Patchwork kimono purse

I recently added this cute little purse to my Etsy shop. It's made from vintage Japanese kimono pieces that I've sewn together to make a patchwork.

The main print is a beautiful blossom print on a pale pink ground. It has touches of red in the print and I've added other fabrics in a similar red colour to complement it.

The purse is lightly padded and has a red cotton lining with a matching red zipper closure. There is also a red tassel on the zipper pull.

This purse is big enough to use as a travel bag or as a small makeup bag. It's a great place to store smaller items in your bag and keep them all in a safe place.

This pretty kimono purse makes a great gift for a Japan lover and is totally unique. Items are wrapped in pink tissue paper and can be sent straight to their recipient with an optional gift message included.

Vintage kimono scarf

I have a wide selection of scarves in my Etsy shop, most of which are made from vintage kimono fabrics that I bought when I lived in Japan. There are so many fabulous kimono designs and they look great reimagined as decorative scarves.

This kimono scarf is made from a stunning kimono made from a bold brown and gold print using Japanese icons such as blossoms, chrysanthemums and maple leaves.

The kimono scarf is double-sided and is combined with a solid black kimono fabric on the reverse.

The scarf looks dramatically different depending on how you wear it.

Look up close and you can see the gold detail and gold embroidery. This metallic addition brings out the richness of the browns and terracottas.

This would make a great gift for a Japan lover. Each item is wrapped in pink tissue paper and can be sent straight to its recipient with an optional gift message included.

You can buy this scarf here.

Kimono fabric love

When I lived in Japan I collected a lot of amazing kimonos and kimono fabric pieces. They come in such stunning colours and are great for using in sewing projects, or just for looking at and enjoying. I now sell these fabric pieces as a selection of scrap fabric bags and each bag contains a selection of fabrics that are similar in colour.

This kimono scrap bag contains fabrics in a selection of reds, pinks, oranges and browns. There is a variety of sizes and weights of fabric, but they are all vintage kimono pieces.

This is one of the larger pieces of fabric in the collection and uses a pretty ikat-style design on a brown background.

I love this bold geometric design that is often seen in Japanese motifs. The bold red and white colour palette is very pleasing.

It's great to include softer colours too and this fabric is very fine, taken from the lining of a kimono. I love the soft pink watercolour-effect.

I love this bright orange colour and the 1930s style flowers randomly scattered on it. It has a very painterly feel and the colour makes it very bold and modern.

Stunning flower on a bright red background. This kimono fabric is cotton and includes a small geometric print around the flower.

Stunning chrysanthemum in a painterly feel. I love the antique cream ground colour.

This is such a sweet stork print, almost abstract in feel. It's a very small piece of silk but adorable! It would make a great piece in a small crafting project and I love the antique pink and cream colour palette. Some customers have used these fabrics to make doll's dresses.

Often the lining fabrics are more interesting than the outer kimono fabrics. This orange and cream fabric was taken from the lining of a kimono.

Pretty ombre flowers on a pink and yellow background. Although this fabric is obviously a vintage piece, it has touches of modernity with the bright green leaves and I love that injection of bright orangey red in the background.

 

Kimono cutie

Here's another kimono cutie I've just added to my Etsy shop. It's a decorative kimono scarf made from vintage Japanese kimono fabrics that I've pieced together. I love using a variety of fabrics within one scarf and often like to add a decorative border to the ends of the scarf in a contrasting coloured fabric.

The main body of the scarf is made from a gorgeously soft silk fabric in shades of red, yellow and white on a deep blue background. There is a floral pattern that includes stylised chrysanthemums, maple leaves and blossom.

The scarf can be worn in many different ways. I like to drape it loosely around my neck.

The border design is made from a vibrant red and white geometric design, made up of circles and dots. It also includes floral elements.

This scarf can be worn in many different ways and is a great way of adding colour to an outfit.

All my scarves are wrapped in pink tissue paper and sent with a Cheeky Leopard postcard. They make a great gift for someone special and can be sent straight to their recipient with an optional gift message included.

 

Kimono scarf

 Another stunner from the Cheeky Leopard scarf collection! This kimono scarf is made from a selection of Japanese kimono fabrics in shades of pink, red and turquoise.

This scarf looks great in many different  ways. It looks great tied in a big bow, like the one above.

Or you could drape it around the shoulders. The great thing about this scarf is that it looks totally different depending on how you drape it.

When I lived in Tokyo I spent a lot of time collecting vintage kimono pieces from the markets around the city. This meant that I developed a large collection of fabrics to use in my scarf creations.

Many kimono designs are beautifully delicate as well as being intricate. They are also printed onto lovely soft silks.

I love this colour combination of soft pinks and turquoise.

The perfect gift for a Japanophile!

Japanese tea towel

The Japanese icons print I designed for my Spoonflower shop has now been made into tea towels that can be bought in my Etsy shop.

The icons include kimonos, kokeshi dolls, luck cats, origami birds and pink blossom.

This tea towel is made form a lovely thick linen cotton canvas fabric

The perfect gift for a Japanophile.

Red kimono clutch bag

 I'm absolutely loving this recent addition to my Etsy shop! It's a clutch bag made from vintage Japanese kimono fabrics in shades of red, pink and orange. I have a wide selection of kimono pieces in my collection and this is the perfect project for bringing them all together to create something truly unique and different. This would be a great wedding clutch or evening purse for a summer party.

The clutch bag is lightly padded and has a red lining and matching red zipper. 

I'm loving the addition of the red tassel attached to the zipper pull.

The kimono pieces are stitched together and then top stitched to help keep them neat and flat.

This pink bird fabric is one of my favourites.

Each side of the clutch bag has a different combination of fabrics.

The kimono clutch bag makes a great gift combo with one of my kimono scarves. The perfect gift for a Japan lover!

Shop clutch bags here

Kimono artwork

 When I lived in Tokyo I grew to love the traditional kimonos that come in amazing colours and stunning designs. I even had a lesson on how to wear a kimono - which is very involved but an amazing experience! You can read about that experience on my other blog called Katie in Tokyo. I still have a massive appreciation for the kimono designs and fabrics and often use them in my creations. I now have a pretty kimono artwork to reflect that, available in my Etsy store.

I chose a pretty pink colour as the background and embellished it with flowers and bamboo leaves that are traditional motifs used on kimono designs.

This hand-drawn kimono design is digitally printed onto a lovely thick watercolour paper. It's packaged in a cellophane envelope and then gift wrapped in pink tissue paper. This would make a great gift for any Japan-lover. It can be sent straight to its recipient with an optional gift message included.

This kimono artwork would look fabulous in the bedroom or in a dressing room.

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Japanese kimono scarf

 The purple kimono I bought recently has now been made up into a stunning silk scarf with a matching clutch bag. I'm loving the vibrant purple colour as an accessory and love the pop of red in the design.

The kimono has a lovely modern painterly hash design printed onto it.

I picked out the red from the design and used it as the colour for the tassel detail.

Purple is a stunning colour for a scarf and enhances any outfit.

The lining of the clutch bag is also a red colour, for a flash of vibrancy when the bag is opened.

The scarf is long enough to wrap around the neck or could be tied in a jaunty loose knot.

This clutch is big enough to fit sunnies, phone, makeup and keys.

The scarf can also be loosely draped around the neck.