With the pieces all cut out, Dora has come to help with the jinbei.
Today I’m dealing with the seam finishes: different raw edge finishes for different areas. I’m more concerned about the jinbei top than the shorts, simply because I’m a little obsessive about a nice finish for it. I had decided that the back seam required the neatest of all of the raw edge finishes, and the fabric is very light and thin, so I french seamed it which does look beautiful but also very comfortable for sleeping.
For the rest, I simply finished every edge except the collar opening and lapels (because once joined they will enclose each other) with a narrow double hem. One thing to remember is the bottom of the lapels. These are not covered by the collar like they are in a haori, nor do they have the okumi (front flap panels) of a kimono, I made sure those two short edges below the lapels were nicely finished.
Jinbei jackets are usually side-seamed all the way to the hem, but I decided I’d like to leave neat splits at the bottom of the jacket for coolness and comfort. The downside to this is that this type of seam finish does add bulk under the arm, and I have yet to find a satisfactory way around this. With yukata and kimono, the graceful miyatsu guchi bypasses this dilemma, but I’ve never seen a jinbei with a miyatsu guchi. There’s really no reason why you’d have to reach inside the garment from the side that way. Here’s the garment with the edges finished and the sleeves attached.
There is a big incentive to sew up the sides and the bottom of the sleeves together now, but I have learned that it is far, far easier to get the collar on at this stage, before the back and front are joined at the sides.
And, now, with the experience of having put on many, many kimono-style collars, I know better than to try it by machine. I hand stitched the collar. And this turned out to be a good thing, because the diagonal edges on the front make the fabric quite stretchy, and this particular fabric has a little give to it anyway. Had I tried with a machine, I would not be getting a nice, neat, flat collar placing.
If you are truly determined to put the collar on by machine, I suggest stay stitching the entire front collar opening first – especially if the fabric is light. Because, unlike all the other kimono-style garments I’ve constructed, this one has these fairly extensive cuts on the bias, and the entire lapel area will stretch/deform under the pull of a sewing machine.