Our Christmas program at church this year is "Christmas Around the World." We already have most of the costumes we need, but we need kimonos for 4 little girls, including Lauren. That's convenient--Lauren already has a kimono from Halloween 2008.
But that still leaves us needing three. A kimono takes a ridiculous amount of fabric--over three 1/2 yards, even for someone as small as Lauren. Blame those crazy sleeves. Brocade fabric is at least $8/yard, even on a half off sale. Um. Yeah, no. I can't expect the church to shell out $75 for three little robes.
I decided to look around for a cotton fabric, more of a "summer" kimono instead of such a formal one. Still, the only fabric I could find was $6 - $8/yard. And if I was going to use cotton, I'd have to make four. It wouldn't be right for Lauren to be in a very luxurious garment, and all the other girls in something noticeably cheaper. This isn't "The Princess and the Peasants."
So I was stumped. It was seriously giving me a fair bit of stress, to figure out what to do. This morning, I went into the costume cupboard and found a huge length of really pretty floral fabric. It would definitely pass for a summer kimono and there was enough to make two for the smallest girls, if I was really careful on the cutting.
I was talking to the Choir director about what she wanted, and the grandfather of one of the little girls overheard us. He said, "If I just give you $30 for fabric, can she keep the kimono when it's all done?" My mouth fell open. "Um. Sure!" I mean, really, why not? It's not like a size 5 kimono is something we're going to need on a regular basis anyway. I talked to another girl's parents, and they're willing to kick in. too. The last girl wasn't there today, but I'll call her parents to find out what color she likes and her size.
So now I only need to make three (if they're all brocade, Lauren can wear hers, of course), and I can get the fabric that will really make it work. Now I need to figure out how much I need to get of each color.
And I need to rethread my Serger. Again.
2 comments:
Hey, I was a "Chinese Dancer" in the 3rd grade for the "Nutcracker." I wore somebody's Asian themed bathrobe AND a pair of black tights -- pantyhose -- braided on my head! And you're worried about an actual kimono?
I can neither confirm nor deny if pictures exist which document this.
What can I say--I'm picky!!!
BTW, I'm calling your mom NOW to get those pictures . . .
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