👘 The creative potential of vintage Japanese textiles is endless! ✨ If you’ve ever looked at a stunning Kimono or an adorable silk Obi and wondered, "Can I really wear this?" or "Could I make something new out of it?" This channel is for you.
Growing up in Japan, I thought Kimono had strict rules. Today, I’m here to show you that there are no rules when it comes to creativity! ❤️ Together, we’ll explore how to make these traditional arts accessible, fun, and wearable through:
🧵 Upcycling Experiments ~ Giving vintage Obi and Kimono a second life
🪭 Thrifting Adventures ~ Finding hidden gems in unexpected places
👘 Kitsuke Practice ~ Learning the art of wearing Kimono for fun
My hope is that these explorations spark your curiosity and encourage you to feel at home in your own creative journey. 🥰
#kimono #obi #sewing #upcycling #thrift #remake #sewingprojects #sewingforbeginners #kimonoremake #diysewing #thrifthaul #slowliving #kimonostyle #kimonolife #creativeprocess #memade
Madly Kimono
👘 Hello beautiful kimono lovers! I’m excited to share a new video with you! ✨ https://youtu.be/xiBdDwUqQQo
This 100-year-old antique Meisen silk kimono went through a rough washing cycle in my recent video (https://youtu.be/4fok21d4vGE), and it’s now back as the star of this episode. ✨ It's becoming a flowing, three-tiered prairie / boho maxi skirt! Wow, that's a long one! While learning how to make gather stitches and cutting all of the panels, I slowly but steadily brought the tiers together, and finally… a gorgeous, dressy, circular skirt! 🧵
🇯🇵 This project also touched on the Japanese concept of en (縁), an invisible connection like a thread linking every being, material, and story across time and space. Just like this antique silk’s journey from silkworm into this kimono to my sewing table across the world, reinvention is always happening, and neither this fabric nor we are done yet! There’s even a happy coincidence: en (円) also means circle, perfect for a circular skirt. 🌀
❓ Have you ever upcycled or remade an older garment into something completely new? What’s a project you’ve been inspired by or working on lately?
I hope you’re spending time out in nature, carving out some time to play, make something, anything, and most importantly, some time to do NOTHING at all and JUST BE! ✨
Have a lovely day or evening wherever you are in the world. 🌏 Until our threads cross again!
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 7
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Madly Kimono
👘 Hello beautiful kimono lovers! I’m excited to share a new video with you! ✨ https://youtu.be/DPtowXxrmCs
For those of you that have already watched it (it's been almost 2 weeks!), I want to thank you for taking the time in your busy day. And a huge thank you to those that left me wonderful and engaging comments! Thank you so much! ❤️
In this episode, I’m unboxing a bundle of 11 secondhand kimono obi alongside a couple of fantastic traditional Japanese motif books! We dive straight into exploring these beautiful obi and discovering pattern names, and potential remake ideas for these lovely textiles.
❓ Did a specific obi or motif catch your eye from this obi thrift haul? Do you have any questions about the design patterns or a specific obi that I can answer? What's your go-to method for finding these beautiful garments?
👉 I'm working on the next video which will be released very very soon! Remember that 100-year-old antique meisen kimono that I washed? Yup! That one! I've sewed something very special... Stay tuned! 🥰
Hope you're carving out some time to play, make something, anything, and… Most importantly, some time to do NOTHING at all and JUST BE! ✨
Have a lovely day or evening wherever you are in the world. 🌏
3 weeks ago | [YT] | 15
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Madly Kimono
👘 Hello beautiful kimono lovers! I’m excited to share a new video with you! ✨ https://youtu.be/4fok21d4vGE
For those of you that have already watched it, I want to thank you for taking the time in your busy day. And a huge thank you to those that left me countless amazing comments and suggestions! Thank you so much! ❤️
*** I will be compiling a list of all of your expert knowledge, suggestions and recommendations along with my "do not do what I did" list, so hopefully it will help others looking into washing kimono fabrics for their projects. ***
👘 In this episode, I'm diving into an exciting new project featuring an antique meisen kimono with stunning maroon and cornflower blue tones! This meisen kimono came in a bundle advertised as "antique meisen kimono", with no other information. Yeah, I know... That's the world of buying bundles of kimono online! 📦
Before I can remake this gorgeous vintage silk into a new piece, I take it completely apart and put it through a wild washing experiment. 💦 From discovering unexpected scrap fabric hidden in the eri collar to dealing with intense dye bleeding, fighting a stubborn mothball odor, and navigating an uneven ironing nightmare, it was quite the learning experience! Despite all the curveballs, this beautiful piece survived with so much character, and I can't wait to share the process with you.
