Wednesday 1 March 2006

Ume

Not all my kimono are blue ^_~
This is my wonderful wine red with silver ume pattern kimono. She's woven and the first informal kimono I bought. Too short, when I bought her, eight (or so) years ago I had no clue on kimono sizes and thought this one was perfect. Well, she is apart from being too short. I love the color, the pattern and the glossy feel of this kimono, nice and sturdy and soft at the same time.
Ume is perfect for February/March. The blossoms are not blooming yet, but they will soon! Ume (plum blossom) is associated with winter, with a connotation of beauty and strength. This lovely fragile blossom withstands the cold and the snow...
Today it snowed like crazy over here but at the same time... or in between the snow fallings I smelled and felt a little spring in the air... so I thought about ume.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello! This is just a lurker saying hello, and I *love* your kimono style! Ume is my favourite motif *jelousy*
Oh, I was wondering, when you made that brown stripey kimono, how long was the bolt? I'm about 163cm in height, and I don't want to have a hard time getting enough length. Thanks^^ and congrats on having a great website!

Unknown said...

Thank you! Kimono are loveable aren't they? Ume is one of my favourites too, so sweet and plump ^_^
Kimono sewing is really fun too, the bolts I have used where 36cm wide and 1136cm long. (cotton from Ichiroya) So this or a bit longer should be ok for you. It's just a tad small for me (I am 170cm) but ok. Most silk bolts are longer so you shouldn't have a problem... Good luck finding the perfect fabric and sewing your kimono!

Anonymous said...

Ummmmm one more thing *blushes* - would you be able to tell me what the 'N' and 'C' stand for in that formula you used for calculating the size of the panels?
I'm nervous about messing up when I start cutting, and I like formulae, they make me feel safe. I'd love any advice you could offer me ^_^;
Thanks again!

Unknown said...

Oops I did that? I just used the measurements recommended by John Marshall in his book "make your own Japanese clothes"

N = the distance from the top of the shoulder at the neck to mid-sternum
C = the circumference of the base of the neck.

If you think you will make more kimono or kimono like garments this book is really useful, there are some things not completely correct but it is really good. If you get it, let me know, because the thing he says about the collar template is not how it should be done... but it is hard to explain if you don't have the book. For me the book was very helpful!
This website is very helpful too: http://www.sgm.co.jp/yukata/school/sewing/index.php
You need to surf a lot but it is good, really even if you don't read Japanese (like me)
Good luck!
It's no problem you can ask away, I will not always have an answer though ^_^

Anonymous said...

Ah, thank you soo much for your help Misuchi ^o^
Now I understand how to take the measurements more^^, and I'm just shopping around for that book - luckily it's not too hard to find! I'll let you know when I get it.
That yukata site looks pretty interesting, I'll definitely explore it more thoroughly when I get home!


Anyway, take care (and thanks again)! ^_^/