My very first attempt at making a kimono-like garment was inspired by seeing House of Kimono’s brilliant step-by-step tutorial. I didn’t buy his pattern at the time (I did buy it later, and you can purchase it for a very reasonable price here) . I just watched the entire playlist to start, and then bought some cheap white cotton fabric just as he has, to really understand the construction and seam finishes, etc.
At the time I made it, I wasn’t very diligent in documenting my process, so unfortunately, there isn’t a great deal to show you. As warned, getting the collar on neatly was the very hardest part, but I heeded his advice and used a ton of pins before machine sewing it on. What I got was a perfectly acceptable yukata. But I also quickly learned that depending on a sewing machine was fraught with difficulties. Thus began the slow evolution of my thinking: that hand-sewing the collar on was probably faster and neater, because it avoids stitching into any creases around the collar area. But more than that, I was very insecure about my hand sewing. I’d formed the determination that it was somehow inferior to a straight, perfect, machine stitch. I have since come to the conclusion that quite the opposite is true. You don’t need a perfect straight stitch line. You don’t need to be a mechanical hand-sewer, because most of your stitches shouldn’t actually be visible at all. And the hinge-like quality that a hand stitch gives the garment allows it to fold exactly at the seams, as a good kimono should. But I wasn’t there yet.
Here’s the only photo I have of my first attempt.
As you can see, Dora was inspecting my work!