Monday I started laying out the kimono pattern on some silver/grey shantung silk. There isn't actually enough for a proper kimono, but as this layer will be under the top layer, nobody's going to see that, esp. as they'll all be tucked into the hakama. This has the advantage that I could always wear it mundanely with a sash, over pants or a skirt. Figuring out the size was interesting, as I seem to have misplaced that part of the pattern. Fortunately, I made an underlayer based on this pattern ages ago, so I measured on part of that (I did horrible, non-traditional things to that garment, taking out seams because I had wide fabric and putting in seams at the shoulders -- probably I was either struggling with keeping the silk from shifting over that long a distance, or I simply didn't have enough space to lay out that many yards at once).

I'm using the Folkwear pattern, which has quite a bit more information on traditional methods, design, and wearing instructions than I remembered it having. When I last used it, I made my sleeves longer, but I was trying for Kamakura period, not Edo. I cut the sleeves one inch less than in the pattern, as the silk is somewhat heavy and I don't want it to rest on the seam of the outer layer. The outer layer is also somewhat heavy material - 5.3 oz. linen, in black.

I was trying to decide if I want to line them or not. Noble/formal wear was usually lined, at least according to the Folkwear pattern, and Bat Girl would be the daughter of a prominent person. But I wasn't sure how many layers I want to wear, despite the hotel being climate-controlled. Plus I'm not sure how well a med-wt. linen would drape if fully lined (probably with more linen). What I've settled on at this point is fully lining the silk layer both to protect the silk and to create a uniform drape when worn by itself, and to only line the sleeves of the top layer. The sleeve openings will be wide enough to glimpse the inside of the sleeves, so having a different color showing would add a little depth/detail.

***

I also started work on embroidering the mon. Not too bad, but wondering if I can actually make two of the three of them look identical or not...

Thursday I got a few inches of chain stitch done on the t-shirt bag.

Today, I think I'll be doing well to vacuum the living room rug...well, should be able to pull out the patterns and fabric for Bat girl at least. Horrible time sleeping last night, so really dragging today.

Looked at mon as they're placed on clothing. I will be doing 3 of them, two in front one in back. I should be able to draw up the mon pattern today as well. Single bat, with curled wing tips is what I'm planning on.

Still need to make the jacket for the demon pony outfit but I don't have the right color thread at the moment and my brain is too tired to figure the cut for that right now anyway

Oh, and I should really bring in the skirt I hung on the line nearly a week ago to try to remove the rust stains (salt and lemon juice, then hang in sunny place) and see how it looks.

Sunday, I tackled the lavender over skirt. Redid some pleats, redid the front, inserted a stiffener into the waistband and finished the top edge of it. Still need to hem the ends of the edge ruffle and add hooks and eyes to the waistband.

Also sewed on two more rings onto the back of the old lavender floral dress, mostly because I was too lazy to find another needle for the over skirt, so I used up the thread on the needle attaching rings and then switched colors.

I think the bat girl comb is coming along...I thought the brush strokes from the decoupage were too much, so I've been applying light coats of acrylic spray coating. The stuff is nasty so I'm using it on the enclosed front porch. During the day it's warm in there, but I can shut it off from the rest of the house after spraying, and it has good enough ventilation that it clears out of the porch much more quickly than it would inside the house proper.