When I got my pattern, I looked at the suggested fabrics with the hope that a satin type fabric was suggested, which it was. I then went to my go to fabric website and found the most beautiful silky satin that would work perfectly for a kimono. This fabric has a lovely shine to it and is so silky and lightweight. I was so happy with it and just couldn't wait to get started!
I decided to try the pattern for kimono D because I liked the idea of having the fringing on it. To preserve my patters, (who can afford to keep buying them?) because my printer is not good enough to scan and print the pieces every time I want to use them, I cut them out and trace them using baking paper (the white paper as apposed to brown) to the size I want. I also find that by doing this, I don't have to be as delicate about tracing or handling the pattern pieces as the baking paper is a lot less fragile than the original pieces. I will be doing a post in the near future about the methods I use to trace my patterns.
The first thing I found when cutting my fabric is that it frayed a lot, but, as I was just a beginner, I didn't have anything to stop the fraying, such as pinking shears. I just carried on with the kimono in the hope it wouldn't fray once I had finished the seams etc. WRONG! A few days after finishing it, the seam split due to the fraying. So I decided to scrap this one so I didn't waste the fringing (which I still haven't found a use for, of course).
At the time, my younger sister was going through a phase of loving kimonos, so I decided my second attempt would be one for her for Christmas. I did some research and found that French seams were the answer. I'll do a post about French seams later on but for anyone that has no idea what they are, you basically sew part of the seam with wrong sides together, turn the garment so the right sides are together and sew the seam again. I found this a really easy way to conceal the raw edge so it didn't fray and the inside of the kimono also looked so much better.
On to the instructions for the pattern. At first glance I was really happy with the key and the way everything that I would come across in the pattern is explained at the beginning. I think this saved me a lot of time because I didn't have to sit and Google words or phrases that I had no idea about. I also liked the cutting layouts because it's a visual aid to save you as much fabric as possible (if anyone out there thinks the cutting layouts are a waste of time, trust me, they're not). Everything in the instructions was separated into steps, which were all really clear and easy to understand, which helped me to work at my own pace because they made it really easy to just stop and pick it up again at another time. As a beginner I liked the way they explained how to attach the sleeves. This is because even though I have now done a lot of sewing, still don't like gathering the sleeve caps to attach them to the shoulders after the sleeves have been completed, so this method was perfect for me and knowing it has helped me with other patterns recently.
Overall, I was really happy with the outcome of the kimono and I don't think that was really down to me. I think the instructions were so clear and although they were detailed, they were also very basic, which limited the chance of mistakes being made (which I am very, very prone to doing). The only criticism I have is a simple one that anyone can fix if they feel the same as me. I think that because the fabric I chose was heavily patterned, the seam at the centre back interfered slightly with the look of the finished garment. However, it is an easy fix because the piece could have just been cut on the fold if it bothered me that much. This is a very minor criticism, but other than that, I can't find any other problems with the pattern. Anyone that is a beginner and wants to learn the basics of dressmaking, I highly recommend this pattern as one for beginners.
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