well:  The designs look good against the kimono. My photos don't do it justice.  The wash away mesh DID wash away.  Here's what could have gone better:  The cat patch had a bit of wonkiness after washing away the stabilizer. Nothing major. One of the sleeve corners got bunched while the machine embroidered so I had to pick out some stitches and it left some tiny holes.  Broke a few needles on the machine that scared the life out of me.  What I learned:  Embroidering onto

 Sorry for the delay. I meant to write this out and post it a week ago, but I got laid off from my job a few days ago. However, I am pleased as punch with how my Yukata turned out. It makes me happy to look at it. So here she is!  Front view Back side. Infusible Ink Flowers I was SO scared this would not work. However, I can say I am SO HAPPY with how they look. It's spot on...except for one sleeve where I used the wrong green for the scattered leaves. 😖 It did help that I got the heat press.  Chest flower Sleeve flowers with the wrong green  Heko Obi To be honest I am already a bit worried about the heko obi. I serged it and I already had to redo the seams on my sewing machine due to little tears. I really should have learned more about sewing gauzy fabrics. Otherwise, it does match the character perfectly! Reminder this is the character. Things to Improve Like a dingus, I had written that I would use a microtex 70 needle and instead I used universal 80 for the yukata. That was t

The foundation of my other kimono are currently sewn together. I have a few minor things to do with them.  For the black hanjuban, I have to...well...want to hand sew the han eri (collar cover).  For the white nagajuban I am waiting for my emon-nuki to arrive in the mail. (USPS has really been a pill lately. While tracking I saw it was IN my city and now it's in New Mexico. LOGISTICS!?) I decided for my white nagajuban that the han eri will be left un-sewn for now. I'm attaching them with safety pins. Although, I may sew down the plain han eri by hand and leave the more colorful one as a pinned version.  Here are some pictures!  Masculine Hanjuban Back of the collar White Nagajuban.  Nagajuban with embroider ribbon han eri.  Some thoughts about what I learned making these two garments.  Sleeves I have this preconceived notion about the different sleeve construction for male and female juban. I had assumed that the armhole on the main body and on the sleeve were both smaller for

The green Polish kimono is still a female tomosode like the others but it includes a haori and uses a hanhaba obi. Also the details on the embroider add an element of complexity. I hope to wear this along with my Polish skirt to my parish's Multicultural Mass and Festival. 🌍 Polish Folk Art Kimono  Pattern/Instructions:  Alice in Cosplayland Kimono  Alice in Cosplayland Haori Other References:  Materials :  Fabric: Polyester Linen Green, Embroidery Stabilizer (tear away), Black Chiffon, Cotton Sateen, Bias Tape Needle: Universal 90/14, Machine Embroidery 90/14, Microtex 70/10, Universal 70/10   Thread: Black All purpose, Black Polyester Fine Techniques/Methods:  Machine Embroidery Bound/Biased Seams Blind Hem My Production Plan:  Digitize my Vector file into an Embroidery File. Mark the Kimono with the sewing lines and mark where embroidery will go.  Set up Kimono Embroidery Files: 3 corner flowers, 1 Tulip, 2 Horses, 2 Cats Embroider the Sleeves Sew the body of the kimono using p

 Two of the kimono I'm making are female tomosode or a semi-formal kimonos. They will both have similar steps in terms of construction and not include anything extra like embroidery or a haori. However, they are made with different fabrics which will affect the sewing process.  Gothic Rose Pattern/Instructions  Alice in Cosplayland Kimono  Other References Measurements Hip Circumference: 102cm (40.5")  Mid-back to wrist (Yuki): 66cm (26") Waist Circumference: 30" Height (Mitake): 160 cm (62") Materials Fabric: Crepe de Chine, Polyester Damask, Satin  Needle: Microtex/Sharp 70, Universal 90/14 Thread: 100% Polyester Fine (black), All Purpose (black) Techniques/Methods Hairline Seams Back Seam Reinforcement (Ishiki ate) Chikara Nuno / Mikazuki Blind Hand Stitch Kise Seam My Plans Gather my materials and set up my machine with the Walking Foot Follow the basic instructions for making a kimono mixing the pattern instructions with Billy's videos. I will try to u

After the juban, I plan on making the one thing that won't use juban! The Yukata. The video will be my main instructions since I also want to make this with a machine. But there are some things I plan to add because it is a white yukata.   Ruka Yukata Pattern/Instructions Alice in Cosplayland Traditional Kimono/Yukata Other Resources:  Ishiki ate  - This is the thing I'm going to add to the yukata. I like to call it the CYA panel. That is partly what it does. In addition to modesty, it is supposed to take some of the pressure off the center back seam when sitting or kneeling in a kimono. So it doesn't get split up the back seam.   It can be a small patch that you blind stitch by hand to the bum area. Or it can take up the whole back two panels. I'm doing the version in between. It will stretch between the 2 back side seams and hang from the uchiage seam.  This CYA panel is typically found on hitoe (unlined kimono) made of thin silks. It can also go into a nagajuban.  Ma

