DIY Yukata.

I heard there was going to be a “Japan festival” at AX this year. I had the crazy idea that I could make my own yukata for less than $10. I was right. I enlisted DQ’s help, and we worked on it like crazy over the weekend. We finished mine, and the one we’re make for DQ is still a work in progress. Hope the pictures work, I just created a new ImageShack account.

We worked so hard on this thing. I did all the measuring, marking, pinning and cutting. DQ did the sewing, which doesn’t sound like a lot when you write it out, but believe me, it is! This is what we ended up with. Ignore the strange white orb floating around in the top of the picture.

Here’s the back. As you can see, my obi tying skills are not the greatest. I can do better, but I was just dressing to get some quick pics. Plus, wearing a kimono/yukata is fairly complicated. The traditional look is flat chested and tube shaped; there are special undergarments (pads and flatteners) especially for kimono wearing. Since I don’t have them, and I still wanted a more traditional look, I used towels and ace bandages to achieve it. I also have four elastic belts (koshi himo) on to hold the yukata in place correctly. Usually the neckline would be closed slightly tighter, but it was super hot.

Wii would like to play. My brother insisted I include this shot. Just being silly.

Well, that’s it for now. I’ll have another review up soon, plus a special surprise I’ll be doing for Anime Expo. If the hotel I’m staying in has wireless, you can expect to see updates from me every night of the con. If not, I’ll do it as one big post when I get back. Either way, I think there are a lot of people who will enjoy it.