💬 Hope you spend some time reading through the comments and replies on this video, because there are lots of great suggestions from viewers! If you have other recommendations you'd like to share with the community, please post on that video's comment section!
Hope you're carving out some time to play, make something, anything, and… Most importantly, some time to do NOTHING at all and JUST BE! ✨
Have a lovely day or evening wherever you are in the world. 🌏
1 month ago | [YT] | 5
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Madly Kimono
👘 Hello beautiful kimono lovers! I’m excited to share a new video with you! ✨ https://youtu.be/YLPAEpJd_BA
For those of you that have already watched it, I want to thank you for taking the time in your busy day. And a huge thank you to those that left me wonderful comments! Thank you so much! ❤️
In this episode, I wanted to squeeze in a kitsuke practice in the late-summer heat by testing out a sleeveless hanjuban paired with a breathable mesh Suzuro datejime. I break quite a few traditional kitsuke rules along the way, so let’s not freak out! For example, wearing a fully lined awase kimono in hot weather and pairing it with unlined hitoe obi, not wearing some kind of hadajuban with sleeves, and a few more… 😬
I also wrap up the episode with a sneak peek at an antique maroon and blue meisen kimono that I’m using for my next kimono remake / upcycling project!
❓ Do you have any favorite shortcuts, cooling hacks, or unconventional pairings when dressing in kimono during warm weather? How strictly do you follow traditional seasonal rules when practicing kitsuke? I’d love to hear how you wear kimono your way!
Hope you're carving out some time to play, make something, anything, and… Most importantly, some time to do NOTHING at all and JUST BE. ✨
Have a lovely day or evening wherever you are in the world. 🌏
1 month ago | [YT] | 6
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Madly Kimono
👘 Hello beautiful kimono lovers! I’m excited to share a new video with you! ✨ https://youtu.be/rBbk-W9KLVY
In this upcycling project, I attempted to remake a lightweight vintage polyester kimono with a lovely Kasuri pattern into a wrap-style top. Working with this fabric, which was quite stiff and rough to the touch, threw a few curveballs my way, including an initial pattern attempt that looked hilariously like a Star Trek outfit! But embracing the fabric's innate structure eventually led to a design (found in a lovely Japanese Kimono Remake Pattern book) that I really love.
❓ Have you ever worked with polyester kimono fabric before? What about tough fabrics in general? Have you had a project completely shift gears on you mid-process? How do you handle design constraints or unexpected setbacks when making? I’d love to hear how you navigate this in your own making process.
Hope you're carving out some time to play, make something, anything, and some time to do NOTHING at all and JUST BE. 🧵✨
Have a lovely day or evening wherever you are in the world. 🌏
2 months ago | [YT] | 11
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Madly Kimono
👘 Hello beautiful kimono lovers! I’m excited to share a new video with you! ✨ https://youtu.be/XEwEaWNZez4
Remember that vintage silk kimono fabric from my last couple of projects? The dirty, smelly one I washed and turned into wide-leg pants? Well, I wasn't quite done with it yet! 🧵✂️
In this episode, I’m taking the remaining silk kimono fabric and attempting to follow a cute top pattern from a Japanese kimono remake book. 🇯🇵 But if you know my creative process, following the blueprint strictly... well, let's just say things take a few fun detours along the way!
From a neck opening that turned out way too small, to adding black lace details and leaning into the messy, playful side of making clothes, this project was all about going with the flow.
❓ When you start a new project, are you a strict pattern-follower, or do you let the materials speak? One of my regular viewers called this "pattern finagler"! I love that. 😆
Here's the link to the video where I washed this dirty and stinky silk kimono.
