The Wiksten Kimono Review

I don’t know if you saw my dance on Instagram recently, but if you haven’t you need to head on over and watch how the Wiksten Kimono jacket can MOVE! Ha!  I bought a fog machine you guys.  JUST FOR THIS DANCE. That is how nuts I really am;)

I am head over heels in love with this jacket. I had been eyeing the pattern for awhile, especially after seeing this one.  One day I was at Joann’s JUST for some twill (like you can ever leave with one thing) when I saw that fabric above and knew it was destined to become a Wiksten Kimono. I had bought the fur (also JoAnn’s) to make crazy pockets for the Fulton Sweater Blazer, but then decided against it. One day I saw it lying on top of the jacket fabric (which is a thick wool blend non-stretch knit I believe) and realized they were a (non)match made in heaven!!

This jacket only took me like 4 hours to make (sewing time). FOUR! So when my 9 year old daughter stole it from me hot off the sewing machine, I told her I’d use all my scraps to make her one. (Then when that one was finished, my OTHER daughter wanted to steal it, so I had to go back to the store to get more fabric!)

JACKET THIEF NUMBER ONE.

Here are the adjustments I made to the pattern to sew it for a child. This fits both of my girls, ages 7 and 9, and even me! The great thing about this jacket style is that its meant to be oversized, so it will last them to adulthood;)

I took the armpit area in by 1/2″

I cut the length at this line. It’s the very first line below where it says “short.”

I shortened the sleeves and sleeve lining by 3″ each.

My jacket is lined with Wool suiting fabric (from my stash), but I lined my girl’s coats with scraps of linen and muslin I! The smaller size means it doesn’t require much fabric. In fact, when I was making the first coat, I didn’t have quite enough fabric for the sleeves, so I cut two halves (and added 3/8 in) and serged them together to make a whole sleeve. I also serged scraps together to make the pockets. (For the pockets, I just used the smaller size pattern piece.)

If you look closely you can see the pieced together pockets. (This jacket was an excellent way to not add fabric scraps to the landfills!)

For MY jacket I did the under collar in the same fabric as the main body, but for my girls’ jackets I just took a long rectangle of the fur and folded it over (well I attached it right sides together to the front, and then folded it and rolled under the edge to attach it to the inside. Then I sewed verrrrry slowly through that darn furry fur.

I’ve been wearing mine non-stop and I feel like a rockstar every time I put it on!