Cut Down Hakama?!?

[Maku-san]

I just ordered my first keikogi and hakama from e-mudo. After placing my sizes online (height & waist), the rep called me back to recommend a bigger size hakama and have a seamstress hem it to my size. Basically, he recommended it so it would look better and the himo would tie better as well.

Has anyone in KW had to "cut down" an off-the-shelf hakama? :confused:

Also, is there anything special for Tetron that I need to tell the seamstress? I'm assuming that if she knows how to deal with pleated skirts, she should know how to deal with a hakama. :eek:

[DCPan]

I just ordered my first keikogi and hakama from e-mudo. After placing my sizes online (height & waist), the rep called me back to recommend a bigger size hakama and have a seamstress hem it to my size. Basically, he recommended it so it would look better and the himo would tie better as well.

Has anyone in KW had to "cut down" an off-the-shelf hakama? :confused:

Yeah...depending on your body shape, the pleats may fan out. So, getting a larger hakama would give you a bigger front panel with deeper pleats so the pleats don't fan out so much.

Yeah, I've done it before. Now I just pay the 20% overhead and have the shop do it for me. If you are paying for "extending the himo", make sure they make new ones rather than attach sections as if they attach extensions, the place where they join don't bend really well and may be a problem and or be uncomfortable.

It's good to know how long you want the himos...something like 3.5 times your waist measurement for front and 1.5 times your waist measure is about right...the whole number for the times it goes around the waist, the 0.5 for the section to tie with.

Off the shelf hakama tend to have the ratio of 2:1 front/back himo.



Also, is there anything special for Tetron that I need to tell the seamstress? I'm assuming that if she knows how to deal with pleated skirts, she should know how to deal with a hakama. :eek:

Not really. (I mean, nothing special to tell, as it is not much different from pleated skirt, unless your hakama bottom is bowed....)

[NigelSponge]

on another note of hakama seam-ing, i've seen hakama with little stitching on the inside of the pleats for them to hold their shape better, i imagine it makes folding it much easier as well, has anyone had experience making these seams on their own?

[DCPan]

on another note of hakama seam-ing, i've seen hakama with little stitching on the inside of the pleats for them to hold their shape better, i imagine it makes folding it much easier as well, has anyone had experience making these seams on their own?

Yeah, but when you're overweight, seiza on stitched pleats is very uncomfortable.

Also, if you have a cotton one, when the hakama shrink over time, after market seam-ing can bunch up sometimes.

One of my current hakama has only the inner folds stitch, so you don't see the stitch on the pleat, but only on where it folds behind the pleat...I think that's a better idea. There was a label on it called "7 and a half", saying that particular hakama is made in the traditional method with seven and half pieces of fabric...I don't know if that explains the inner seams, but thought I throw that out there.

Oh yeah, I've also heard that some folks just make a small stitch near the end to mark the location of the fold, instead of stitching the whole pleat...that's certainly much easier to do....

YMMV.

[JByrd]

Yeah...depending on your body shape, the pleats may fan out. So, getting a larger hakama would give you a bigger front panel with deeper pleats so the pleats don't fan out so much.


DCPan is a good source of advice in this arena. From what I've seen, few people of any rank look as good in bogu as he does. I would only like to add that the rear pleat spreading apart over the fanny is a telltale sign that the hakama is too small, girth-wise. Since we can't see the rear pleat ourselves, it is a good idea to ask someone else.

[Zornocology]

i recently posted my step by step hakama hemming process. worked great for me, http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/showpost.php?p=340704&postcount=14

[Maku-san]

Many thanks to all of you for your very informative replies! I was extremely worried about cutting down a hakama, but now that I see that we kendoka come in many sizes and shapes (teddy bear tummies, anyone?! :laugh:), so it stands to reason that off-the-shelf DOES NOT always suit our needs. :)

[Hyarion]

I had to get 10+ cm cut off from the bottom of my first hakama as it dragged on the ground. I guess you just need to change them until the fit just right.

[JoonShik]

if my memory serves me right, I hemmed every hakama that I've bought. I never had a problem with it also.