How to Sew a Men's Kimono // How to Turn a Women's Kimono into a Men's Kimono

In my video of how to sew a kimono the easy way, I promised you to also make a tutorial of how to make a kimono for men. And here it finally is. In case you're here for the first time, my name is Billie Matsunaga and I'm a fully trained and certified kimono teacher and stylist. To all those smart intro skippers among you, can you please just hear me out for this one piece of information that is really important for the kimono you're about to make? And then you can move on to the sewing part of this video. When you make a kimono with this video, make sure to not wear it as it is on the street. A men's kimono ensemble is not complete without a haori. You need to wear a haori on top. When you're planning to wear this kimono as a yukata, you are fine. When you want to wear this as a kimono with an undergarment, you will have to make an undergarment, of course, and a haori that goes on top. Wearing a kimono without a haori is called kinagashi. And for men, kinagashi is only okay in a very private space, which is at home. So when you're planning to go out in a kimono, you will have to make a haori on top. I also have a tutorial of how to make a genderless, simplified haori here on this channel, which totally will work. You will just have to make it. And I will link that video down below. So for those of you who want to jump onto the sewing, please do. For those of you who rather enjoy my bubbly but sometimes very informative talking, please stay with me. Anyway, I really procrastinated this video a little because my husband is not really into kimono. He's super into classical menswear. He has a bigger closet than mine is, actually. But kimono is not a thing. And I had planned a lot of men's kimono content on my channel last year when I was about to actually finish my husband's very first kimono ensemble that I started to sew in sewing school. And then COVID hit and my kimono sewing school still closed. I still can't go. And that kimono is waiting for its collar. And the haori isn't even started yet. Which means making a video without a men's ensemble is extremely hard. And here is the game changer. The kimono I made in my how to make a kimono video is a kimono that after wearing it for a while, I really don't enjoy. And I thought, okay, I can actually turn a women's kimono into a men's kimono, which I'm going to show you today. And I could make it into a giveaway. How to participate in the giveaway for 10,000 subscribers on my channel will be announced in the end of this video. Before we get started, a big thank you to my Patreon, Twiggy Fox, who made those gorgeous and very awesome illustrations for this video. So the biggest difference between male and female kimono is how they're worn. Female kimono are extremely long. Best is the same height as the wearer. And the kimono is then tied up and folded down along the waist. Men's kimono are put on as they are. They are not folded down at the waist, which means men's kimono are not as long as women's kimono. They have a length that goes from your shoulder down to your ankles. You call this height tsuitake. While women's kimono length is called mitake. You can see that women's obi are wider than men's obi. And because of this obi width difference, the kimono sleeves are completely different for men and women. But let me show you what I'm talking about. And here's a wrap up of what you have to do when you want to turn a women's kimono into a men's kimono. And I really apologize for my very gendered language in this video, but it's hard to distinguish between those kimono types in a different way. Anyway, so when you want to turn this kimono into a men's kimono, the least you have to do is to sew on the sleeves further to close up the miyatsukuchi, this opening here. And then there will still be some opening left here on the sleeves and you will have to close that fully because the sleeves for a men's kimono are fully closed. Then you will have to take off the collar and let me turn this. You will have to take off the collar and extend the center back seam because a women's kimono is worn with a lowered back collar like this. So the center back seam is not fully sewed until the so-called katayama. There are a few centimeters left open to actually be able to wear the collar lowered on the back. You call this kurikoshi in Japanese. And men's kimono don't have this. They wear their back collar right against the neck, which means you don't need a kurikoshi, which means you will have to extend the center back seam. And while the collar is already off, you will also have to change the collar shape. In my how to sew a kimono video, I showed you that a women's collar when it's a bachi-eri, which means a pre-folded collar, it generally opens up to the bottom. Men's kimono don't do that. They're completely folded in half all the way through, which is called bo-eri, which also means when you have an open collar on the kimono with a lining on that collar, you take off the