#bjd yukata

[eveningdreams8]

picking patterns for your dolls yukata and obi

i think there was maybe one 'maybe' on actually wanting this but i am posting anyway;;;

i will preface this with that ultimately you can do whatever you want and makes you happy and this is more of an art then a science but if you struggle on deciding on matching fabrics this might help

picking fabrics in general for either component, keep in mind your dolls scale and the drape of your fabric, generally you can get away with thicker and heavier fabrics for obi then yukata

if the fabric you have absolutely set your heart on for the obi is not stiff enough for a belt you can add interfacing

with that out of the way on to the print picking! you don't have to stick to traditionally Japanese looking prints like sakura flowers, temari balls, waves and cranes. Anything could be a yukata print if you want as long as it's in scale for your doll, this doesn't exclude large prints! you could get a really cool look with a large print.

generally i decide if a print is too big or not is when i put it up against a doll (or imagine it if my doll is not on hand as the case may be at the fabric store) would a real person look cool wearing this large print? or just odd? sometimes the print could almost work but it repeats too rarely to work.

small repeat prints are great! through the really small ones usually work better for obi then the yukata.

the goal is to pick two fabrics that both compliment and contrast one another, this might sound like a bit of a contradiction but i will explain

first consider the patterns, the goal is so the two fabrics don't blend together, so roughly large prints with small and avoid using the exact same print for both even if the colours look nice together

while you don't always have to follow these rules consider this more of a guideline, i no doubt also forgot to list some options that could work as well, these are easy ways to pick a fabric print

if you really can't decide a solid colour is usually a safe choice, to spice it up you could pick something with a subtle printed texture or variation, also don't discount just textured fabrics! they can make great obi even if they are only one solid colour

if your yukata print is large and organic it could look good with a small regular print or a geometric one

if your yukata print is vertical stripes it could look good with an organic design, small regular print, often repeating geometric pattern or small horizontal stripes (if the striped on the yukata it self are not small)

if your yukata has a geometric print it could look good with a small repeat pattern, or medium to larger organic print

now the colours! this is a little more nebulous and objective but here is a few things to consider

having a bit of the yukata colour in the obi or vise versa is a good way to coordinate the fabrics

one option is to have the colour combo pop! by this i mean you see the colours next to each other and go "yes that feels right!" even if they are quite contrasting

generally monochrome prints can be paired with just about any colour, you would pay more attention to the images of the print it self to make a good match

you could follow the colour pallet! if a print is black and green the obi is too, just in different amounts so it stands out with a complementing print

I would also recommend holding prints next to each other even when you doubt it would work, it's a good way of finding striking combos!

hopefully this will help someone 〒▽〒

if you have any questions or suggestions feel free to add

[plasticbeau]

ozin_doll (Twitter)

[protabat]

I made some yukata for the big girls as well. I’ve really enjoyed my little foray into doll scale sewing.

[konzenkoryuu]

Dug out Ilya’a yukata for game day. I can’t remember where I got it—DOA possibly

[the-enzyme]

A small haul of toys that I recently received. These were mostly not released this year, except for my first Blythe ever (YAY!, I am super happy with her!), but I was just recently able to get these. So, I am calling this a small toy haul, and not part of my January toy haul, which is still traveling from Japan to the USA, despite the excessively expensive shipping costs. >__>;;; I was considering yet another 30-smothing-cm BJD, but then I remembered, shipping and handling costs are freaking insane right now! I also keep hoarding acrylic stands and other small stuff that add to the size and weight of my shipments, and so I can’t afford other fun stuff, because I keep getting things I don’t need. On the other hand, I also don’t need another resin doll, now or ever, so maybe I am better off. DX

From Left to right: Good Smile Company BlytheSuri Sustainable Fashion Doll; HeyDoll Kiki & Tata Yogurt Candy Secret Pocket Series Trading Figures; Banpresto Eren Yeager The Final Season Non-Scale Prize Figure; MGA Na! Na! Na! Surprise Mini Doll; MegaHouse Naruto: Shippuden Petit Chara Land (10th Anniversary Ver.) Sasuke Uchiha Red Yukata Vers. Non-Scale Trading Figure. 

