Modesty's Costume Closet

 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

When you want to dress up as a character but it would not be appropriate to cosplay at the event,  character bounding or casual cosplay may be the solution! Or if you just don't have as many chances to go to cosplay events.  Personally, I just like the idea and think about Character Bounding or Casual Cosplay in everyday life a lot. But let's clarify what we mean by character bounding and casual cosplay.   What is Character Bounding? Typically, character bounding involves using a character's color schemes or motifs in your everyday clothes to portray the spirit of a character. This is popularized by Disney characters since you can't really cosplay at any of the Disney parks (because that is a job at the park.) However, you are not limited to Disney or fictional characters. I've also seen people use historical figures or fashions as a form of "bounding". (I honestly don't know why it's called bounding. If I were a good blogger I'd probably look

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