Making a Dress - Red Skull Lace Kimono

When it comes to kimono making I just concentrate on the fabric since the construction is the same for all of them.

Therefore when I saw this fabric for sale on a FB fabric selling group, you bet I was going to make a kimono out of it.

However the fabric is very fluid so I will need to take my time making this one.

So first thing first cutting the pieces.

Who would have thought this would be a challenge.  So many adjustments and then readjustments just to make sure everything is straight.  However I managed it and to help with identification I rolled each piece separately.

Time to begin sewing the back seam.  I don't really need to do this but I did it because it makes the kimono look correct.  However rather then cutting the main body piece in two as it is normally, I just cut up to the middle and then sew the 1cm back seam.  Less risk of cutting wonky.

It dawned on me as I was cutting the lace that there was not a lot of fabric to create the marks.  What am I going to do?  Well the solution is sewing in bright neon yellow thread at the points.  So time consuming but it is a lot better then trying to draw a chalk or water soluble ink line.

I have to admit I have not put all the marks needed but we will let that slide.  Yep winging it as I go along.

Still it is nice working with this lace.

I got very absorb making this kimono so not a lot inbetween photos but here is the finished product.

Now to marvel at the work.

Back to relaxing kanzashi - Black and Red Kiku.

Have I ever mention that I like making kiku kanzashi?

If not, then I will say it now.  I love making kiku kanzashi!  Yep they are just fun to make.

Yes they do take forever to make due to the sheer number of petals that each one has but I think the results just speak for themselves.

So what was the design in my head?  Well a black and red maiko style kanzashi.

Similar to one of these but in black and red.

So the first thing to do is get some fabric.

For some reason I wanted to revisit habutai silk because it is easier to make kiku kanzashi with rice glue as you can fold all the petals at once and then slowly assemble them.

However getting black and red habutai is not cheap so off I went to buy some silk and a home dyeing kit.

Then there is the starching and cutting all the 1 inch squares of fabric.

Before finally making the rice glue and prepping the bases.

Here is the first 3 kiku petals folded.

And then the next 5 lots.

In total these 8 kiku used 512 petals!  That is a lot of petals even by my standards but look at them.  I love them already.

Now to create some interesting falls and additional bit and voila we have a funky maiko set!

Closeup of the falls.

The finished kiku.

and here you can see the extra bits for the bridge.

In total this kanzash used wait for it 601 petals!  This has by far been the most petal intensive kanzashi I made but I live it.  I am very pleased with the falls as they turned out just how I wanted them.  I was scared they would not fall properly but it worked.

Now I will enjoy them for a little while before deciding what do to with it.

New Year and Making a Dress - Black and white Striped kimono!

Time has flown and as always the end of 2015 has been busy.

I had visited my kimono friends in Birmingham for the day.  I literally flew in and then out of Birmingham in one day.  I think I might not do that again.

Then at work we had our Christmas party which was a lot of fun.  Good food and good company all rounded off if a quiz and then a pub visit.

After that I had a few days of peace before flying back home to see family for Christmas.  Yes ate too much but I loved it.

But just before I left, I finally got back to sewing and I am going to make the most wanted kimono in my collection.

The black and white striped kimono!

I have seen one of these kimono a long time ago and I fell in love with the look but to buy one from Japan was just out of my wallet reach so the only solution was to make one.  Hmmmm that was not as easy as I thought.  Firstly finding fabric with stripes that were more then a couple of centimetres was tricky and secondly I wanted cotton fabric with a nice drape.

Okay with those conditions in mind, I went hunting and last year I succeed in finding the perfect fabric.

Now I had the fabric, it is time to make the kimono (6 months later).

As normal, I followed the method in my kimono book and made a hitoe (unlined) kimono.  It will be more versatile in my mind and I want to experiment in layering.

I did make a miscalculation in the amount of fabric that I brought.  I was told the fabric was 150cm and therefore brought 4 metres only.  BIG MISTAKES!  It turns out I only had 140cm to work with which ruined my original plans.  Especially the long 18cm by 200cm collar piece but I managed to work around it and got all the pieces I need.

At the back of my mind I wanted to practice my handsewing using the Japanese way of hold the needle but I had only just got over a cold and I was not up for the challenge so I did all the long seams on the sewing machine and then blind-hemmed all the seams by hand.

Strangely this kimono sewing went very smoothly.

Day one - Sewed the back and horizontal seam and sleeves.

Day two - Sewed the side seams and blind hemmed them down.
Day three - Attached okumi panels and again blind hemmed them.

Day four - Collar sewed down,

Day five - Sewed both sleeves.

Bearing in mind I only really work 7 hours per a day on sewing however it is done.

Now I have a black and white striped kimono all of my own :)

Felt Kanzashi Adventure continued......

So I have been a little quiet in the kanzashi scene because of the regency event but now I have some free time I thought I would get back on the kanzashi making.

Kusudama is one of my favourite kanzashi to make.  They are just adorable to look at.

