There are two kinds of sewing projects, readers: the ones you think will be hard but end up easy, and the ones you think will be easy but end up hard. My kimono is the latter kind.
A robe like this should be easy: it's just two fronts (right and left), a back, and two sleeves. But I'm frankenpatterning here without instructions and I've added long kimono sleeves that attach to the torso along half their length, and hang open along the rest. I decided to close the torso sides, which isn't classic kimono but seemed easier and more robe-like.
There are a lot of seams to finish and I probably didn't finish them in the best/easiest way. I used French seams on the shoulders. I flat-felled the armscye and side seams -- not easy with a delicate cotton lawn fabric. To finish the open end of the sleeve (not the cuff, but the end beneath the armscye) I rolled 1/4" twice and stitched. At the point where the sides and armhole meet, I had to clip 5/8" into my fabric (since the top of the side piece attaches to the sleeve and the bottom attaches to the back, creating a very fragile area.
To strengthen the area on both the torso side and the sleeve, I cut four triangular gusset-like pieces of fabric and stitched them along what's essentially the underarm. It wasn't difficult but it was painstaking.
The result is nearly invisible.
Maybe there's a better way to have addressed this issue but I couldn't come up with one.
Meanwhile, I attached my cotton sateen trim to the sleeves, the neckline and fronts, and the hem.
I used the trim pattern piece from my vintage Eighties Butterick kimono pattern. The trim is cut parallel to the grainline even where you're attaching it to a slightly curved front. In an ideal world this trim would be stitched right sides together, folded over and then slip-stitched closed on the wrong side. I didn't want to hand stitch, however, so I carefully, carefully stitched this with my machine. I even used a little double-sided fusible web to hold things in place. Also in that ideal world, the trim would be silk. My cotton sateen looks great, but it's a little heavy, frankly.
Enough about kimonos. Here are some gratuitous chihuahua shots from this morning.
I'm fried and eager to move on.
In closing, have you ever made a kimono robe? Was it easy or hard?
Have a great day, everybody!
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