👉 https://youtu.be/JWqomzJNsIw
And here's the link to the video where I transformed this fabric into a pair of wide-leg pants.
👉 https://youtu.be/7EFDU-BlLKI
Hope you're carving out some time to play, make something, anything, and some time to do NOTHING at all. 🧵✨
Have a lovely day or evening wherever you are in the world. 🌏
3 months ago | [YT] | 9
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Madly Kimono
👘 Hello beautiful kimono lovers! Hope you’re having a lovely day or evening wherever you are in the world. 🌏 I’m excited to share a new video with you!
✨ https://youtu.be/7EFDU-BlLKI
Remember that dirty and stinky vintage silk kimono I washed multiple times in the last episode? Well, I transformed the cleaned fabric into a pair of wide leg pants!
I learned how to put pockets together. Also, I realized how making up my own designs can be quite challenging. The final product is nowhere near perfect and it doesn’t quite fit me. Like the rise of these pants is too low, so I have some adjustments I’m going to be making to it. It’s just part of making things and playing, right?
I also include my thoughts on how I carve out time for "intentional playing" after many years of following what I thought I "needed to do" with my life.
Below is the link to the video where I washed this dirty and stinky silk kimono.
👉 https://youtu.be/JWqomzJNsIw
I'd love to hear what you think about that and how you've been carving out some time to just play. Thanks for stopping by! 🥰
3 months ago | [YT] | 6
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Madly Kimono
👘 Hello beautiful kimono lovers! Hope you’re having a lovely day or evening wherever you are in the world. 🌏 I’m excited to share a new video with you!
✨ https://youtu.be/JWqomzJNsIw
Can a vintage silk kimono survive multiple rounds of detergents, stain removers, and washer and dryer cycles? We are about to find out!
This beautiful black kimono came in a bundle advertised as silk, but it arrived dirty, heavily stained, and incredibly smelly. After my usual cleaning methods failed to budge the stains, and with an intense mothball scent that did not want to fade, the massive trial-and-error process of different techniques I put this fabric through made me start to seriously wonder: Is this kimono even real silk?
Join me for this textile experiment episode where I naively try some very questionable approaches to fabric restoration.
I hope you enjoy seeing how I experimented with the dirty and stinky vintage silk kimono fabric. 😊 What have you been creating lately?
4 months ago | [YT] | 13
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Madly Kimono
👘 Hello beautiful kimono lovers! Hope you’re having a lovely day or evening wherever you are in the world. 🌏 I’m excited to share a new video with you!
✨ https://youtu.be/HGXiuuKSTKI
For this remake project, I’m working with a beautiful orange silk obi featuring a gorgeous gold and silver medallion pattern embroidery. I still had quite a bit of fabric left over from a previous project (messenger bag), and this time, I really wanted to make that stunning embroidery the absolute centerpiece of a really cute, oversized tote bag.
This vintage silk obi has such incredible presence, and I paired it with a thick quilting cotton lining to give a bag of this size the perfect amount of weight and structure. What do you think?
🛍️ I am starting to put these kimono and obi remake products on my store. You can browse the latest collection here:
👉 www.madlykimono.com/
I hope you enjoy seeing how this tote bag turned out. 😊 What have you been creating lately?
5 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 11
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Madly Kimono
👘 Hello beautiful kimono lovers! Hope you’re having a lovely day or evening wherever you are in the world. 🌏 I’m excited to share a new video with you!
✨ https://youtu.be/iwjQJh8M_0U
For this upcycling project, I’m working with an adorable retro red silk obi featuring flower motifs and a geometric lightning bolt pattern. I originally planned on making a simple tote bag, but as the project progressed, I realized it wanted to be a structured crossbody messenger bag instead.
This vintage silk obi was in beautiful condition, and I decided to use the Tesaki and Taresaki ends. I really love how the light blue and gold of the obijime matches the embroidery on this bold red silk. What do you think?
🛍️ I am starting to put these kimono and obi upcycle products on my store. You can browse the latest collection here:
👉 www.madlykimono.com/
I hope you enjoy seeing how this messenger bag turned out. 😊 What have you been creating lately?
6 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 10
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