Making My Own Kimono

 

When were in Tokyo we went to the fabric section of the city. I had some fabric that I was looking for to make a suit. I had seen a photo of it online and have been searching for something ever since. I cannot find anything in India, but thought that maybe Japan would have it. 

Lady Hiva found the fabric area of the city and we went. We spent a few hours going through the many stores that lined the street with rooms and rooms of all kinds of fabric. Sadly, the fabric that I was looking for did not exist, but I decided to get some material to make my own Kimono jacket! 

I love how the Japanese kimono styles mix prints, colors, and textures. I used that inspiration as I found some material that I loved. The first was some birds embroidered onto a tan burlap looking material. I then got two other fabrics I liked. I wanted to do a lining in the jacket so I used a navy with some tan texture lines. 

I grabbed a pattern kit just in case I needed it. 

When I got home I decided to make my jacket! Why wait...? Just get going. It was funny to try and understand the "easy steps" of the pattern because it was all in Japanese. Thankfully between the kawai characters and Google Translate, I was able to get the gist of the project. 

However, the pattern did not include how to do a lining. So I spent some time sitting there visualizing the concept and how to put it together. 

I though the way the displayed the materials in the store was really fun! 

I saw this Kimono jacket online and used that as an inspiration for what I was trying to do! 

I love the final product! I am so proud of it. I know that it might seem like bragging...but I am proud that it turned out really well and it looked the way I had imagined it! I wore it to work the next day and people were surprised when I told them that I had made it myself!

Here is to the attitude that YOU CAN DO ANYTHING! All you have to do is work hard, be creative and never give up!