Welcome to Kimonomad. I’m so glad you found me! This blog documents my learning process in making kimono style garments, with a special focus on everyday wearability and the ecological ethics of this kind of clothing. My journey is not a lonely one, because I have two cats who are also in love with fabric, threads, sewing implements and making sure their fur gets into the seams.
Padded Hanten Jacket – Part 2
I used polyester wadding for this project. Since the outer shell of the garment was a wool/poly blend,…
Kimono Measurements
The prime reason you won’t find a legitimate kimono paper pattern is because you don’t need one. As…
Resources for Hanten Construction
Here is a Japanese sewing pattern for a Hanten, translated into English by the brilliant Yifarn at Japanese…
Padded Hanten Jacket – Part 1
A hanten is a short jacket that, like a haori, doesn’t have the okumi. These jackets are not…
Sheer Over-Jacket Haori
I chose this sheer man-made fabric for an elegant over-jacket style Haori. One of the biggest challenges for…
Swiss Dot Jinbei
Not only did I have a lot of fun making that first jinbei, but I slept in it…
Hand Sewing: Stuff I’ve Learned
If you are a certain age – a bit older than I am – you probably learned hand…
Making a Jinbei (part 3)
With the pieces all cut out, Dora has come to help with the jinbei. Today I’m dealing with…
Making a Jinbei (part 2)
Looking over the cutting plan on the free downloadable jinbei pattern, I thought I’d like it a little…
Making a Jinbei (part 1)
A jinbei is a set of garments: a top which crosses over to tie both inside and outside,…
Free Jinbei Pattern Download
This wonderful site has a huge number of free downloadable Japanese garment patterns. This page offers multiple sizes…
Lined Haori in Mushroom Gauze with…
The two fabrics for this project came from the same place as the grey plaid I used for…