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Two Kochi Kimonos

July 25, 2018 by Aimee Sher

One of the very first thing I have ever sewn in my life was a little kimono cardigan to wear as a costume with friends at school. Let’s never speak of that period of my life again. 15 years later I’m at it again, this time the goal being a nice, slinky silk kimono.

I’ve got a RTW polyester chiffon kimono that I wore to death when I was pregnant and when I was nursing. In a pinch it had worked great as a little cover (this was before I gave up on covering while nursing altogether). I didn’t realize a kimono as a cardigan would be something I love so much, but I had gotten the kimono cardigan through Stitch Fix. It wouldn’t have crossed my mind to pick it off the shelf so I’m grateful to my pre-sewing days of Stitch Fix for opening up my mind on stuff like this.

Anyway, I figure it was high time I had a silk one, and I had decided on the Kochi Kimono by Papercut Patterns, but first I had to make a muslin before I cut into my fancy expensive Liberty London silk that Roy, my husband, helpfully picked out for me at The Fabric Store.

Because of nearly all the seams being straight, this is a pretty straight forward pattern and fits really nicely in my size onto just 2 yards of fabric with plenty left over, so it’s a really fabric-efficient way to get a little light layering outerwear piece into your life.

For this version, the wearable muslin, I made the variation with all the tie straps out of an incredible metallic foiled linen. It’s pretty medium-heavy weight, and I feel like this is more like a structured jacket. I mostly tie it in the center when I wear it.

 

 

This gave me some trouble. I tried to French seam the underarm sleeve part and then French seam the underarm side seam. It didn’t go well and the finish at the armpit area is not as neat as it could be, but I figure no one will ever really look there, so who cares? Other than that this metallic linen is pretty much to die for and I’m glad I got it during The Fabric Store’s closing sale (though I’m still really bummed about the closure!). It was difficult to work with as it was quite thick and heavy, so difficult to press and sew down, but I enjoyed this make pretty well.

I really liked this pattern so far by this time, and I just think the beautiful drafting gave it the perfect swingy shape and homey, oversized, throw it on over everything kind of fit without it falling off the shoulders. The instructions were a bit bare and if you plan to finish the seams any way other than serging, all I can say is good luck because I still haven’t figured out how to French that underarm seam with the sharp corner cleanly.

And now, for the silk one. I spent forever that last day at TFS and had picked out another silk (a crinkle georgette) by Liberty, but Roy wanted me to buy this one too. “It goes with your skin tone,” he said, “And you like flowers.” He was right.

This was only my second time working with silk and the slippery fabric gave me a run for my money! It was really tough and I made so many mistakes in the underarm seam I gave up on the whole luxe French seaming finish and just serged it all to finish. By the time I did that I had ripped it so many times that the sleeve was a full 1.5 inch narrower than before, but it still looks nice and oversized and beautiful. Clearly this wouldn’t have been so lucky in a more fitted garment, so I say it was kismet that it worked out so well. And it turned out to have such a different look than the linen, didn’t it? I’d say the linen was a bit too edgy for me, but this silk version is soft and romantic and slinky.

Because of the challenges I had with these fabrics (total ends of the spectrum with this pattern, honestly), neither of these makes have the neatest finish but I’m learning to love that about my handmades. A few weeks have passed now and I wear them often when it’s not too hot, so I call it a win. And besides, I’m pretty sure in real life I’m the only one scrutinizing the mistakes.

I wore this exact outfit last night to the Hollywood Bowl and the silk cardi was the perfect little cover up for when it got a bit breezy but the temperature was high. I can see myself wearing this long into California autumn. And with the two versions I made you can see that it’s an incredibly versatile pattern as it’ll transform completely depending on the woven you are using. You can purchase the pattern over at Papercut Patterns.

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aimeeshermakes

Sewing, knitting, baking mom of two. She/they
🌈 and Taiwanese American
📍Los Angeles
🎹 teacher by trade

Coming soon: Wisteria Bloom socks, my second desig Coming soon: Wisteria Bloom socks, my second design ever featuring some super special yarn I purchased by @biglittleyarnco... test call coming in a few weeks. 🥰 #wisteriabloomsocks

ID: a purple sock with a pink and peach speckled cream lace panel lays over a wood surface. 

#aimeeshermakes #sockdesigner #knittersofinstagram #asianknittersofinstagram #knittingpatterns #knittingdesign #knittingdesigners #handknitsocks #sockknittersofinstagram #operationsockdrawer
My first pattern. #ItsBobaTimeSocks... Currently t My first pattern. #ItsBobaTimeSocks... Currently testing and coming in May... (aka today’s excuse to drink boba). What flavor do you think you’d knit??? 🧋🧋🧋🧋🧋🧡🧡🧡🧡

#626yarns #boba #thaiicedtea #sockdesign #knittingdesigner #knittingdesign #testknitting #operationsockdrawer #knittingpattern #sockknittersofinstagram #asianknittersofinstagram #bobaeveryday #aimeeshermakes #thoughtfullymadefiberpodcast #knittersofinstagram
Welcome all to the 6th week of the #KnitDiverseKAL Welcome all to the 6th week of the #KnitDiverseKAL! Your participation has been such a joy so far and I’ve so enjoyed what you are all coming up with. And, I have discovered new makers along the way! I hope you’re all enjoying the KAL and these prizes as much as I am. 

This week, there will be two winners. 

Prize 1 is an @unlikelyfoxfibers sock skein donated generously by @disewbedient! The colors are super vibrant and beautiful.

Prize 2 is 160 yards/65g of a sports to DK thick and thin yarn spun by me from an art batt created by @sunnysideupcrafts. This would be lovely as a garment accent or in colorwork with a dark contrast or on its own in a small project. 🥰🥰 I spun it over Christmas holidays and I have been hoarding it since. I decided to put it up as a prize since Sunny’s work is so inspiring and fits into the KAL. 

To enter: Use the #KnitDiverseKAL hashtag on a grid post before Sunday, April 18 at 5 pm Pacific Standard Time. Qualifying posts must demonstrate progress made on a project that is featuring a yarn or pattern from a designer of color or an LGBTQIA+ designer. WIPs are welcome, and completion is not required. 

General KAL guidelines:

- do NOT out anyone in an identity they’ve not revealed to the world publicly. safety first!

- KAL runs through April 30th

- anyone who participates in abusive or harmful behavior in comments or in the hashtag (which I will be monitoring) towards the very communities we are trying to celebrate will be disqualified.

ID in alt text.

#diversknitty #asianknittersofinstagram #queerknitters #blackdyersofinstagram #spinnersofinstagram #sunnysideupcrafts
My week in summary. 🥰 There were some projects My week in summary. 🥰 There were some projects made for others’ businesses and a handspun just for my own pleasure and then my very first design. My heart is full with making. 

Sock pattern in testing now and coming soon. #itsbobatimesocks in collaboration with @626yarns 

ID: a pile of hand knit finished objects and WIPs. The colors are green and white and dark brown and the colors of Thai iced tea. All are set on a background of couch cushions. 

#sockdesign #testknit #knittingdesign #aimeeshermakes #spinnersofinstagram #handspunyarn #spin15aday #operationsockdrawer #asianknittersofinstagram #knittersgonnaknit #626yarns #knittingdesigner #morrofleeceworks
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