Making a reversible obi from vintage kimonos

I was offloaded two pretty kimonos years ago: a pink wool one, and a yellow summer one.

The problem was, the wool one was prickly, and the summer one was sheer (for layering in summer 🙈).

It took some courage to pick them apart because they were in great nick, but I finally turned them into something that won’t be scratchy or see through: a quick and easy-to-put-on reversible obi. ☺

The design

Typical hanhaba obis are about 15cm wide and 3.6m long; to allow tying it in a butterfly bow after wrapping it around twice or so. It’s tricky and umcomfortable to wear for a long time though.

There’s an emerging trend to wrap the full length of the obi around yourself then securing it with another thin rope (obiage) or a western belt. But this can look quite bulky, and it still becomes uncomfortable after a while as it’s being compressed to keep in place.

To simplify the obi, and to not need another belt to tightly secure it in place, I decided that this obi will simply wrap around almost twice, and secured via end ribbons.

Obis sit between the bust and waist, so for it to wrap around me almost twice comfortably, it would need to be about 155cm long.

The process

1. Heavy weight interfacing fabric was cut to two 155cm x 15cm rectangles.
   
   
2. The front panel of the two kimonos were cut out so that they’re at least 160cm x 17cm each.
   
   These panels were cut out from the front of the kimono along their vertical lengths from the hem upwards.
   
   (Kimonos tend to be about 150-165cm long, with each panel being about 30 odd centimetres wide. There’s always a slit in the fabric immediately behind the shoulders to stitch in the collar. The back panels also have disconnection of fabric near the waist. So the best place to take the long rectangle piece is from the front panel.)
   
   
3. The two kimono panels were adhered to the interfacing fabrics, and cut out neater with 1cm allowance along the sides.
   
   
4. The long edges were stitched together inside out along the edge of the interfacing fabric, then the obi was turned right way out.
   
   Note for next time: Stitch about 1cm away from the interface fabric – they’re too stiff to turn inside out if the stitches are right next to them.
   
   
5. The extra fabric along the two short edges were folded in, and sewn closed with a 45cm herringbone ribbon on the top of each side.

My first handmade obi was a little imperfect because I couldn’t turn it right way out when the stitches were too close to the heavy weight interface… but it’s hard to tell from a friendly distance 👘

Other kimono upcycle projects

Upcycling a Summer Kimono into a Tiered Skirt: DIY Guide

by Kei Made

Making a Reversible Sash Belt from Vintage Kimonos

by Kei Made

Upcycling a Yukata into a Summer Dress: How I did it (Step‑by‑step)

by Kei Made