After four years, numerous prototypes and much procrastination, I have finally finished a basic kit for hinagata (“miniature”) kimono. When I set out to complete a kit myself and document each step, I found it easier than I remembered to sew everything together! Maybe the fabric choice made a difference. Previously I’ve used vintage kimono…
Tag: how-to
Mini Poll #2 – Doll Kimono Kit Giveaway
More freebies! Going back to a project I started years ago, I’ve been playing around with beautiful fabrics and dolls this weekend to come up with a kit that you can do at home. Used for decades in Japanese schools to teach children how to sew, these doll-sized kimono make wonderfully portable projects you can…
Sashiko books are now in!
I’ve just listed two new sashiko books direct from Japan, Sashiko no Hon and Sashiko no Hana Fukin. These are great little books to have on hand if you are just starting out with sashiko or want some colorful inspriation. They are full of color photos showing finished projects and how-to instructions. These are both…
March updates
Sorry for the long absence, our internet connection was iffy due to a slowly dying wireless router, which has now been usurped. I replaced our old, UFO-shaped Apple AirPort with a newer model (AirPort Extreme) and feel pretty pleased with its performance so far. No more dropped connections or endless spinning wheels of doom whilst…
Sashiko project #2
After coming to a sort of artistic conclusion on the first sashiko project I decided to start another. As the first project was entirely indigo and white, I wanted to give this one more color, but still keep it in somewhat muted tones and mainly focus on blues. As with the first project, I wanted…
More sashiko goodness
The sashiko tutorial project I started last year was never officially completed. It ended up, like so many other projects, packed away and not to be seen again for months after our move in October. But sometime in the past few weeks I got twitchy fingers and dug it out again, located my sashiko needle…
Sashiko Project part III – it works!
It’s true, I’m a complete novice at this. It’s often said that you can learn through teaching, and I find that sometimes the only way I can learn something is when I’m asked to teach someone else. Here is the shippou design I was working on: And from the other side… not so bad! I’ve…
Sashiko project part II – moving right along
Sorry about the delay again, but this last one looks to be something that is going to make my family’s life a little better as my daughter is now planning to join my son in home schooling. She’s been frustrated with some of her classes in high school, sleeping through a few because she’s bored,…
Sashiko project part I – getting started
Before I start, I’d like to bring something to your attention and ask for your hand in helping others. Recently the plight of the Decker family came to my attention, and they are in need of funding to deal with immense medical bills and help for Carol Decker’s recovery. After an emergency Cesarian section delivery,…
Sashiko project begins at last.
So here it is. A little sampler project for getting started in sashiko, but without the pre-printed kit. Don’t get me wrong, I think the Olympus kits are wonderful, but I’m a coloring-outside-the-lines kind of person, and maybe you are too. The kit contains four pieces of indigo yukata cotton with designs of iris, origami…
Noren how-to project with yukata fabric
It’s been quite hot here in the high desert lately, and since we don’t have air conditioning, that means leaving doors and windows open to allow for a pleasant breeze. Another thing we don’t have is a screen door for the front, so it’s rather bothersome when all sorts of winged annoyances start invading Chez…
The sun is shining, the birds are singing…
I’ve just returned from the Farmer’s Market with some yummy goodies (hooray for June!) and settled down to pick out some cottons for my sashiko project. I’ve decided to make a summer table cloth out of spare pieces of indigo and white fabrics. Some of these are bolt ends and irregular lengths, some have a…
A love for both the common fiber and the extraordinary textile @KimonoMomo 