Furisode Yukata

Have you heard of furisode yukata? Furisode yukata are not seen so often, but they are so cute and playful! It is a cotton yukata, but with the long swinging sleeves of a furisode.

This might seem a strange and perhaps non-traditional combination at first, but I have seen quite a few furisode yukata over the years. I think it is not so non-traditional after all! Shira of Kimono Daisuki has this lovely pink one, this sunflower one which I've seen many times on YJA and Rakuten and have loved for years, blue and purple one belonging to Japanese blogger OhSuka, here is one with bunnies!, and asanoha! Yukata with furisode sleeves is great for gorgeous flair, with having the comfort of being cotton for hot summer months!

Recently I was asked to make a furisode yukata for Torahime from the Immortal Geisha forums. She chose a really gorgeous black and blue cotton fabric with a striped floral and shippo tsunagi pattern. I wish my camera could take better photos!

The finished yukata


The inside seams are all hand sewn with no exposed edges, and handsewn hems.


I tried to get a decent picture of the fabric design, but my cellphone's camera is not so good, and I have terrible lighting (I do most of my sewing at night).


Most modern yukata are all machine sewn, but I don't much like the look of stitching around the hems and sleeve openings, so I do take the time to hand sew them with tiny little stitches. This is the sleeve opening, stitches are difficult to see.




I did a bachi collar, with the nape of collar sewn back 4cm and it has a nice stiffly starched core, so it is easy to get a deep shape.





And, I don't like to be wasteful with fabric, so I made a kinchaku with leftover fabric.





I was so happy to once again get to make a yukata for a fellow IG member! I hope she enjoys wearing her new furisode yukata!