- Mark the the shoulder fold on the edges of each body and
sleeve piece with chalk or pins (fold piece in half to find
midpoint).
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Sew the two body pieces together lengthwise, stopping about
2 inches before the shoulder fold.
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Attach the sleeves to the body, matching the marks for the shoulder
fold. Remember to stop the seams if the bottoms of the sleeves should be
unattached for the garment you're making. (NOTE: if the sleeves have
selvedge edges, place them towards the wrist so you don't have to finish
them later)
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- Attach one overlap piece to the front of one body piece. Do the same
on the other side. (NOTE: if the overlaps have selvedges, place them
away from the body so you don't have to finish those edges later)
- Pictures from here on with only depict half the body, with the
other half greyed. Do everything on both sides so the garment stays
symmetrical.
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- Figure out where you want the collar to wrap to on your body. This
will usually be about at where your hip bone sticks out. Measure from
your shoulder to your hip bone (on the same side of your body). Measure
the same amount down from the top of the overlap piece and mark the
endpoint "A".
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- Lay your fabric on a flat surface, right side up. From the point
where the back seam stops, draw a 2" line out from the back seam
towards the sleeve. Now draw a line from that point straight down
4". Connect that point to "A" with a straight line.
- Cut out the striped area, leaving 1/2 inch seam allowance and
slightly curving the corners. (NOTE: Do not lift the fabric up after you
cut this out - leave it on the same surface until after you have pinned
the collar on or the diagonal part of the collar will stretch)
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- Figure out how wide you want your collar to be (usually 2-5"
wide with wider collars on outer layers). Multiply that by 3 and add 1/2
inch for seam allowance (i.e. for a 3" wide collar (3"*3)=9 +
.5"=9.5"). Cut your collar piece down to that width.
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- On an
ironing board, fold one long edge of the collar up one collar-width
(3" in the above example) and press.
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- Fold the collar up one
collar-width again in the same direction. There should be a 1/2
inch edge sticking out for seam allowance.
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- Find the midpoint of the
collar and mark it on the seam allowance. Place the collar on the kimono
without turning it over. Match the center of the collar to the back
center seam of the kimono. The seam allowance of the collar should meet
the seam allowance of the neckline.
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- Pin the collar to the back of the
neckline, down the side and down the diagonal line to "A". Let
the excess collar hang free. The corners are tricky - allow the seam
allowance of the collar to bunch up so you can make it around the
corner. Do the same on the other side. (NOTE: If the overlaps did not
have selvedges, fold the edge over twice before pinning the collar)
(Once the collar is pinned on, it is now safe to pick up your kimono.)
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- Sew
the collar to the body, being careful not to accidentally catch the
folded part of the collar. Smooth the fabric as you sew the corners so
it doesn't bunch under the sewing. It can bunch as much as it wants on
the fabric just on either side of the seam, just not in the seam itself.
After sewing the collar, clip the seam allowances at the corners to
release the bunching and stretching.
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- To finish the ends of the collar, leave the first fold of the
collar in place but fold the collar inside out along the line of the
second fold. Fold the seam allowance towards the collar. Sew a seam directly across them (NOT angled) starting from point
"A" where they meet the overlap.
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- Cut off the excess and clip
off the corner. Turn right side out.
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- Once you turn the ends right side
out, you'll notice that the folded part of the collar will naturally
flip to the inside. Tuck the seam allowances in and hand-sew the fold of
the collar along the seam with a blind stitch.
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- Fold the whole kimono
at the shoulder and sew the body pieces together along the side seams,
then the sleeves together at the bottom. This will be two separate seams
if the bottoms of the sleeves are unattached (as for hitoe). Also, if
the sleeve bottoms are unattached, stop the side seams approximately
where the sleeves would start if they were attached.
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- For any raw
edges (openings of sleeves or body, bottom hem) turn twice and hand-sew
using a blind stitch. If you did not french seam, finish inside raw
selvedges with a machine zig-zag, serger, or whip stitch.
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