Japanese Thrift Shop Haul

Note: This was already posted on my Tumblr page. I got too excited to write about these that instead of just posting pictures, I ended up writing a short blog. XD

A year ago, my friend Sayou and I were browsing through a thrift shop when I spotted an authentic Japanese kimono! I instantly bought it, only to realize that it was a child's kimono. Since then, I promised myself that I will buy/make myself a kimono (in my size).

I did attempt to make one - but I never got to finish it. I still have the fabric though, and I'm planning to give it another shot this coming Holy Week (4 day vacation huzzah!). But I was able to find myself an authentic kimono in my size a few weeks ago. :D

My short Tumblr post starts here:

Japanese thrift shop haul from a few weeks ago. 2 kimonos, an obi, 3 sets of double pointed (?) knitting needles in 7, 10 and 12, and a few balls of yarn.

The knitting needles are in perfect condition, except for one size 12 needle that has a tiny bite mark on the tip. There was also a loose size 6 in the brown pack and a metal tube thing. Too bad I forgot to get the smaller knitting needle for the green yarn. The yarns are also good except for the dark blue one.

The shop didn’t have much choices on their kimonos. Most of them are heavily stained or have ugly prints/colors, so I settled for this gray one and a fire orange one. I still have to make/find a red obi for the orange.

All in all, I think it was a good haul! I’m going back in a few weeks to see if they have better kimonos. :D

End of Tumblr post.

As I said, it was a very good find! You can't find kimonos everyday, and knitting needles are very expensive. And everything was dirt cheap too. I'm planning to use the gray and black set for a shoot sometime soon *pokes Sayou*.

Thanks for reading!

Commission: Fleece Hat with Ear Flaps

Hello! I recently finished two commissioned hats for my Mom's officemate. Here they are!



Purple


Red

I'm not really sure how these are called - fleece beanies with ear flaps? Haha. I need to do my research. At least I was able to make them exactly as my client described.

I used the basic fleece hat pattern by clearkid (from deviantart), then modified the bottom part to accommodate the ear flaps (apparently, he/she already put up a tutorial for hats with ear flaps. I only discovered this after I made the purple hat). To make the yarn pom-poms, I used a tiny pompom maker device that looks like this:



Photo from shoponline2011.com

I got mine from a local anime convention for only 50 pesos! As for the type of yarn, I use the brand Red Heart since it produces the best-looking pompoms. I believe you can make your own pompom maker with circular pieces of cardboard, but I haven't tried that method yet. I'll put up a tutorial as soon as I get to try that.