Hi everyone! I recently bought a few silk kimonos using an app called “Mercari”. It is an app where you can buy and sell pretty much anything, new, or second hand! I picked up three kimono jackets (shorter length than regular kimono) from one seller for an amazing price, so wanted to show what I got in mail. She even included a fourth one as a thank you gift. Since they are jackets, I have less fabric to work with when upcycling it, but I was able to get one camisole style wrap dress from one kimono jacket.
Since the app is in Japanese, and lots of sellers don’t post listings in English, it might be difficult to shop from overseas. But if you are in Japan and can get some Japanese language help, it is a good place to score kimonos for a reasonable price. I usually search by “着物（kimono）” and “正絹(silk)”, and sort by price. Some price includes shipping fee and some don’t, but usually sellers are willing to negotiate those terms, which is another fun part of shopping on Mercari.
Hope you enjoy the video!
Watch video here
Table of contents
0:00 Intro
0:34 Red kimono dress
0:58 Where I bought these kimonos
2:28 Crane print kimono jacket
3:53 Red bean color kimono jacket
5:45 Cotton fuschia pink kimono jacket (free gift from the seller!)
Resource list
- Mercari (the app I used to buy the kimonos)
- Tips on sewing with kimono fabrics
- What I made with kimonos in the past
Red kimono dress
Shop here
Crane print kimono jacket
Red bean color kimono jacket
Cotton fuschia pink kimono jacket 
4. Little girls dresses
In my 10 years of garment sewing, this is the first dress I made in true red. I was requested this particular dress from a photographer who is planning a fall shoot in Showa Kinen park this week. He is hoping to use the dress to catch the colors of changing leaves. I don’t know if I will have an occassion to wear such a dress myself, but it was fun to make! The bodice is made out of satin and the skirt has wrinkled chiffon layers on top of half circle satin skirt. Chiffon layers are actually streamers as opposed to one connected skirt, so it should be fun to play around with them for the photos. 
I made Spaghetti straps to go criss cross at the back, and took a short video clip of how to make them. I’ve made them many times and this method which uses a cord might be the easiest. You sew a strap fabric folded (right side in) with a cord inside, and utilize the cord to turn the strap inside out. My trick is to sew the top and bottom openings a bit wider than actual strap width, so the turning goes smoother. You can cut off the wide parts later so the whole strap is the even width.
