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Constructing Japanese Clothing
Layout for Kosode on 5 yds of 45" wide fabric:
Layout for Hitoe on 5 yds of 45" wide fabric:
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Constructing Kimono (Garments that hang from the shoulder and
have a cross-wrapped collar):
1. Mark the the shoulder fold on the edges of each
body and sleeve piece with chalk or pins (fold
piece in half to find midpoint).

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Sew the two body pieces together lengthwise,
stopping about 2 inches before the shoulder fold.

Attach the sleeves to the body, matching the marks
for the shoulder fold. Remember to stop the seams if
the bottoms of the sleeves should be unattached for the
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garment you're making. (NOTE: if the sleeves have
selvedge edges, place them towards the wrist so you
don't have to finish them later)

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Attach one overlap piece to the front of one body
piece. Do the same on the other side. (NOTE: if
the overlaps have selvedges, place them away
from the body so you don't have to finish those
edges later)
Pictures from here on with only depict half the
body, with the other half greyed. Do everything on
both sides so the garment stays symmetrical.

Figure out where you want the collar to wrap to on
your body. This will usually be about at where your
hip bone sticks out. Measure from your shoulder
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to your hip bone (on the same side of your body).
Measure the same amount down from the top of
the overlap piece and mark the endpoint "A".

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Lay your fabric on a flat surface, right side up.
From the point where the back seam stops, draw
a 2" line out from the back seam towards the
sleeve. Now draw a line from that point straight
down 4". Connect that point to "A" with a straight
line.
Cut out the striped area, leaving 1/2 inch seam
allowance and slightly curving the corners.
(NOTE: Do not lift the fabric up after you cut this
out - leave it on the same surface until after you
have pinned the collar on or the diagonal part of
the collar will stretch)
Figure out how wide you want your collar to be
(usually 2-5" wide with wider collars on outer
layers). Multiply that by 3 and add 1/2 inch for
seam allowance (i.e. for a 3" wide collar (3"*3)=9
+ .5"=9.5"). Cut your collar piece down to that
width.

On an ironing board, fold one long edge of the
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collar up one collar-width (3" in the above
example) and press.

Fold the collar up one collar-width again in the
same direction. There should be a 1/2 inch edge
sticking out for seam allowance.

Find the midpoint of the collar and mark it on the
seam allowance. Place the collar on the kimono
without turning it over. Match the center of the
collar to the back center seam of the kimono. The
seam allowance of the collar should meet the
seam allowance of the neckline.

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Pin the collar to the back of the neckline, down
the side and down the diagonal line to "A". Let
the excess collar hang free. The corners are
tricky - allow the seam allowance of the collar to
bunch up so you can make it around the corner.
Do the same on the other side. (NOTE: If the
overlaps did not have selvedges, fold the edge
over twice before pinning the collar) (Once the
collar is pinned on, it is now safe to pick up your
kimono.)

Sew the collar to the body, being careful not to
accidentally catch the folded part of the collar.
Smooth the fabric as you sew the corners so it
doesn't bunch under the sewing. It can bunch as
much as it wants on the fabric just on either side
of the seam, just not in the seam itself. After
sewing the collar, clip the seam allowances at the
corners to release the bunching and stretching.

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To finish the ends of the collar, leave the first fold
of the collar in place but fold the collar inside out
along the line of the second fold. Fold the seam
allowance towards the collar. Sew a seam
directly across them (NOT angled) starting from
point "A" where they meet the overlap.

Cut off the excess and clip off the corner. Turn
right side out.

Once you turn the ends right side out, you'll notice
that the folded part of the collar will naturally flip to
the inside. Tuck the seam allowances in and
hand-sew the fold of the collar along the seam
with a blind stitch.

Fold the whole kimono at the shoulder and sew
the body pieces together along the side seams,
then the sleeves together at the bottom. This will
be two separate seams if the bottoms of the
sleeves are unattached (as for hitoe). Also, if the
sleeve bottoms are unattached, stop the side
seams approximately where the sleeves would
start if they were attached.

For any raw edges (openings of sleeves or body,
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bottom hem) turn twice and hand-sew using a
blind stitch. If you did not french seam, finish
inside raw selvedges with a machine zig-zag,
serger, or whip stitch.

Congratulations, you're done.... try it on!!

Al l content copyri ght the author, Jenni fer Munson munson.j enni fer@gmai l .com The author makes
no guarantees for i nstructi ons and reci pes on thi s si te; nei ther does she accept responsi bi l i ty for thei r
outcomes. Verbati m copi es may be made for educati onal purposes onl y provi ded they contai n
ori gi nal copyri ght marki ng.
Thi s page created August 4, 2002
Last updated August 02, 2005