Recently, I received a question from a customer who purchased my lined haori pattern.
Since this question may also be helpful for other makers, I decided to share the explanation here.
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The Question
The customer from overseas, asked the following:
“I bought the lined haori pattern and I’m just starting to make it. I don’t understand where to sew the ‘body sleeve attachment patch.’”
She was referring to the following instruction in the pattern:
When using patchwork fabric, remove the pattern only from the parts to be sewn from the body’s sleeve attachment and the sleeve’s sleeve attachment. Remove the pattern entirely from the patchwork fabric and sew them together with a 1 cm seam allowance using straight stitching on a sewing machine. Open the seams to the left and right with an iron. Secure the pattern with pins again.
At first glance, the rectangular patch piece can be confusing if you are not familiar with traditional Japanese fabric.
The Key Point: Traditional Fabric Width
This step exists because traditional Japanese kimono fabric has a very specific width.
Traditional kimono fabric, called tanmono (反物), is usually about 36 cm wide.
Because the fabric is narrow, some parts of the garment — especially around the sleeve attachment area — may not have enough width.
To solve this, a small rectangular piece of fabric is added to extend the width.
This is a traditional technique used in kimono tailoring.
When You Need This Step
You need to sew the body sleeve attachment patch when:
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You are using traditional tanmono fabric (about 36 cm wide)
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The sleeve width or shoulder width does not fit within the fabric width
In this case, the rectangular patch piece is sewn to extend the fabric before cutting the full pattern piece.
When You Can Skip This Step
If you are using modern fabric, you can usually skip this step.
Most contemporary fabrics are around:
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110 cm wide
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120 cm wide
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140 cm wide
With these widths, the pattern pieces fit easily, and no patchwork is necessary.
A Small Detail That Shows the Logic of Kimono Making
This small rectangular patch may seem strange at first, but it reflects the logic of traditional kimono construction.
Kimono were designed around narrow fabric widths.
Rather than wasting fabric, tailors developed techniques to extend specific areas only where needed.
Understanding these details helps reveal how practical and efficient traditional Japanese clothing design really is.