Once again, I am thrilled with my first ever Blythe doll. I wanted to go with Floating Away Dream, but for some reason, GSC Shop USA had her for 60USD more than this version, so I went and pre-ordered this one instead. I am loving her and her clothes more in person. However, I was originally thinking of customizing my first Blythe and finding possible optional tanned male doll bodies seems to be a pain in the gut. So, thought it would be easier to get the paler version, not for 60USD more though. They were the same cost from GSC shop Japan, but the shipping made them so much more expensive, so I went with pre-ordering from the USA shop instead, and that’s how I got this version. Regardless, I a super happy! She’s beautiful, and now I am thinking I might just leave her in her box to look pretty, instead of customizing her. Kind of wonder why secondhand ones, even in terrible condition are so expensive, when they are so much less expensive brand new. I am guessing it’s the “collector” status of the older ones? Now that Good Smile Company is manufacturing them, I wonder if they’ll be an increase on Takara Tomy versions... 

I am also super glad to finally have received my TOM pre-order of Banpresto Final Season Eren, now I ca unbox the one I got pre-owned (MISB) one. Also got a Nanana surprice from Amazn; I was so excited thinking it was CJ Cuddles, due to the sticker. Unfortunately, it was Britney Sparkles, who is gorgeous, but I only want four of them and she is not one of them. She’s still super cute and I am glad to keep her, but I wish they weren’t a royal pain in the gut to get in store, so I could get the ones I actually want! Now that they don’t have that terrible (to me) printed texture. Also got more HeyDoll Kiki & Tata Yogurt candies! I am glad to see they are totally random, and you don’t get more Kiki than Tata necessarily! I got three Tata this time. Now I just need three Kiki and one more Tata! I got the special Tata, which I thought I didn’t want, but she’s super cool IRL. Finally, I am now the proud owner of the two version of the 10th Anniversary Pettit Chara Land Sasuke Uchiha, the one in the red yukata! I’m super happy with this tiny, tiny haul! (:

[stregacorvina]

2022 recap - Part 2

And here we are with the second part of this 2022 recap! I hope it will be shorter than the first half XD

- In July I got the results from the exams and I PASSED THEM ALL! I was so happy that all the sacrifices, the stress and the time took from sewing finally had a meaning but I was also really scared because that means that In september my life will drastically change...I will be a teacher OMG! I was hoping to pass but I really wasn’t expecting it... But it was finally time to go back sewing full time, I had a lot of backlogs and some delayed commissions to deliver so I made the final rush for Emma Swan and Regina Mills cosplays from Once upon a time along with other commissions from My Etsy shop (another Todoroki Fantasy cosplay, another Momo Yaoyorozu hero suit and a season 1 version of Bakugo shirt...it was really a month dedicated to My Hero Academia XD)

Also I managed to finish on time one of the biggest embroidery project since 2B in 2021, a yukata covered in leaf embroideries. I enjoyed this project so much and I really was so upset that I cannot use my embroidery machine in all the ways I planned at the beginning of the year!

I also sewed the last Princess Serenity gown of the year, for a 1/4 BJD.

- In August we finally went back to travel and after few days on the mountains we finally flyed again to Norway and it was one of the best holiday in a while! I took almost 15/20 days off to try to recover my health but the season of the biggest conventions here in Italy was about to start so I needed to resume sewing as soon as I can.

During August I also decided to close my Etsy shop for a while (it’s still closed right now) because I received a very big order when we were on holyday and it really stressed me out because as a matter of fact, I didn’t have the time to make it at all....but I maneged anyway! It was a groom outfit based on the Dracula cosplay I did few years ago.

The cosplays due for this month (for a convention at the beginning of September) were a quite easy summer kimono (or yukaya) and again a very big embroidery project! Rapunzel dress based on the doll version, one of my favourite of the year for sure! I was also really happy to sew a male version of Lucy Heartfilia from Fairy Tail (even if I don’t like her character so much the anime is one of my favorite at the moment !)

Also at the end of August I received the news that I was officially a teacher in a Fashion and Graphic Design High School here in Milan and starting from the 1st of September I had to go to school everyday! So to celebrate this event I bought another Smartdoll XD This time the head only (I will buy the body around December as a birthday gift from a very nice girl from Finland) so here it is Moment, or Sonhora, as Violaine sister.

- September was starting and so my high school career, but also I need to deliver some cosplays until December (i’ve orders until February if I have to be honest XD) so again no rest at all...School in the morning and sewing like crazy in the evening/night! Even with this crazy schedule I manage to deliver quite a few cosplays...while I was getting used to my new schedule I sewed some “easy” projects: a Ravenclaw Quidditch robe and one of the outfit Arshes Nei wore in the Bastard reboot serie

Meanwhile I made some friends at school among my colleagues and it was really nice meeting new people after so long time. Also the girls I have to teach were slowly starting to open up to me and with the majority of them I have a really good relationship right now.