Happy New Year! It's time to finally start the 6 projects, starting with the foundation of undergarments. My sewing machine is tuned up and all fixed (apparently it had some corrosion. 😬) Currently, I'm getting over a cold I got while on my vacation so my start has been delayed slightly while I recover. It does give me a little more time to really go over how I plan to construct the garments. So my following posts will be about proposed plans and references for the project.  This is going to be a reference for my plans for making these garments. I may make a more generic planner for anyone to use.  Nagajuban  Pattern/Instructions:  Alice in Cosplay Land: Juban Other Tutorials/References:  Measurement from the video above Small Stay cloth Stay cloth for Collar Material:  Fabric: White Cotton Broadcloth Thread: White All Purpose Needle: Universal Needle Size 80/12 Presser Foot: Normal, Blind Hem Foot, Wide Hem foot Measurements :  Full Length (Mitake): 160 cm (62") Center B

The year is drawing to a close and I will be traveling for the holidays. I plan on doing a bit of blogging on my break, but likely will mostly be knitting and trying to really solidify my loom knitting patterns and what I want to do with them.   Things I did from my 2023 list :  Unicorn Ren Faire became Unicorn Dance Kitsune became Fox Shrine Maiden  Demon Slayer in Yarn - Finished the sweater started a 2nd sweater. Made 1 leg warmer and intend to finish the 2nd in the next couple of weeks. (update: Finished both leg warmers!) My socks got eaten by moths. So that was abandoned. Things I did not do were:  Goro's Tails Polish Vest  Mermaid Tail Projects I did in 2023:  St. Patrick's Dance Dress Flame Dance Competition Dress Goro the Puppet Projects I started and need to finish:  Knitted Wrap Belt Zelda Sweater Demon Slayer Sweater take 2 The 6 Kimono and Obi projects Plans for 2024 Now this year's plans will mostly center around the six kimono projects I planned:  Ruka's

 Finally an original design for once. 😜 This was because I wanted to use my embroidery machine and I saw someone else do a nice folkart style embroidered kimono.  Placing the patterns I am going to pair it with a haori that will also have embroidery on it.  Juban  This will reuse my white cotton nagajuban that I made. However, I am making a haneri to attach to it that includes some embroidered ribbon I got on Etsy. The ribbon feature hearts and edelweiss flowers as a nod to Sound of Music and Austria which is part of my heritage.  Kimono This will be a hitoe kimono with tomosode sleeves like the others but made with a polyester linen in hunter green. If I have enough fabric, I will make a reinforced back seam. The embroidery includes a paper-cut style flower in the corners of the front panels and another tulip floral pattern in the corner of the sleeves. A single tulip will go along the back panel in the middle flanked by two folk art style horses.  There is a cat on the front left pa

 More Roses! More Ruka!  My belly is also that big...but with a food baby! This all happened because I purchased a set of an obiage and obijime that were very similar to the colors in this screenshot. Then somehow I ended up with purple cotton polyester and pink silk dupioni in my shopping cart. No idea how that happened. 😝 Juban  The juban will reuse the white nagajuban from Gothic Rose and use a plain white han eri.  Kimono The plan is to make this a hitoe kimono with tomosode length sleeves. It's made of pink polyester dupioni and will include stencil painted Rose flowers in a darker pink and pale green. The flowers will be placed similarly to the flowers on the Yukata: Back and top of sleeves, over the chest on left front panel, on the bottom corner of the left front panel.  Obi I'm making a Nagoya obi in purple cotton with some sections done in leftover purple satin fabric. I think I might keep it all one width all the way through, but I may make it half han haba and part

 Two of my kimono projects are men's kimono which are constructed and worn differently than a women's kimono. But the projects are so similar that I'm going to talk about them in one post.  These are "formal" or semi-formal because they will include a haori and hakama. Despite making two they are the same design. I will refer to Kyojuro's Kimono as "Red" and Shinjuro's Kimono as "Rust".  Juban and Kimono For these outfits, I'm using the same juban! A black cotton hanjuban. The length of the juban should be around my hips and the sleeves very short!  You'll note that the sleeves on both kimono are short in length and height when compared to female kimono. Because we're busy fightin' and can't have sleeves in the way! The length of kimono will be above my ankles, but as you may imagine needs to be hiked up to wear hakama. This is often done by tucking the back hem of the kimono into the obi.  Hakama Speaking of Hakama

 All the fabric I need for this project has arrived! So the plan is to make this a casual everyday, but nice kimono. And I loved the colors of these roses and wanted to do something with purple roses as a dress of some kind. So I decided to make a kimono out of this fabric.  Got this in a polyester silk. It feels so nice!  Kimono Parts The main body of the kimono will be a female cut kimono with tomesode length sleeves. (About 49 cm). It will need a juban underneath it and I plan on making a nagoya obi that I can tie into an O-taiko musubi. In order to tie this particular knot, I require an obiage and an obijime.  Nagoya Obi This is what the more formal, wide obi are called. They're usually about 4 meters long or more. I got a black taffeta damask fabric with a little felting on it to really get into the Victorian goth style. The plan is to follow the construction style according to the Nagoya Obi construction available on Billy Matsunaga's Patreon. So most of the obi is folded