Make a Kimono || Easy Project on Medieval Japan

We did this simple and easy project to supplement the History, Geography, culture study combined lesson on Japan and Korea. This was not the only project we did, but this was by far the most fun. I was concerned that they would not be enthusiastic about this project because they were really keen on making clogs instead. I attempted that but it looked like too much work to me. We even our checked our local craft store which does sell clogs as a seasonal item, but by the time I made it to the store, the item was gone.

I did not wish to buy fabric and start the project from scratch. I like to keep things simple because that is the only to keep this sustainable. I looked at the treasure and guess what? I found this nice oversized robe in satin with beautiful print and borders. I got all excited and then noticed something which a big problem. It had a lot of pink in it. Pink borders, pink floral prints, I could hear my boys protesting in my head.

So I came up with a solution, why don’t I use this to our advantage?

First, I tied it with history itself. I pulled out the encyclopedia and reviewed ‘Phoenicians’ and the story of Tyre and how they made the purple dye and how expensive it was and all the history around it. Then we discussed how this made ‘Purple’ the color of royalty, nobility and power. It was not a ‘girl’ or a ‘boy’ color but rather represented Prestige and Honor in a society. Then we looked up and found out that the ‘girl’ and the ‘boy’ colors are a recent phenomenon less than a century old.

Secondly, I got them excited about using a sewing machine and let them play with the machine and the boys even journaled about the sewing machine that morning.  After that they really did not care if the color of the robe was pink, purple or blue.

Watch this video above to see the details on the project. I also shared some of the other reasons why I save materials for reusing later on.