Sewing Experimentation

[reynardine.livejournal.com]

I got some cotton fabric on clearance recently, at $1.56/yd. Medium-weight. The print is a bit modern, a floral watercolor thing, but if you squint, it looks like it was dyed. I want to make a kosode or yukata from it, to experiment more with patterning for a larger woman, and also partially line it (sleeves, shoulders, butt). I'd wear a light-weight linen unlined kosode beneath. Figured it could work for hot weather events.



I also have a more expensive light-weight linen that is thin blue stripes, but before I make up something with it, I want to experiment with the cheap stuff.

Last year, I found a cute (modern) pineapple cotton print at the thrift store. I forget the yardage, but I think it was only $2 or $3 for the entire thing. Maybe 5 yards? Very thin cotton, might not work for a yukata, but I'll know more after this experiment. If I can't make a fun yukata, I might just make a modern skirt. Which will have to be lined--this stuff is practically see-through. But it makes me smile. I like pineapples.



Somewhere I think I've got some plain white cotton to use for the lining--if not, there's plenty of the light-weight linen, but I thought like with like might work better?

It's not like I know what I'm doing. This is actually very hard--I'm terrified of making a mistake. It always takes time for me to gather the courage to cut into fabric! But this is all very inexpensive fabric. If I screw up, I'm not out a lot of money.

The problem with being very overweight is that it is really difficult to work out how much yardage to get, because it varies based on the width of the fabric. And I'm still working out tailoring tricks to make Japanese garb look a little more flattering on me. Surely it can be done. Sumo wrestlers wear wafuku all the time! And since pre-1600 Japanese garb did not have those wide obi (belts/sashes), it's not as cylindrical as modern kimono.