diy: floral kimono

Spring is in the air and I finally got myself a kimono after the longest time! I actually made it and I will be sharing with you how to DIY your own kimono in this tutorial! 

So, kimonos in Singapore are quite expensive. Cotton On sells them for $19.95 but I don't fancy their cutting and print. Blogshops sell them for around 20-30 bucks and forever21 carries them for 30-50 :( In the US, kimonos only cost half that price. Plus, these kimonos are made of chiffon, not silk, so I don't see why they need to be so pricey. Chiffon is not an expensive material. 

The crafter in me then scoured the Internet for a tutorial on how to make a kimono! I found this really useful youtuber, laurdiy, and fell in love with her and her diys. She has such a great personality as well! It is really enjoyable to watch and listen to her videos. So you can head over to this link if you'd like a video tutorial on how to make this kimono. 

I used a scarf from forever 21, which you can get in US stores for 8-10 bucks. In Singapore, they cost $15. I had a $12 voucher to use up after my little shopping trip when I spent well over $80 in f21, so I used it to claim this scarf. Had to top up $3 though. While doing this tutorial, I realised the piece I picked isn't very nice because it had a few major runs in the fabric. Good thing, I'm turning it into a DIY piece then. 

The good thing about these forever21 scarves is that they are square shaped, and quite huge, so they are in quite a perfect size. If you are using other scarves, it is good to bear in mind that once you fold your scarf in half, the width should span elbow to elbow. 

1. Fold your scarf in half so that it is now rectangular. You will be sewing and cutting roughly along the lines as shown. The sides will be sewn up together, leaving enough room for arm holes. You can choose to measure and pin it up for later reference but I did it free hand. 

2. Thread your needle. Make sure you have enough thread to sew in one shot. You can estimate by measuring against the fabric you have pinned up. We will be using straight stitches so what you measure is roughly what you need. Now, you are going to make a double dead knot to secure your thread. To do this, start threading your needle through the bottom edge of the scarf and pull most of it through. Then tie a knot with the needle and remaining thread like you would with two pieces of string. I hope this video helps.

3. Make straight stitches all the way until the marked area for your arm holes and stop. Make an ending knot by pushing your needle through the back of the fabric again and passing the needle through the loop created. Do this twice to make it more secure. It is technically a buttonhole stitch. Loop your thread through one of your stitches before cutting it free. 

4. Repeat this process for the other side. Your stitches and sewing does not need to be perfect because kimonos have so much flow, all your imperfections will be hidden.

5. Once you are done, mark out the centre of your scarf and cut. 

6. Fold a section of it in and repeat sewing process to hem the edges.

7. And once you have done that then you have completed making your own kimono! It seems rather fragile to me imo but I think it is a great way to wear scarves in Singapore! Oh, and the best part is that you can still wear this kimono as a scarf whenever you want to!  

Remember to like, share and subscribe to my blog if you have enjoyed this post! Also, help me in clicking on the ads ;)

xoxo