Replies

1. 
   Elona_Masson | Jan 16, 2001 11:25pm | #1

   *
   Joe, it's incredibly sweet of you to want to do this for your fiancée--and you're gonna need help!

   I suggest you post this question at http://www.sewingworld.com, which may be the most active sewing website around. You'll have to register and all that, but if you then post either under the "General Sewing" or "Fabric" headings (or start your own topic, as you did here), you'll get buckets of answers and moral support, too, from the very skilled sewists there.

1. 
   Sarah_Kayla | Jan 17, 2001 06:38pm | #2

   *Dear Joe -What a sexy and sweet gift. What you plan to do is time consuming but not particularly difficult. A kimono is a series of rectangles that are sewn together. For a pattern or better yet a diagram, look at a book called "sew your own japanese clothing" or at "wonderful wearables" by virginia avery. you need to sew everything using french seams. that means , first sew with the seams on the outside of the garment - then you trim the edges, turn the whole thing inside out and stitch again, enclosing the raw egdes. It will look beautiful and will fee good on the inside too. (do this to one seam at a time). you can get better advice on doing french seams in the archives of this site. Do a hand rolled hem for all of the hems. Yes, it is timeconsuming, but by that time your sewing skills will have improves enough to do it with ease. (ok maybe not ease, maybe without cursing all the time)Use a skinny needle to do the sewing and see if you can find silk thread - write again if you have troulbe finding silk thread. This is one of those projects that sounds harder than it actually is. A wonderful wonderful gift for your very lucky bride. SarahPS - let us know how it goes

1. 
   Ghillie_C | Jan 17, 2001 08:28pm | #3

   *Joe -I think your first problem is going to be getting the chiffon cut straight; it slides around all over the place. To make it behave pin it down (literally) to one or more large sheets of lightweight paper using lots of fine silk pins, and then cut chiffon and paper together. Try to put the pins somewhere where the pinholes won't matter, such as round the edges in the seam allowances. A single line of running stitch will not hold this fabric tightly enough. You will either have to backstitch the seams or do a double running stitch (Two threads, the second one going in where the first one came out and so on). Does the chiffon crease nicely or is it very bouncy?. If it creases you will need to press each line of sewing after you have done it, then turn the fabric in the direction you want it to go, and press again. That sounds a bore but it actually makes the next process easier. Don't even think about lining it. It would create as many problems as it would solve.Practice on some scrap bits before committing yourself to the Real Thing. Don't fret at it; continuously re-doing bits will show more than a few wobbles.Put on some nice music, sit back, relax and just quietly stitch away - its not a bad way to spend time!Good luck, enjoy your project.Ghillie

1. 
   Kathe_Schorken | Jan 26, 2001 02:46am | #4

   *Silk lovely silk. Yes chiffon and other silks slide.Here is what I do. Ihave a plastic table cloth, with flanel an the underside, that will be the top and slides less. I spray temp.glue on the back of the pattern and lay it onto the flanel side of the cloth.then the silk on top of the pattern. Now if you lay your pattern out and measure so everything fits now spray a little temp. glue on the flanel and press the silk firmly onto it.Now mark all pieces or pin inside the seems or both and cut.Now cut your pieces out. seems should be french or flat. I usually do french seems by machine, and yes I wash all silks before I sew, I dont like the drycleaner smell. Have fun if you sew by hand a back stitch would be right. Kathe