Kimono Silk

Christmas Scarves

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I know Christmas is still two months away but a couple of weeks ago I was thinking about a simple-to-make something for the knitting ladies and other friends. I was looking at Ann Williamson‘s blog – she does beautiful garments and accessories using kimono silk which she buys from Ichiroya in Japan. She had some lovely pieced scarves in her shop – I remembered the kimono silk fabric I bought a couple of years ago. I have nothing specific in mind for the fabric – a while ago I attempted a simple silk jacket but it didn’t turn out well and I tossed it. I decided to use some from each bolt to make silk scarves.

This project isn’t meant to create an expensive, elaborate gift like Ann’s scarves are – just something simple, yet useful. Last year it was shoe bags, the year before zippered bags. Two weeks ago I cut 5′ lengths from each bolt – kimono bolts are 14″ wide by 10-12 yards in length. I split each length down the centre to give me two 7″ scarves.

Yesterday I set up my serger to stitch a narrow rolled hem and got to work – I did ten scarves. Today I completed the second batch of ten.

Silk Scarves

The scarves are long enough to wrap around my neck twice and tie in a loose overhand knot in the front. The silk is soft and smooth and will be warm to fill the neck of a winter coat. I’m pleased with how they turned out.

My next step is to figure out how to make “envelopes” using parchment paper as wrapping for each scarf.

Ichiroya

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I’ve been keeping an eye on the Ichiroya Kimona Flea Market website for a while now – since I met Ann Williamson, a designer who uses old kimono silk to build her wonderful garment creations. This week the Ichiroya newsletter had a link to an article about how Ichiro Wada hit upon the idea for his online business – selling old kimonos and kimono fabrics. The fabrics are simply gorgeous – I now have 9 bolts and some vague ideas about what to do with them – I want to use them for garments, rather than quilts, but I may attempt a quilt using them. A bolt is 14″ wide and ~ 12 yards in length – enough for a kimono! But since I have no use for a kimono I will use the fabric for other projects.

If you’ve ever thought about an online business it’s worth reading the article.

More from Ann Williamson

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I subscribe to Ann Williamson’s blog so once a week I get an email with photos showcasing what she’s working on. Ann, if you’ll recall, is this wonderful designer of custom apparel made from pieced kimono silk. I met her on the Portland trip. And since then I’ve ordered some kimono silk myself and am trying to create a bit of time to decide what to make from it – I read Ann’s blog with interest:

http://annwilliamson.com/handmade-designer-womens-apparel/

This week, Ann’s working on a third pieced silk skirt to go with a jacket she made in the spring. Skirt #1 & 2 have sold, so to have a complete outfit, she’s making a third skirt. fragments-3

You can see the detailed work she does from these three gored pieces for the skirt. I love her sense of colour and her work is meticulous. I really must get out my silk and think about making something!