lining and just fold the collar completely in half and sew it on here. So the shape changes a little. And when you want to make this super perfect, you will also have to open up the center back seam a little further and change the position of the uchiage, which is lower on the front than on the back. You can see for women's kimono, it is just one line on back and front. For men's kimono, the back is actually higher than the front because the obi actually is placed higher on the back than on the front. And the uchiage usually has to be hidden by the obi. So to make that possible, you have to change the positioning of the uchiage. If it really bothers you, when you just want to turn easily a women's kimono into a men's kimono, you don't have to do it necessarily. There might be people pointing it out to you, but you can also say I just did it because it's so annoying or it's harder to do. So this is what you would have to do when you want to turn a women's kimono into a men's kimono. But when you have never sewed a kimono before, my recommendation is actually to get a huge piece of fabric, it could be an opa sheets or old curtains, and you try to sew that into a kimono first. Because that will show you a lot how a kimono is constructed. It is hopefully also not silk, probably some cotton that is easier to sew and work with. And after you have some practice with that, I would actually finally tackle the women's kimono. For this kimono, I actually have exactly planned to show you how to sew a kimono from scratch. So I'm going to unpick all the seams and use those pieces to put it together into a men's kimono. And as you guys don't know how to probably cut out the right pieces out of the fabric, this is what I'm going to show you now. In the meanwhile, I will wash this one and unpick all the seams to get it ready to sew. For all the following terminology and for measurements, please refer to the video how to sew a kimono the easy way, linked down below or in the top right corner. But here is how to change those measurements into a men's kimono. First, you need to cut out a main piece. Length is your height minus 27 centimeters. You double this because this main piece will be folded down in the center to create back and front panels. Don't forget to add seam allowance. And keep in mind that this length will change when you insert an uchiage. With this, your yuki plus four times your seam allowance. And the front piece will be cut in half to make two front pieces. Then you need to cut out two sleeves. Both 104 centimeter plus seam allowance long and with this half of your yuki plus seam allowance. The next two panels are called okumi and they need the length of your height minus 32 centimeter and a width of 15 centimeter plus seam allowance. After that, you need the color that has at least a width of 11 centimeter plus seam allowance. Lastly, you need to cut out the kake-eri. This is a piece you sew onto the center of the collar. It's 90 centimeter plus seam allowance long and as wide as the collar. By the way, you can use any seam allowance you're comfortable with. In my case, I always use one and a half centimeter. And it's two days later. Hi! First of all, I want to apologize for my extreme play date outfit. I just came back from my play date with my niece. I spent like five hours with her and now I'm super tired. She also did my hair before I left and she said I should keep it this way. So that's what I'm going to do. Four years old are amazing, aren't they? And like always when you meet them, they seem to be smarter again. Okay, so let's start with some explanations here. So these are all the pieces you should have cut out when you just cut it out of fabric. But you can also tell that this fabric here or my pieces are, were already a kimono. Also, in the video how to make a kimono the simple way, the simplified way or the easy way, I did some things because of this fabric you usually wouldn't do. You can see that I cut out here a big hole where the collar was. I also cut down the okumi here on both sides. I cut this along the collar because the collar was so bulky with like four layers inside. I just couldn't flatten it out and I just thought let's cut it, which was not the smartest idea. I also did cut down the round edges of the sleeves here. That's something you wouldn't do or you can see it. The round edges of the sleeves here. Usually with kimono sewing you keep everything into a rectangle and then you put it into the shape you wanted because kimono is made to be remade. So there are a few changes we have to do now. So first we have to even out the biggest difference of men's kimono and women's kimono which is the kurikoshi. And because women's kimono have a kurikoshi this opening here is here on the back on the wrong placement. So what I'm going to do is I fold this here at this line in half and cut off what is actually too long. That's what I'm going to do now. I am also going to shorten this whole kimono in total because right now it has a length that is wearable for