- October as per usual is my busiest month as here in Italy we have the Lucca Comics and Games convention, one of the biggest in Italy and in Europe and I always have a lot of big works to deliver. This yeas was no exception and I had three big projects! I started a bit of each of them during the previous months so I didn’t start from scratch but it was soooo exausting anyway

The projects were Shionne from Tales of Arise, Merida from Brave in an alternative outfit and Kadaj from Final Tantasy 7 AC. I was really excited to sew all of them but at this point I was so exausted to sew that I didn’t enjoy them as much as I expected and that really sadden me a lot. 

I also manage to sew just in time a new Halloween outfit for my dolls to take some pictures in the Halloween weekend. 

- I really don’t remember at all what I did in November, even if it’s so close in time. I think i just rested and cleaned my sewing lab and trying to get hold of my life again XD Also during this month I decided to put cosplay commissions on hiatus because even doing quotations was becoming a real struggle for me and I still don’t know right now when I will be able to resume taking them.

- Between November and December I worked on some old works that needed mending or alterations (I will deliver the last one in a few days) and started to rest in a proper way. Right now I am still on holyday (only for a couple of days alas!) and before this week on the Mountains I was at my parents’ house for Christmas. Of course I brought Violaine to sew some new clothes and take new pictures.

And as December is also the month of my Birthday I really make use of my new paycheck and bought a lot of gifts for myself XD Two girls from the new Shadow High serie (Natasha and Shanelle) and as I said before a second hand body for my second Smartdoll Sonhora. I know, a lot of dolls, but this was supposed to be my "dolls year".. (I also gifted myself an iPad for Christmas XD)

What a year! It happened a lot and it was quite difficult to remember everything to write this entry (it took me more than 5 days to finish it!) A lot of good things happened so I really cannot complain but I was hoping for a different year this time after the 2020 and the 2021...

Who knows that 2023 will bring, I think I will finally adjust to my new life as a teacher but at the same time I will do my best to start sewing again, but with a slower pace...and for a while I will focus more on the things I enjoy making (dolls clothes, embroideries, developing new skills....) until I will be mentally and physically ready to start taking commissions again.

So as we’re almost a week in the 2023 (I started writing this entry on the 2nd of January) I was glad I was able to look back at my last year and see how much I’ve accomplished. It was such a frantic year that I didn’t realize how many things I’ve sewed while studying like crazy for almost half of the year and starting a new job. I also bought a lot of gifts for myself ahahah...next year I have to limit myself a bit!

As for New Year Resolutions, I really don’t have much planned: on a personal level I just want to be healty again (resume my daily yoga and pilates lessons and eat better) and spend more quality time with my family (my boyfriend and my cat here in Milan and the rest of my family in Rome as well). And also finally try to catch up with all the tv series I’ve lost these years I was so busy (Stranger Things, House of Dragon, Dark, the Boys...just to name a few - and I’ve already started as I’ve binge watched Wednesday during these holidays and I’ve almost done with Mirai Nikki (it passed so long that I almost don't remember when I started watching it) On a working/hobby level I just wanted to be back to enjoy what I sew again and to finally be able to re-open my Etsy shops (at least for cosplay sewing patterns and the dolls one), to sew a lot of items in my whishlist and to start using my stash materials more instead of buying new things! I also really wanted to start again learining new thigs, I hope to be able to commit more to Skillshare courses this year (the first thing I wanna learn is how to use Procreate properly now that finally I have an iPad XD) and maybe open the Youtube Channel I was talking about at the end of 2021!

And this was my 2022, how about yours? Did your year went as planned or like mine went totally downhill? XD I hope to be more consistent here on my blog too this year and to post at least one entry per month!

I really wish you all a wonderfull 2023 and let’s work hard together to have the best year in a while! ❤️

Chiara (StregaCorvina)

[babystep-dolls]

While I agree with OP's annoyance at the overzealous accusations of cultural appropriation, I really don't think that's the reason why we see less clothes from other cultures. It's a contributing factor, but the main reason is that... (almost) nobody cares. Sure, western bjd collectors at large like the occasional yukata or kimono or anime-inspired outfit, but a traditional Tibetan or Masai outfit? Niche of a niche, within a niche. The biggest driving force behind pushing those out of the limelight is actually western ignorance

Also, I'm Chinese and I sometimes get annoyed at people using Chinese Xian Xia outfits, because of how surface level it stays. I'll never attack them over it, but I do stew in my own corner when I see a bunch of people call any black and red hanfu a Wei Wuxian outfit

Some of you really need to take that fat stick out of your ass making you complain everytime someone DARES use a cultures clothing for their dolls. This includes fantasy or just restyled versions. There’s a HUGE difference between cultural appropriation, which is built of disrespect and exploitation, and someone appreciating a culture and the aesthetic, and just wanting to put their doll in something cute while showcasing another culture and the great fashion history of it.

