JuBan

Antique red nagajuban - Taisho, likely 1910s- 1920s

Finished sewing a han-eri (collar lining) on my nagajuban (kimono undergarment)!!

Obviously, I wish I had white thread available, but I couldn't find any silk thread in-person when I bought the white fabric. The blue silk thread came from my great-grandma's old sewing supplies! Hashtag antique, lol, but I'd rather use it than just do nothing with it. While the white fabric is unfortunately cotton (it should be a silk collar on a silk nagajuban), I did still need to use (any) silk thread for attaching it to the nagajuban because it's silk, and any other thread would likely do damage from an abrasive texture. I have never used silk thread before, and holy shit, I love it. It's SO smooth and didn't cause a ton of knots like I usually get while hand-sewing. If I made a stitch I didn't like, it was also very easy to pull it out without damage. I gotta get more for sure, and when I remove the han-eri for either washing or replacement with a silk one, I will get the correct thread colour in silk. (And probably also for regular sewing too, because this was such a pleasure to use for sewing.)

I was also unsure about the tone of white fabric - it's hard to tell in the photos, but it's a natural white rather than a bright paper white like I wanted. This actually worked out really well since the garment has an off-white colour, (but I haven't tried this white collar next to the intended kimono that has matching colours yet - the nagajuban print won't be visible when they're worn as intended. I'm sure it'll be fine, though.) ((The blue thread should also be entirely covered up by the kimono when worn as intended as well, but I obviously put the stitches as far to the edge as I could without doing a ladder stitch.))

In the fabric store I went to, over an hour away from me because I had an appointment even farther away, I found they carried silk fabric and I was so excited! Unfortunately none of it was plain white or an appropriate weave. In fact, there was hardly any white cotton fabric at all, either!! In a new-to-me store of abundant crafting possibilities, I wound up taking the last dirty, crooked inches off a bolt of the only white Kona cotton!! So small was the natural white remnant (22"), that I had to cut my collar vertically at the maximum bolt length (44") instead of horizontally. But it all worked out - that wound up being the minimum appropriate collar length for this nagajuban - judging by my opinion, but also by the leftover thread bits from the previous owner's collar. I would've liked to make it an inch or two longer, particularly to have a longer hem seam allowance (so when I insert an erishin it won't fray the inner edge), but it is what it is. The rectangle I ultimately cut for the collar was 16x111cm, and that gave me 1cm seam allowance on the long outer edge (and variable on the inner edge since the collar is curved smaller at the neck and wider at the front), and 2cm on the bottom hems. ((I did have to recut the store fabric piece to get right angles because the store had cut it really crooked before I ever saw it, so 111cm is about a quarter-inch smaller than the full 44" bolt width.))

I also picked out some new silk pins (my old regular pins would've done serious damage), but they didn't have silk needles, and I forgot to order some when I started this project yesterday, so I just went with the thinnest new needle I had on hand. (I tested a couple needles on an inconspicuous corner to see which needle would be less invasive to the silk.)

I also got to make use of the kakehari clamp tool I got a while ago, and I love it! It was so useful for holding the fabric taut while hand-sewing this long seam. I didn't feel like working at my desk because I was cold, so I used a clamp from a light (the only thing that would open large enough) to rig it up on the arm of my couch. It worked really well and I got each side sewn very quickly (by my extremely slow sewing speed). I did get like a pinched/tingly nerve from the posture of my left hand (holding the fabric over the pins), so I gotta use a better posture somehow, next time I use this - probably by sewing at my desk. (Or to try switching hands, but this side of my couch is more convenient for my supplies.) However, it was such a short project that I just dealt with the tingling discomfort. (I'll make sure to stretch that wrist more tonight and tomorrow.)

My longest Taisho/early Showa kimono has 29"+ sleeves. None of my juban are nearly long enough. I do have pieces of the uroko fabric, though. Trouble is... I really don't want to cut it smaller than I must. So even though I was going to try getting damaged antique juban and assembling them for a juban suitable for houmongi, I'll make these as long as possible and temporarily hem them up depending on the kimono they're used for.

I have very, very few summer kimono (especially antiques, of course) although I'd like more. Perhaps I can do something about that in a few years...

In the meantime, detachable sleeves are a project for some time. If I make a bunch, I can just tack them onto a main hadajuban and fit any kimono.

Two piece (Hadagi): Hadajuban + Susoyoke

This set does not have long "kimono sleeves." It is like a regular t-shirt sleeve, but maybe more loose.

Fabrics

Plain-weave or other tightly woven fabric, not transparent at all.

Fiber types

Usually plain cotton or hemp/linen. Worn against the skin directly, so should be easy to wash.

Season

All-season. Unlined unless needed for deep cold.

Formality

Worn either as casual undergarments, such as yukata undergarments, without nagajuban. Does not have eri attached.

Usually white but might be other colours. If wearing for formal occasions, use only white.