Learning to Embroider Sesshomaru's Family Crests

Learning to Embroider Sesshomaru's Family Crests

If you want to be really authentic, than the crests on Sesshomaru's Kimono should be hand embroidered.

If you want to be historically accurate, than you have no choice but to hand embroider each and every one of those plum blossom crests on Sesshy's kimono.

If you have embroidered before, than this should be no problem for you, though if you've never attempted Japanese embroidery, you should note that it is a bit different from European style embroidery, so you will need to study up on it.

The biggest difference you are going to notice, is the thread used. You will need two different types of thread: silk and gold.

Be sure that you use real 100% silk thread, not silk/cotton mixes, cotton,s, or wools, as these threads are heavier and thicker than the base fabric on which you will be sewing, and you want to use the thread that matches as closely as possible to the threat of the cloth. Kimono stitches when finished, should look like the design was woven into the fabric. European embroidery is three dimensional and stands out from the cloth, but Kimono stitches should not do this.

In addition to silk threads, you are going to need gold threads. Traditionally made from fine strands of spun gold, modern gold threads usually have very little if any real gold in them. If you want to go 100% authentic, than you will have to put out quite a bit of money to buy real gold thread. The cost of real gold thread will vary depending on the current market value of gold, but you can plan on spend several hundred dollars on only a few skeins of thread. Since it is highly impractical to use real gold thread, (not only is it expensive and hard to find, it is also very fragile and easily damaged), it is recommended that you use imitation gold thread instead, which you can easily find at craft-stores, Jo-Annes, or Wal-Mart, for about $4 per skien.

Another alternative to metal gold threads is to use gold colored silk thread or gold colored rayon thread, instead. This will be cheaper and easier to work with.

Real metal threads can not be sewn through the cloth like regular thread, and instead must be attached to the cloth using the Couching Stitch instead.

If you have never embroidered before, you should know that embroidery is an art that can take years to learn, depending on the type of embroidery you intend to pursue. Japanese embroidery is considered an advanced form of embroidery not to be perused by beginners, but I tend to disagree with this, as once you know the basics of embroidery, most all methods are pretty much the same steps done with slight variations.

Embroidery requires good eyesight, a steady hand, very clean and very soft hands, a whole lot of patience, and 4 or 5 hours of free time every day. It's not hard to do, but it is slow and tedious, and takes a very long time to do. Most folks who give up on an embroidery project, give up not because it was too hard to do, but rather because they wanted quicker faster results and did not have the patience to stitch only a few square inches per hour.

This is the way I plan to go, as in addition to sewing costumes, another hobby of mine is embroidery. My embroidery skills include: traditional embroidery, crewel work, black work, Baragello, Jacobean, cross-stitch, needlepoint, French knot, plastic canvas, crazy quilting, bead embroidery, and Japanese satin stitching. I took up embroidery when I was about 8 years old and have created every thing from tiny purses and doll house chairs to such big projects as a king sized crazy quilt and a giant 4 foot by 5 foot tapestry that took more than 10 years to complete! In all my years doing embroidery, I can say from personal experience, that Japanese Kimono stitches are the most tedious and time consuming to accomplish.

You have three basic stitches that you will be using on your kimono:


Long and short stitch
Satin Stitch
Stem Stitch
Couching (used when sewing gold)


Other stitches sometimes used by modern day costumers include:


Brick stitch
Chicken Scratch
Basket Weave Stitch
Buttonhole Stitch
Chain Stitch
Chevron Stitch
Fly Stitch
Peking stitch (French knot)
Hatch stitch
Seed stitch


Most other embroidery stitches (not listed) are completely unseen on kimonos, and the stitches on the second list, are not commonly used for kimonos.

The stitches on the first list are used almost exclusively in Japanese kimono embroidery, thus creating a smooth, shiny surface that appears to have been woven as the pattern of the cloth, rather than added on afterwards.

With my history in needlework, embroidering the birds and flowers and family crests onto your Kimono is not going to be hard at all, however, hand embroidery is called "The Lost Art" for a reason, and that reason is because less than 3% of today's population practices it anymore. With that in mind, I must assume that the average CosPlayer is not going to be embroidering the crests. However, for those of you who are, if you have never embroidered before, I would recommend that you look into getting a few books on doing so and than make a few small practice project first, before moving on the attempting to embroider silk. Silk embroidery is difficult and is considered a very advanced form of embroidery that can send a beginner to tears. Most types of embroidery works with thick heavy canvas cloth, with a wide weave that allows you the count stitches to make each of your stitches evenly spaced. Silk embroidery is done on fine, slippery, lightweight silk, which runs and tears easily and can be quickly ruined if you make a mistake and have to start pulling out stitches. Also in silk embroidery you have no wide weaves threads to count and use as a guide for making your stitches neat and even; you will have to rely totally on you hand and eye coordination to make the stitches come out neat and smooth. If you have never done it before, try doing it on several small projects first: a hanky, a doll's kimono, a miniature pillow, etc. Once you feel you have mastered silk embroidery, than you can move onto embroidering an actual full sized kimono.

NOTE: If you intend to hand embroider your Lord Sesshomaru kimono, this is a project you may end up devoting at least 2 or 3 months (or more if you plan on going very fancy) so plan that much time into the time frame you allow for creating this costume.

The alternative to embroidery is applique, which is the method most CosPlayer choose to use, and turns out quite nice.



What's your take on this? I'd love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!




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