Knit Kimono: 18 Designs with Simple Shapes

From casual to formal, the kimono shape has endured for centuries as a staple form of dress for peasantry and nobility alike.

The classic boxy shape is recognized worldwide as an icon of Japanese life and culture and is used as a canvas for color, pattern, and design. In Knit Kimono, author Vicki Square has created 18 unique designs, each illustrating a knitted interpretation of a style or feature of traditional kimono. The styles and shapes of the garments run the gamut from short to long, rectangular sleeves to shaped, straight to overlapping front opening, with sleeves or without, casual to dressy. The knitted fabric matches traditional kimono design as much as possible - yarns are composed of natural fibers like silk, cotton, linen, bamboo, and wool, and stitch patterns are chosen that drape and move much as their woven counterparts.

In addition to 18 kimono projects, Knit Kimono offers a brief history of the traditional kimono shape and how it has endured through centuries of political and social change. Although the projects may look difficult, they are based on simple rectangular shapes that require very little shaping on the knitter's part. These are ideal first-garment projects for knitters wanting to venture beyond scarves. These are also ideal projects for experienced knitters wanting classic, wearable garments. Create your own timeless and wearable work of art with Knit Kimono.

Reviews: "This lovely little book features 18 designs, all with minimal shaping. The beauty of each garment is in the stitch pattern or colorwork.... there’s something for everyone here."-Planet Purl

Introduction- From casual to formal, the kimono shape has transcended time and for centuries has been a fashion cornerstone for peasantry and nobility alike.

• Kimono Basics- The Japanese kimono is a timeless garment that is based on the simplest construction involving nothing but rectangular pieces of cloth.
• Design Your Own Kimono- The basic rectangular shape of a kimono makes it the easiest of all garments to design for knitting.
• Katsuri Sodenashi- Ikat is the Malay word known worldwide for the process call katsuri in Japanese.
• Dogi (Vest)- Stunningly beautiful striped patterns have woven their way through kimono fashion for centuries.
• Indigo Noragi- Indigo is a common dyestuff, but the colors it produces are anything but commonplace.
• Waves- Uchikake is an elegant outer robe worn unbelted over kimono, a style that originated during the Muromachi period. In a blending of attributes of various time periods of kimono history, this kimono has clean graphic images of water in kata suso with a hint of the formal padded hem of the uchikake.
• Reeds & Grasses- During the Edo period (1600-1867), the chonin, or urban artisans and merchants, expanded their wealth through commerce in the burgeoning seaport of Osaka in western Japan. This is when the sogisode emerged, an excessively long sleeve design with machete-shaped curved outer sleeves.
• Noragi- Noragi, literally field wear, were rural garments woven from bast (plant) fibers such as hemp and ramie, known collectively in Japan as asa.
• Suikan- The Kamakura period in the late twelfth century was an age of military efficiency rather than courtly luxury. This kimono has a simple texture and unusual shape.
• Iki- The Meiji Restoration (1868-1912) marked a return to understated elegance following an era of colorful flamboyance and extravagance. This expression of style called iki emphasized muted colors and elaborate but barely visible woven patterns.
• Dofku- Dofku were short jackets worn by samuri generals over their amor on the battlefield or over kosode at home for relaxation.
• Komon- Komon are small, textural pattern repeats worked in a single color or small-scale stencil-resist designs worked in subdued colors.
• Medallions & Scrolls- During the Kamakura period (1185-1333), extremely skilled artisans wove rich brocade fabrics featuring small repeating patterns.
• Haori with Crests- A wafuku jacket, or haori, is shorter version of kimono that originated for males. The exquisite hand of the bamboo fiber in this knitted version lends itself well to the formal type of kimono.
• Fan Kimono- Hitoe, similar to the older term katabira, is an unlined robe. In modern terms, it is reserved for the summer months and is made of cotton or silk.
• Bold Chevron- Noh drama emerged in its present form in the late fourteenth century. Textile artists for Noh theater combined themes from nature and used geometric shapes with extraordinary sensitivity, at times bold and others delicate.
• Water & Sky- Japanese architecture harmonizes with the environment, weather, and geography. This kimono is a blend of pale natural colors that represent the reflection of sunlight as water trickles over a rocky steambed.
• Taiko Happi- Happi coats originated as Japanese loose overcoats of unlined cotton with the family crest or emblem on the upper back. They were everyday short coats worn by workers with somewhat fitted pants for men or with very loose pants and aprons for women.
• Kabuki Theater- Kabuki theater originated from kabuki odori, a kind of dance performed in Kyoto in the early Edo period (seventeenth century). The rich opulence of the stage found its way into everyday wardrobe.
• Samurai Jinbaori- The jinbaori started as surcoats worn over armor by military commanders during the Warring States period from the late fourteenth to the nineteenth century.

Marianne Isager was born in Denmark, growing up in northern Jutland among the windswept moors that overlook the North Sea. She graduated from Denmark’s Design School in Copenhagen and over the years has taught at design and crafts schools all over Denmark. Marianne has also joined in projects aimed at teaching groups of knitters living around the world. From sheep-farmer women in southern Greenland to a women group in Kathmandu and the knitting men of Taquile Island in Lake Titicaca, Peru. Marianne has compiled her many journeys and teaching into a series of knitting books inspired from many parts of the world, and more are in the pipeline. The models in her books primarily stem from the different textiles and ceramics of the countries she has visited, but her ideas also flow from nature, everyday objects or even films and fairy tales. Despite these eclectic influences, her patterns still bear the hallmark of the simple Scandinavian style. Marianne Isager enjoys touring the country and holding lectures on her travel experiences and inspiration for her knitting designs. For a big part of the year she lives in Japan, but she is always in her shop / workshop in Tannisby, Denmark during the summertime.