I finally get why so many Western dolls are running around in mostly white-euro or white-euro-fantasy style clothing now, because people throw a fit the moment a different cultures clothing is used, regardless of how innocent and well done, and clearly created because the person really enjoys the style.

Not just that, it finally explains to me why I have never seen a for example a black doll wearing a traditional outfit from, Idk, Nigeria, or Idk, a Masai outfit. It’s always just three options: Modern (whatever is popular). White-euro (history or fantasy) style. Weird random fabric combo-outfits, while not bad feel like a lowkey effort to do something with the doll’s clothing that doesn’t scream “WHITE EUROPEAN!”. The rare few dolls who do have traditional outfit from different cultures are so rare, they get totally overshadowed by the three I mentioned.

And before you talk about Asian companies, or kimonos. I mean dolls dressed by Western people, where the clothing is made by Westerners. Not a random Asian fullset, or an artist outfit from taobao, mandarake or whatever. It becomes even weirder when people complain about outfit restyling, or fantasy-fying outfuts, when it’s literally super popular even within cultures. The easiest to find is probably stuff like the deconstructed kimono, hanbok, or hanfu styles of East Asia, who you can find combining old styles with modern silhouettes and fabrics, or vice versa, modern styles with old silhouettes and fabrics.

If you actually cared you’d see and accept the difference between appropriation and appreciation, and not try to water down appropriation by making it your default-accusation.

~Anonymous

[mischief-maker-me]

Completed SD hitoe (unlined) kimono & yukata! Now that I have these done, I've given myself permission to work on accessories like bags. I think I FINALLY figured out how I want to make a new style of bag that will go well with more masculine sets ^_^

[kyreneaskloset]

Shipped Etsy order.

Halloween Waloli for SD10 girl, 56cm. Modeled on my Sweet Dolls Alice human.

I have patterns for MSD and SD. Outfits are made with on hand fabric, random fill. To order, visit the shop.

[smallwonderdolls]

Took the sales pictures today!  I’m finally done with it... The obi belt took longer than I had expected to complete - there was lots of slightly tedious straight-line stitching by hand. @_@  I decided to use velcro for the belt closure to make it adjustable for different body types.  Though I wonder if people would prefer just a plain long belt to tie as they please...?

Things I would do differently - definitely leave more room in the body since it’s too snug on Volks Yo-SD.  Maybe make the sleeves slightly longer.  Depending on the fabric I would also interface the collar piece to keep it straight.  It’s barely visible in the photos but you can see some of the brown stitching on the bottom of the centre of the purple bow... it’s not too obvious but it’s definitely there.  I would sew that differently the next time.

I’m now working on a little matching surprise for the prospective buyer. ^__^

[aiiroinari]

New Yukata  released!  Midsummer Dragonfly  for MSD ... to order please visit etsy page we ship worldwide!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MidNZoo

[eveningdreams8]

There is a doll meet with a friends/ lovers theme next weekend and I am scrambling to get some of my crew dressed in time

This motivated me to finally hem the edge of the obi which was all it needed for finishing if I don't make it a pre tied one (I will post the other outfit I finished later, of course for a doll that is not a mach to this one so I still don't have a 'pair' to take with me;;; )

[plasticbeau]

mimi.yukkuri

[protabat]

Yukata take 2!

[paintedwingsbjd]

Coming soon! Yukata for both genders and available for all sizes. Keep an eye out for more information and updates on our website and social media pages~

[captain-highly-caffeinated]

PSA- Mirodoll sell kimono and yukata now. Could not resist. They must order them from someone else or something. Totally different packaging. A lot of choice material-wise also.

They're super nice full sets too. A lot of places only have the most basic one layered yukata.

These all have the "underwear" layer, matching material obi instead of the usual plain black, and even have socks.

First is the best as it also has hakama. Unfortunately velcro rather than ties, but certainly not grumbling at the price.

Second is a fancy obi-ed kimono with a nice matching hair clip.

Third is just standard yukata.

All under 100 quid with postage. Madness.

Try them on in like a year🤣🤣🤣