Kimono remake

I feel guilty that I am a quilter but am not showing much in the way of quilts lately. I am hand quilting and I am barely keeping up with my 365 Challenge, but not too much news in either department. And to add guilt to guilt, I was upstairs in the sewing room where I had promised I would be making more Wonky Hearts but instead I remade another kimono!

Tetsu's mother sent more kimonos over to me last week so now I have almost two boxes! Some are not really usable, things like heavy wool kimono coats that are not long and look just like old-fashioned wool coats but have a distinctive low square neck. I don't think I'll ever be able to wear those or sew them up into something else. They'll probably sit in the box another 10 years. Also some lovely heavy lace kimono jackets but I can't see me wearing something like that either. So you see some things do get life re breathed into them at my sewing machine and some things are going to get tossed someday.

I knew we would see Tetsu's mother on Sunday (yesterday) so I suddenly decided Saturday morning that I needed to make something out of one of her kimonos to show her. Saturday morning I dismantled a kimono (that, a job in itself) and then I proceeded to sew it up using a pattern book from the library. These books are enough to make any budding seamstress quit right there! All the pattern lines for all the patterns in the book are printed on one or two pieces of paper. This tangle of lines have arrows pointing here and there trying to tell you which of the 10 styles featured in the book is the right line! And of course you can't cut up the dumb piece of paper. That would mean you could never make any of the other patterns (besides which, remember it is a library book!) You have to trace your chosen lines onto another piece of paper and then cut out what you need. Headaches I'm telling you!

"Dang it all! Where is the style 8's right, front body piece?"

I finally did find all my pieces, traced them all onto paper, cut them out and then got to start cutting kimono fabric. Chose the simplest pattern possible and this is what I ended up with. I think it came out very well. Can't say too much about the model. She looks a little worn from her sewing session, but Tetsu's mother was very pleased that her kimono was getting used again.