Kimonos or Kimono Fabric - Scavenger Life

Tagged: dragons, gold thread, kimono

This topic has 9 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 6 months ago by Curious Curator.

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- 11/09/2020 at 3:11 pm #83284
  Curious Curator
  Participant
  Location: Illinois
  @daisy
  Does anyone have any knowledge about kimonos or kimono fabric? I know kimonos and kimono fabric is in a category all it’s own.
  
  I came across this blue and gold thread fabric. It measures 28″ wide and I have 3 yards of it. It is really quite beautiful. I’ll do a fiber test, but I don’t believe I’m very good at distinguishing smells in the burn test. It may or may not be silk.
  
  https://imgur.com/Thl2cir
- 11/09/2020 at 4:14 pm #83289
  PDX_Cyndy
  Participant
  Location:
  @pdx_cyndy
  This could also be Chinese fabric, based on the dragon motifs. If you search Chinese dragon brocade or damask you will see many similar fabrics. It is either silk or synthetic. This type of fabric would not be made of cotton or wool. So a burn test should give you a definitive answer. If it balls up and smells like burnt plastic it is synthetic. If it appears to burn like a natural fiber, I would be confident calling it silk.
- 11/09/2020 at 4:24 pm #83291
  Amatino
  Participant
  Location: Texas
  @amatino
  I found a very similar one on Amazon
  
  Also one claiming to be Japanese
  
  Maybe these two can give you some keywords
- 11/09/2020 at 4:26 pm #83292
  Amatino
  Participant
  Location: Texas
  @amatino
  And one almost identical to yours
  
  https://www.ebay.com/itm/Royal-Blue-Gold-Dragon-Brocade-Fabric-45-Width-Sold-By-The-Yard-/303576907221
- 11/09/2020 at 4:32 pm #83293
  Curious Curator
  Participant
  Location: Illinois
  @daisy
  Cyndy, thanks for the suggestions. I guess I’m thinking it is Japanese only because it is 28″ wide. I did a burn test. It is silk. It has a really nice hand to it. A friend of my went to Japan and purchased an obi and had me make runners out of it. The fabric my friend had was a little stiffer and not as nice as this. This seemingly is a very nice quality fabric. Ironically, the Japanese fabrics I’ve seen through my online searches are a lot less expensive than the Chinese fabrics using the same search terms “kimono gold thread dragon fabric”. Not sure how that is possible.
- 11/09/2020 at 4:41 pm #83294
  Curious Curator
  Participant
  Location: Illinois
  @daisy
  Amatino, those are beautiful! Those are 45″ wide though. This is 28″ wide. This does not look like it would be purchased at a big box fabric store. It has more of a “dull” finish to the blue-probably due to being a natural fiber.
- 11/09/2020 at 4:54 pm #83295
  Curious Curator
  Participant
  Location: Illinois
  @daisy
  Also, I realized, I photographed the floats side. Ha! That’s what I get for being far-sighted. The dragons are actually gold with a blue background, not the other way around.
  
  https://imgur.com/a/zXfhuNr
- 11/09/2020 at 5:51 pm #83296
  PDX_Cyndy
  Participant
  Location:
  @pdx_cyndy
  Yes, I was thinking that was the back of the fabric 🙂 Even prettier from the front! Maybe Chinese fabric is going for more these days because of demand from China. I know I have bought kimono fabric and whole kimono directly from Japanese sellers on eBay for very cheap.
- 11/10/2020 at 9:05 am #83310
  Pikapop
  Participant
  Location: Hampton, VA
  @pikapopblog
  I would not list it as kimono fabric. IMO it doesn’t look at all like kimono fabric or kimonos I have seen. Chinese-style brocade/damask maybe. Obi fabrics tend to be stiffer due to their function as partially holding the kimono together (although I don’t think that’s what this is), and I’ve noticed outer kimono in general has a slightly sturdier feel. The second one Amatino found could possibly be an example of more casual style printed cotton blend yukata/jinbei but the heavily embroidered dragon motif is not typically associated with kimono.
- 11/16/2020 at 11:16 pm #83494
  Curious Curator
  Participant
  Location: Illinois
  @daisy
  Thanks everyone for your input. This sure helps answer some questions I had!
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