Ryuu-sama

The kimono remake is complete! I'd bought this old garment a few months ago. It was in a state of disrepair and I decided to remake it so it will be wearable again. I took out the old torn lining and replaced it. I also cut the original garment across the shoulders and put in an extension to repair the giant holes that were next to the collar. I used the original oddly shapen front extension panels and the haori style side extension panels to create a rectangularly shaped front panel. So there's some rather unique seaming on this one.

I tried my best to reserve the historical appearance of this kimono. So I used a textured silk for the extension and added a nice Edo era style black collar. Instead of using a bright white lining I also descided to go with a sort of blond colour. I figured the bright white would be too jarring against the aged fabric.

I'm kind of disappointed that the old fabric is so weak. I don't know how long this piece will be wearable. At the very least it will make a very nice display piece. I like the fact that it really looks like something an onnagata or oiran would wear.

I really wanted to use my pretty dragon obi with this one, but I'm not used to tying it yet, so I didn't do a proper otaiko musubi. You see, the obi was shortened for a child to wear, so it's about half the length of a regular fukuro obi.

You can see details of the fabric here:
[link]
The finished ensemble being worn:
[link] [link] [link]

Time to completion:
46 hours 36 minutes