These ones are a little different to the ones I use to make in that they are brooches as well.

And since it is Autumn / Fall, I thought it would be nice to make them in the colours of the seasons.

The grey one is particular apt for me since I am going to be seeing grey skies for a long time.

But then again, seeing the golden leaves in the Botanical Garden is quite nice.

And purple because I love purple.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/250389357/felt-kanzashi-brooch-hairclip-for

Epic Regency Sewing Project - Red and White Striped Spencer Jacket and matching bonnet

The outfit for the ball is finished.  I suppose I should now make my spencer jacket.

But what sort....I could make the standard looking ones which end at the bust but how about something unusual like the pointed ones.

Well why not!  I am going to make it out of red and white stripes so I am going to stand out so why stop at the design being unusual.

Yes as you guess, I had to draft this one as well from my basic sense and sensibility pattern.  Getting my money's worth from this pattern but it does show how versatile it is.

Didn't put on the sleeves as they will just be ordinary sleeves.

Now I had a slight delay in that the fabric, in that I was delivered the wrong fabric.  However I contacted the seller and they said they would send me the correct fabric that day and that I could keep the other one.  Woo hoo.

I always order too much of a fabric just in case and yep far too much but never fear the rest will be made into a lolita dress most likely.

Snip here and there.

I will need to cut another set of bodice pieces to act as a lining but first lets put these together.

Not looking bad.  I suppose it is time to cut the other pieces and these together.

Opps slight accident in poking the tails through so I will have to make this the underside.

Now to put on the sleeves.  Now this can either go well or become my nightmare.  

One sleeve on, well that wasn't too bad.  Maybe the fabric is behaving itself.

Second sleeve on!  And it is done.

I have to admit the jacket reminds me of a circus ringmaster but it is cute.  Now to get a matching bonnet sorted.

My original plan is to make a bonnet similar to this one.

However the sun visor I brought is a little big.

So instead I will opt for a capote.

Yep something like my turban but with a brim and not so poffy.  It will look more like a bonnet.

I will be following instructions from Koshka the Cat http://www.koshka-the-cat.com/capote.html to make my one expect I will have a straw brim.

So first thing first.  Take apart the sun visor.

Hehehe this was actually more fun then it should be and I managed to salvage the straw bow.

Next I cut a huge circle for the head and then gathered it.  Sorry no pictures of this as I forgot and I also forgot to take pictures of me making the pleated trim.

However I simply followed the steps from Kleidung um 1800.

http://kleidungum1800.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/zuckergu-ist-ein-mu.html?showComment=1342221544121

OMG it took forever......I was seriously tired after making this small piece but it does look cute.

Here is the basic bonnet put together with the trim.

I thought it was best to also stitch the visor at the back together as I didn't not want to put too much strain on the fabric and trim.

Yes when I said I made a small piece, I really did mean I made a small piece as I had a gap.  However this is not a problem as I will cover the gap with the salvage straw bow.

Me just trying it out for size.  Is it me or does it look huge?

I seem to have mis-filed my photos for the completed bonnet because I only finished the bonnet a couple of days before the event.  They are hopefully on my camera.

Next post will be about the event itself.

Epic Regency Sewing Project - Green Sari Overdress and Turban.

Now it is time to step into unknown territory.  Eeeeekkkkk!!!!!

I have been research overdress quite a lot on Pinterest and most people seem to use Jane Arnold's patterns of fashion book.

However I do not have this book so taking a rough guess of what the pattern needs in terms of pleats I decided the best way to make this would be to draft it.

Once again using sense and sensibility pattern I cut out only the bodice and marked out where the dress will be.

Now to makw things simply I am only going to add pleats at the seams.

But before I cut my sari I needed to make the lining.  I used some green cotton poplin for this.

Making sure it looked okay since this will be used as a bases for the sari but more important snug.

Now to actually cut the sari.

I only had one chance at this so I made sure the length and position of the pleats were correct.

there was not enough width to have pleats at all the seams so I just had them at the back and then a small pleat at the side which looks more like a dart.

Oh this is getting scary.

I wanted the border to go all the way round the back hence the long bit.  Yeah no idea how that is going to work out.

So let the sewing begin.

That is the pleats secured and time to attach it to the lining.

Oh dear!

Yep I did not cut enough of the border, will need to get that fixed.

Hmmm looking not bad.

Getting the edges all tucked in and the pleats on the border sewed down.

Yes all the edges done apart from that little gap at the top.

Yes this looks good!  

Now to make my turban or a big puffy cap.

No way was I going to make a template for this so what I did was fold the fabric half, then in quarters, and so on until it was a small enough for me to mark it in a few places.  Similar to how you would make a cartouche for cooking!

And voila!!! One massive circle.  Now I just need to attach it to a piece of the border and I have a turban.

Needs gold feathers I think.

Now to finish off my sari with a closure around the front and fix up the back.

You wouldn't know that I made a mistake here.  hehehehe!

Phew I can finally rest a little.