Anime Need help with a Kikyo costume

[sango_elric]

Hi, I'm new to the boards. I wasn't sure where to pot this so, i thought I would try posting here... Anyway, i'm in the process of trying to create a Kikyo costume and I have been frantically trying to find out what kind of material a shrine maidens uniform would be made out of. can anyone help me with this? I would greatly appriciate it.

[Horendithas]

[COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]Kimonos are typically made out of silk. However for a cosplay uniform getting it exactly right doesn?t really matter. The whole idea is to pick something that will look similar and yet be affordable. In this case you could look at different synthetic materials or just simple cotton materials to make your outfit. More important would be to have some form of pattern for making the outfit. Again you want to find something that is at least similar and not necessarily the exact same thing. So long as you?ve got the right idea going everyone is going to know who you are dressed up as. [/COLOR]

[Raina]

[COLOR=Blue]I totally agree with indifference. You should use a hard cotton material, because it's cheap and it would hold its shape. You might also want to use interfacing along the hem lines to keep them stiff. Don't forget that it's a costume, so the stitching doesn't have to be perfect. :catgirl: Also, Kimonos are in layers, so make sure that you can see more than 1 collar for that authentic look. But here's a short cut: just attach collars to the inside so that it looks like there are a lot of layers. :p That's what I did when I made my Japanese dolls. ;) As for the pattern, it doesn't have to be your size. Just adjust it when you wear it.

Hope your costume turns out great!!!!! :catgirl:

[/COLOR]

[sango_elric]

Thanks for the advice. I'm not to worried about the patterns, i found one for a hakama online that I can custom measure to fit me, and I know Simplicity has a kimono pattern that I can eaisly adjust. Everything I've read said to layer kimonos, so i was planning on that. a friend of mine suggested that i make my under kimono out of cotton and the outer cothes out of silk in order to better hold the shape of the clothing. Plus I can buy the under cotton sooner than the silk since i have to wait until i have some money to buy silk with. (cotton i can get for a doller a yard at Wal-Mart).
Again thank you so much for the help. If you have any other suggestions I would be more than happy to hear them... or... read them...

[Raina]

[COLOR=Blue]
Glad to help. And it's good to hear that you've got patterns to work with. :D

But about the silk... It may be good to hold the shape, but the original costume of the Mikos wouldn't be made out of silk. Silk was expensive in their time too. And because they lived in a temple, leading a monk's life, they wouldn't have bought expensive silk. Especially because they are material goods, things monks try to stay away from.

Silk would look really nice. But don't feel pressured to buy it, because you don't have to.

Also, the Simplicity patterns are for women kimonos. Try to find male kimono patterns for your costume. Yeah, Kikyou is a girl, but what she's wearing is for men. Compare it with... lets say... Kenshin's kimono. It should look pretty much the same.

Good luck with your Cosply. Have fun! :catgirl:

[/COLOR]

[jakewise]

Hi from Japan here :D

[IMG]http://rabbit.sub.jp/wafuku/A141601a.jpg[/IMG]

Shrine Girl => "Miko" costume is still one of the best selling costumes, so if you want to buy one, I'm pretty sure you could as well.
Also, the real ones aren't in silk either, since it's not really a kimono.
It's more like a work cloth, so it's usually made out of thin cotton.

If you want to complete the costume, you might want to pay attention to "tabi" & "zouri" that are "socks & flipflops".
For "Tabi", you can just use white socks. For "zouri", Birkenstock has a beach sandal that is quite similar, but you can always use GAP beach sandals, lol.

Hope this helps ya ;)

[sango_elric]

Ok, so silk is a no... I know I can definalty get some cotton and I can use RIT dye if I can't find red fabric. Does anyone know where I can find a pattern for a man's kimono? Also, jakewise, i had noticed the socks and sandals and i found a website i can buy "tabi" socks from, so I was planing on that, but i'm not sure what i'll do for the shoes... I had considered buying those flip flops with woven bamboo soles (at least i [I]think[/I] it's bamboo. it's very thin strips of something). Do you think that would work? Or is that what you ment by GAP sandals? Thanks again for your help!

[jakewise]

>I had considered buying those flip flops with woven bamboo soles (at least i think it's bamboo.

I think that would work great :D
maybe you can wrap the strips with tissue papers make it thick, and wrap with the same red fabric you use for the costume.
For wrapping with fabric, You can cheat by using staplers :animeswea

[sango_elric]

I think that would work great
maybe you can wrap the strips with tissue papers make it thick, and wrap with the same red fabric you use for the costume.
For wrapping with fabric, You can cheat by using staplers

Staples, duct tape, and hot glue are all extreamly usful in costume making... trust me, I'm a theatre major.

[jakewise]

yepp they are quite useful.

as for men's kimono fabric, I'm not so sure where you can find ones with patterns you like in the states.
[URL=http://www.japanesekimono.com/index.htm]This site[/URL] I found has some information on how to make women's kimono.

and [URL=http://www.ichiroya.com/item/list.php?ct=010]this site[/URL] has kimono fabrics for sale.
I'm not so sure if you can find exactly what you looking for, but maybe you can start from here. ;)

[sango_elric]

I'm not to worried about the fabric, it's more the pattern its self I'm worried about. I can get cotton pretty easily, since i'm pretty sure that's what i'll use. i may try doing an online seach for a pattern. the hakama pattern I found was online, so I may luck out again. Thanks!

----

sorry to post twice, but i just found out that Simplicity sells a haori and hakama pattern under either formal wear or jackets. I'm not sure how it looks or anything, so i was wondering if anyone had ever used this pattern.

[color=#007520][INDENT][SIZE=1]I deleted your second post and copied the text into your first. If you want to add something, there's always the edit button. Don't double post. -r2[/SIZE][/INDENT][/color]