Mannequin kitsuke- Slytherin kimono and hounds-tooth obi

Ah, so I chickened out of making one of my nagoya obi into a pre-tied obi...

In the end it seemed like far less work to just make a pre-tied obi from scratch.

That whole sentence is to be read sarcastically.... I don't know what compelled me but once I had that thought ( and the fabric) there was no changing my mind.

Houndstooth in kimono is one of those pretty rare, usually expensive, Western motifs that you see now and then on some Japanese blog, with super stylish ladies and generally makes me jealous and wished I had something for myself.

Well now I do ( although if I'm being honest I would still love an oversized houndstooth print on a kimono or yukata...)

I already had the fabric in my sewing stash, originally intended for a skirt or dress but I needed a stiffer interfacing. The one I had used previously for pre-tied obi ( see here) gave a much softer, casual feel to the obi and I thought it wouldn't work well for the look I was trying to achieve with this fabric.
I think the stiffer one works perfectly for this!

The hardest part was trying to keep the pattern straight and lining up nicely!
But I think it came up looking pretty good.
I made the wire hook on the back on the drum part detachable, so it comes off and the obi can be washed.
Except I didn't get a photo of that sorry... Good idea though...

I didn't have a clue which of my kimono it would look any good with so I just grabbed my old favourite- my Slytherin kimono.
I think this is part 14 in the Slytherin ensembles saga....
(actually it's the fourth... First, Second, Third just if your curious ;)


Anyway! I do like the overall look, I feel like its missing something though.
The cherry on top, per say.
Maybe I should've flipped the obijime and had the red side showing and a different coloured han'eri for more contrast?

(also made a houndstooth han'eri while I had the fabric out, if you missed it)

Not that I'll be wearing kimono a lot in the next few months but its a fun and easy piece to wear for when I do.

Slytherin Kitsuke part 2

I remembered that I have another silvery obi so I gave it another go!

I used the same obijime as last time but a white shibori obiage. I had another obijime/age set but they were more of an apple green and I didn't think it matched too well.

Its been a loooooooonnnggg time since I've tied a fukuro obi so its a bit wonky and I looked super wide at the waist :/

The different obi really makes it pop I think with the bright green swirls! A lot different to the lotus obi.

I also have a white hakata obi that I think I'll pair with this kimono for another look.

What do you think?

Slytherin-ly kitsuke

I bought this kimono years ago, and like many of them I haven't ever worn them.

So the other day when I was free I thought it'd be a great time to don a kimono.

I wasn't originally going to wear this kimono but as its winter here in Aus the colours looked the most appropriate for cold weather.

When I first bought it I didn't know what it is (still don't really) Some ladies on the IG forums suggested it was something a hotel would supply guests with for winter months. It is unlined but a heavy linen or wool as someone suggested but I don't have any known wool kimono so I can't compare them.

Either way I originally bought it because I thought the colours looked so Slytherin! And as green is my favourite colour and I think Draco Malfoy is hot so it was a no brainer.

I paired it with my totally awesome lotus obi that I bought a couple of months ago from Shinei and it is my new favourite kimono piece!

The fabric is woven with silver threads, it probably doesn't show up in the photos but it is very subtle.

However it was a pain in the arse to tie!

I've never been one to tie the obi on the front and spin it around, mine always collapses when I spin it.

So I've always tied it on my back... if only my arms were longer and more flexible...

Not the best photos ever and super flashy but the colours look right and my kitsuke doesn't look too bad lol.

I did a few things differently and I think it made the end result look much better. 

It is also a short kimono so theres no ohashiori which probably helped me lol.