Modesty's Costume Closet

So the male kimono projects are fairly straightforward. One will involve fabric paint but I feel much more confident about that aspect now.  Although I am finally working out my own pattern for my hakama trousers. I'll post updates about that when I make them. However, construction will be following what patterns suggest. I'm not going to get creative.  Shinjuro Kimono Pattern/Instructions:  Alice in Cosplayland Kimono  Other References:  Gathered Hakama Hashira Shawl Knitting Pattern Materials : Fabric: Polyester Twill (Wine), Cotton Broadcloth (Black) Needle: Universal 80 Thread: All Purpose Presser Feet: Normal, Blind Hem, Wide Hem, Button Hole Techniques/Methods: French Seam/Felled seam/Pinked Seam Blind Hem My Production Plan Sew Kimono using the pattern instructions but using Billy's sleeve construction method.  Use my own pattern for the Hakama Trousers.  Add pocket pouches to the leg panels.  Sew and serge crotch seam, joining the left and...

 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 h...

 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 ...

 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...

 😝 I'm kind of giddy at the moment because I did it. Sure, I probably broke every rule about learning how to knit...except the universal rule of "You don't know until you Try." And I did try...I tried very hard. And so no one else has to go through the migraine inducing poop-fest that was my life a couple weeks ago, here's my design pattern for a lovely shawl inspired to look like Kyojuro Rengoku's cape.  You're welcome... Image version Download Chart from Stitch Fiddle It was adapted from the knitting pattern Vacation by Donna Pick . So you work from the sides around instead of top-down.  Here are the major changes/Notes:  The entire shawl is done in garter stitch for my pattern. (If you prefer stockinette stitch, then make sure you use purl stitches on the Wrong Side Rows.) The color changes are done using the Intarsia technique .  When I turn my work for short rows, I use the German Short Row technique.  The color chart was made for Worsted Yarn. It w...

 Today is a good day! Went out for sushi and hung out with a friend, then got home and cut out the second sleeve plus lining. And today I planned to dye the fabric. Here's how it went.  Dye Job At first I was going to dye all the pieces separately then sew them together. But then I figured, the main body of the kimono might have a more consistent color if I sewed some pieces together. So I did.  Body is sewn the sleeves unattached.  Then I prepped my fabric in the bathroom getting things wet.  Hanging things to make it easier to dip. Got my pot of dye heated up then put it in the bathtub. Dunkin' pot.  I kept the fabric on the hangers and dipped the pieces in the pot. I used some wooden chopsticks to help push and stir things around. Then used the shower with cold water to rinse after the dips. Kept rinsing until the water ran clear again.  Post dye dunk.  The body of the kimono got a second dunk dye to make it darker at the bottom. Now they're dr...