someone who is 1 meter 90. That is way too long for most people that I know at least. So I'm going to shorten it a little but I'm not going to cut it. I will put that length into the uchiage which I'm going to show you how to install. The uchiage is inserted by measuring 53 cm down from the top fold and drawing a horizontal line and another line under it. In the distance you want to shorten the kimono in length. Turn the kimono and repeat this step also on both front panels. But this time the first line is 57 cm from the top fold because the uchiage is placed 4 cm lower than on the back. The second line is again in the same distance as the two lines on the back. Fold the panels over right side on right side and pin them together so the two lines will meet. Sew the uchiage on all three panels down and press all the seams. Don't forget that you don't simply press them. Give the fabric two millimeter overlay over the seam. The back panel is then folded vertically in half and pinned together. Sew this down to create a fake central back seam. Press the seam. This is by the way the real way to press it with the overlay. You fold down the seam allowance to one side, create an edge that is two millimeter apart from the seam and press it down. This way to press seam is called kisekake. After you finish the center back seam you cut a horizontal cut into the fabric on top of the center back seam to make space for your neck. This is called kataaki. Of course I skipped this step because I already had that done when I made the kimono for the first time. The cut is again on top of the center back seam horizontal into the kimono. Of course this cut is easier to do when you fold the kimono in half along the center back seam and cut then nine and a half centimeter into the kimono. Now we can do the side seams. On the back panel I mark out measurement A from the center back seam. Measurement A is your hip circumference minus measurement B divided in two. I'll get to that mysterious measurement B later. Remember that measurement A is the back width of the kimono called oshirohaba and this oshirohaba is smaller than the width you need on top of the kimono to get your full yuki. That is why I marked out the width I need on top which is half of the yuki and I connect this point down to the side seam. Start pinning down front and back panels together 40 centimeter from the top fold and this is where you sew the side seams in place. What we're going to do now is to sew on the okumi and for this we need the very mysterious measurement B and I still receive messages about how to get that measurement although I stated quite clear how to get that in my previous video. To get measurement B I think you will have to get used to how a kimono works or how a kimono is worn. A kimono front panel exists of two panels that are sewed together and one of that is the so-called okumi. Okumis always have a width of 15 centimeter which means measurement B is what else you need. The measurement alpha is basically just your front so what do you see of your hip on the front and from that you subtract 15 centimeter because that is already your okumi and then you have that mysterious measurement B. This is the most basic way and the easiest way to get the exact measurement B you actually need. I do have to add that when you already know that your thighs are bigger than your hip measurement that you are going to add one to one and a half centimeter to that measurement B so it won't only cover up your front your hips it will also cover up your thigh. That's the only thing I want to add and let's do the okumi. So I marked out measurement B on the front panel from the side seam and then I pinned the okumi right side on right side onto it. After sewing it in place I finally ironed side seam and okumi seam. Then I folded the seam allowance over and tucked under to finish off the seam by hand. I did the same for the side seams up to the opening for the sleeves. As always I sewed this down by hand and you might have noticed that yes I am wearing yet again another bandaid. Trying to cut an avocado did not end well for my left thumb. After those seams were finished it was time for the sleeves. First I marked out my seam allowance on the side that will be sewed onto the kimono and I also marked out the seam allowance on the bottom of the sleeves. Then I marked out the ningyo you remember the closed corner of the sleeves that is nine and a half centimeter from the bottom seam. The sleeves opening are 27 centimeter from the top of the sleeves. For the round corner the I'm using the marumi of two centimeter. This pattern is still accessible for everyone on my patreon page linked down below. Pin the sleeves in place and sew. That was the day when I found a spider fighting its own reflection in the mirror and while I was wondering how long it actually already had been there and fought itself I was also surprised that spiders actually can see their own reflection and that again kept me wondering if my hedgehog Franze is as smart as the spider