{"id":4845,"date":"2026-02-28T17:41:50","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T17:41:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mehach.com\/?p=4845"},"modified":"2026-04-05T17:48:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T17:48:25","slug":"sewing-recap-jan-february-2026-silk-kimono-lace-lingerie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mehach.com\/en\/sewing-recap-jan-february-2026-silk-kimono-lace-lingerie-4845\/","title":{"rendered":"Sewing Recap [Jan & February 2026]: Silk Kimono & Lace Lingerie"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It had been several months since I last touched my sewing machine. Thanks to JB putting pressure on me about a repair, I found the motivation to dust it off \u2014 and was reminded just how satisfying it is to finish a project. Having found nothing I liked in loungewear or lingerie during the winter sales, I decided to sew my own and invest the money I had planned to spend on lingerie into fabrics and sewing classes instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kimono \u2013 class and pattern from Boudoir Fran\u00e7ais<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I bought 4 classes from her (dresses, kimono, and a lingerie set). But I started with the kimono. The great thing is that Alison makes everything seem super simple. Watching the video, you don’t get a sense of the difficulty at all \u2014 which is incredibly motivating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I particularly dislike is having to print 24 pages to get the pattern. I’m used to printing everything in A0, or using a service that automatically assembles A4 sheets. Unfortunately, Boudoir Fran\u00e7ais patterns require you to tape the A4 sheets together manually, as there’s no way to have them printed in A0 (she doesn’t use standard pattern-making software for that). Not a dealbreaker, but definitely annoying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The videos and tutorials are pleasant to watch, but it’s when I start taping the pattern pieces together and actually sewing that I run into difficulties \u2014 and that’s where the motivation takes a hit. In my opinion, the class is aimed at a false beginner, as there are many things left unsaid that an experienced sewer would figure out instantly, but that beginners like me won’t. For example, there are no notches on the pattern pieces. I assembled the collar incorrectly because neither the tutorial video nor the pattern give any indication that the collar needs to extend slightly beyond the front panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No interfacing is mentioned, not even for the collar. I wondered whether I should add some but I had run out of stock, so I ignored and skipped it.<\/em> The kimono collar in the class isn’t a true kimono collar as I’ve seen in sewing books. I botched that too \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, I really appreciate the above-average attention to finishing (French seams), even if some details could have been even neater (the hem of the front panels, for instance).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Even hammers are used to keep the silk from moving during cutting<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tissue paper for sewing silk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Removing the tissue paper with tweezers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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I should also mention that I unnecessarily increased the difficulty by choosing silk. Fortunately, I had the good idea to use tissue paper (Amazon link<\/a>), because the fabric slides around a lot. I also broke 2 silk-specific needles. For the French seams on the sleeves, I couldn’t get the seam allowances to lie flat properly. In short, I’m not very proud of the finishing \u2014 but it is my first silk garment, so\u2026 What did bother me a bit was realising that the so-called “pure silk” I bought at So Tissus<\/strong> doesn’t appear to be pure silk at all. Of the two “silk” fabrics I bought, the burn test showed the first one isn’t silk. The second has way too much static electricity, which is suspicious. I think it’s silk but blended \u2014 probably 2% or 3% acetate, elastan or something like that, because the fabric clings to my skin as soon as I press it with an iron, whereas my other Vietnamese silk nightgowns don’t do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Materials (I make XS):<\/p>\n\n\n\n