I love a good printed jacket, so all this talk of kimonos recently has been right up my street – colourful patterns, hippy-esque fringing and enough fabric to ward off late-summer breezes, but not so much that you swelter under the September sun (the weather down here has been brilliant all week, lucky us!). The only thing I wasn’t keen on was the price tags – I couldn’t find any in the charity shops and even on eBay they were going for quite a lot, so I had a look online to see how tricky they were to make. Answer – very. There was talk of seams and tucks and darts, and after about half an hour I gave up and decided to search for DIY instructions. I found a great tutorial for turning a scarf into a kimono on A Spare and a Pair, but I didn’t have any of the materials required (plus my scarf already had fringing), and patience is a virtue I don’t own – so I cobbled together my own kimono using my old scarf and some black thread. And, err, that’s it.
To make this incredibly quick and easy kimono, you will need:
One scarf with fringing (you can find these in the charity shops for pennies – I actually saw this very one in my local Sue Ryder a few weeks back!)
Some cotton in the same colour as your scarf
A needle or sewing machine
1. Take your scarf, and iron out any creases.
2. Lay it on a flat surface, then fold the top third section over and pin in place on either side – this creates the sleeves.
3. Stitch alongside the pins, for roughly two inches, then sew back over your work to strengthen it.
4. Erm, that’s it.
It’s nowhere near as fancy as some of the other tutorials I’ve seen, but if you’re a fan of quick and easy projects, you can’t get much simpler than this! Happy Friday, frugal fans!
Oh yes!! What a brilliant idea, I am always buying scarves just because I like the vintage pattern….only for them to sit in a drawer as i stick to my usual favourite scarf! THIS could be their saviour!! 🙂
Amazing idea! x
Beautiful! I am going to give this a go.
YES YES YES!!!!!!!! I too am seeking a kimono – but refuse to pay the current prices. Thanks for this!
Simply genius! It looks lovely on you. PS I'd forgotten you'd had your hair cut too, it looks so fab! X
wow love this! so simple and perfect, also love your new hair! 🙂 x
Wow really impressed – this is amazing, I love it. I have been meaning to pick up a kimono for summer and never got round to it but have a scarf that would be perfect so going to check this tutorial outLaura x