or not. So that night we did a little test. Hedgehogs are by the way nocturnal and almost blind animals so I'm quite sure he couldn't see himself and was just curious what this cold surface in front of him was. But you know as long as I don't have any doctor doodle powers we will never know. It's time to hem the kimono. Start at the sides and sew them down. Then you can start to pin the bottom hem. The corners are folded like this. I won't even try to explain it with words because I'm pretty sure it'll only confuse you. After finishing the hem I finished the sleeves and this time I'll show you how to form the round corner properly. First you sew a running stitch around the corner and leave a long end. Then you put your marumi into the sleeve, align it with the corner and then you pull the thread of the running stitch. Fold the seam allowance back to hold it in place and make sure that there are no wrinkles on this edge. Iron then along the edge and you can tell that a kote, a Japanese sewing iron, is pretty handy here. Wet the corner a little and press it again. That will keep this shape forever and ever. Then I started to hem the sleeve opening and the side that will be sewed onto the kimono main piece. And all other edges stay as they are. They're raw. After pressing the sleeve and turning it it's finished! Back to the kimono. Before pinning on the sleeves I took the chance and marked out the line of the collar. First I mark out the end of the collar which is half of the kimono length from the bottom. Then I mark out the point where the collar will meet the okumi seam. This is 21 centimeter from the katayama. Repeat this on the other side of the kimono. I measure then the distance between those two points on both sides of the kimono and this distance has to be the same on both sides and if it's not something is wrong. So you have to probably re-mark and re-measure a few times. Mine was fine at the first time so I drew a diagonal line to connect those two points. Then I pinned on the sleeves which ended to be out of frame but I've showed you this step in so many videos before so I think I can skip the instruction this time. When you sew the sleeves on make sure to only have a two to three millimeter seam allowance from the edge. It's finally time to sew on the collar. Mark out your seam allowance from one side of the collar and then you measure 12 centimeter into the collar from this marking. For pinning the collar on I still don't have any tricks or tips because I struggle with this part still even after six years of sewing kimono. Anyway, start with pinning on the center and work then your way down and try to have no wrinkles and do your best. After sewing the collar on make sure to press in the seam allowance again and to also press in the seam allowance you have marked out on the other side. Don't forget to add interfacing into the center of the collar. Then fold the collar down and pin it onto the kimono so the collar hides the first collar seam. I did an extremely good job to have this part out of frame so please refer to my other kimono sewing tutorial. Finish off the ends first by putting right side on right side having the seam allowance nicely aligned. Sew this together with a running stitch about eight millimeter from the end of the collar. Fold and press this in. When you turn the collar again and push out the corner neatly you should have a clean collar end. Lastly I blind stitch the but you can of course do this by machine. And here is the finished kimono and I can tell you it's huge but I kept it in this length on purpose because as we already have established men's kimono have to be quite fitted to the wearer when we talk about length so I just kept it very long so when you will be winning this kimono you can just chop off the bottom hem without thinking about my feelings how I feel about it because it took actually quite a while to hem it. It's fine you are allowed to just chop it off and just hem the bottom hem again and then you can wear it. This kimono right now has a length to be wearable for somebody who is 187 or 188. If you're smaller than that feel free to just chop off the bottom. Besides that I really hope you enjoyed this video and wait I will sit down and I want to have a proper goodbye scene. This is much better. Thanks again to Twiggy Fox my very talented Patreon for helping me out with the illustrations for this video. If you like the illustrations feel free to check Twiggy Fox out on Instagram. Oh and before I forget to take part in the giveaway please leave a comment down below telling me that you want to take part in this giveaway. It's the easiest thing you can do and I will announce the winner in four weeks. When you have made a kimono with this tutorial please take pictures tag me on any social media you can find me because I would really love to see every outcome. When you are new here and you want to learn more about kimono from a professional kimono teacher make sure to subscribe and I talk to you in my next video in two weeks. Bye!