Making your own tenugui

[wally]

im having some thoughts of making a club tenugui.. just as a gift of appreciation for clubs who take the time to visit us. how do I go about making one? is it possible to DIY (do it yourself)? any tips in ordering a batch for a custom-maker? anyone in melbourne/australia know a good place?

please share any experiences you have in making your own tenugui! thanks!

[Oyabun]

I've been thinking about doing this too since I can't seem to find a good place to buy them (I only have one, and it gets kinda stinky). My plan is to but a thin white sheet, cut it into pieces the same size as my old one, and paint some Kanji characters on them with my calligraphy brush. I'm not sure how much the ink will run when I wash it--that's my only concern. I haven't found a sheet thin enough yet, though.

[Andoru]

A well-timed thread! I'm also in the process of looking to print our club tenuguis and we're in Sydney. :)

[johnsoul]

i'm sure if you take one of your old tenuguis for size into a fabric shop like a spotlight they will cut as many as you like acording to fabric and size that you want.

then all you have to do is take your design to a screen printer and they will print them off for you. you can even take your design in on disk, most screen printers run there machines of pc based computers now.
plenty of printers listed in the yellow pages.

[El Gringo]

you can get tenuguis custom from a couple of places jus do a search on google for them.

http://www.e-mudo.com/Shop/default.asp?CateCode=64 for instance, but they are quite expensive and you have to buy them in batches of at least 50.

[Neil Gendzwill]

There's a couple of problems with home-made tenugui. First is the width of the cloth. The cloth used to make tenugui in Japan is woven on a loom that is a foot wide or so, which is why two edges are neat. Looms that narrow aren't found in North America, nor Australia I suspect. You have to buy material that is much wider and cut it down, which means you'll have a hem on at least one side. The other problem is that I don't think the same dying process is available. If you get them printed at a t-shirt place you'll get the silk-screen printing or whatever that's not the same. If you want to get them done properly, you have to order from Japan in which case you need to buy a whole bunch before it's economical. Unless someone has found a place to do them properly in small batches?

[Lloromannic]

e-bogu, eguchi and bogubag (i think) all provide custom tenugui. But you must buy a certain quantity as a minimum.

[kenshin13]

get some rags. Problem solved! :smiley:

[fnieto]

I made my tenogui for a contest... dont know anything yetfile:///C:/Mis%20documentos/Mis%20im%E1genes/tenogui%20mexico.jpg

[kenshin13]

I made my tenogui for a contest... dont know anything yetfile:///C:/Mis%20documentos/Mis%20im%E1genes/tenogui%20mexico.jpg

Sounds cool fnieto, but I can't look at it! Is the server down?

[fnieto]

Here it is. I just used paint. I hope you like it.

http://mx.geocities.com/angelricardonietogarcia/tenogui.jpg

[grasshopper_r2]

E-bogu will also make them on a mass order. You can find it under kendo accessories on their site.

[ben]

im having some thoughts of making a club tenugui.. just as a gift of appreciation for clubs who take the time to visit us. how do I go about making one? is it possible to DIY (do it yourself)? any tips in ordering a batch for a custom-maker? anyone in melbourne/australia know a good place?

please share any experiences you have in making your own tenugui! thanks!


Which club are you from Wally?

At Melb Uni we used Tozando. We ordered 100 the first time and 300 the second time. It's not cheap. Unit cost is about $AUD10 once you factor in shipping. We also had some problems with their process not being able to reproduce fine detail. So our club logo had to be a minimum size to avoid this. We also sent over a commerically produced film positive printed from an Adobe Illustrator file of our design, same size (300mm x 900mm approx). This cost around AUD$100 for one film positive (like a high quality overhead projector acetate). You need to go to this much trouble and expense for a well finished tenugui, especially if you have your own logo, calligraphy, etc.

However prior to that we did source a big role of tenugui fabric from Japan that was woven at the correct width. We then cut it to length and I screen-printed a design myself. It was tricky on the vacuum table with fabric so thin. Occasionally the ink would bleed right through if I used a lot, which meant I had to completely clean the table before printing the next one. ANd it was a two colour job! 30 tenugui took me about 12 hours of very hard (and manually tricky) work. I was studying printmaking at art school at the time so I could use their facilities. I then had to iron each tenugui for about 5 min very hot without steam to set the ink so it wouldn't run when washed. They looked good in the end. But never again!!

b

[Oyabun]

You have to buy material that is much wider and cut it down, which means you'll have a hem on at least one side.
Actually, I prefer a tenugui with no hemming at all, because the hemmed edges can be pretty thick, which when floded puts focused pressure from the men on whatever part of the head its on, and is especialy uncomfortable on the temples. Of course, the down side is that they come apart more easily if they're not hemmed.

[Nanbanjin]

A well-timed thread! I'm also in the process of looking to print our club tenuguis and we're in Sydney. :)

Get a desiggn you like and buy through Koei. The up front cost tbat people have mentioned is for the template. One that is made the printers keep it, but you won't have to pay for it agan if you use the same template again the next time you do a large order.

I got the tenugui for the Nationals this year done through Inoue budougu in Tokyo. Mr. Inoue organised the Aust team tenugui for the last WKC too. I would be more than happy to get you a quote if you like.

[Andoru]

Arigato gozaimasu! I'll contact you directly via email about this tomorrow. :)

[Nanbanjin]

Arigato gozaimasu! I'll contact you directly via email about this tomorrow. :)

Remember to get a quote of Koei. I like using Inoue-san because he is a friend and always treats me well. You might still be able to get something cheaper. From what I have seen local produce is not much good. If you can afford to get a large order go for made in Japan. Like ben said, you'll be looking at about $10/men towel, but you will actually have something that people are happy to pay that much for.

[shotoblogger]

However prior to that we did source a big role of tenugui fabric from Japan that was woven at the correct width.
Where did you get that? Thanks.

[akahige]

However prior to that we did source a big role of tenugui fabric from Japan that was woven at the correct width. hey ben, I'd also like to know where you got that, I've been looking for some without success

[wally]

Which club are you from Wally?I'm from Monash University. You must be Ben-Sensei from Melbourne Uni! Wow! I didn't think I'd recognise anyone on these forums.


30 tenugui took me about 12 hours of very hard (and manually tricky) work.Ouch!

Thanks for all your help guys! I am taking a trip to Japan at the end of this year, so I might take a design with me and drop by a few places with my old sensei to have a look!

Would it be more cost-effective there? Or would it be the same as ordering online?

[Paburo]

im also in the process of designing a dojo tenugui hand made or partially hand made. ill post the results when im done.

thanks for the tips!

[ben]

Where did you get that? Thanks.

One of our members brought it back from Japan. As Neil mentioned, it is almost impossible to find cotton woven to that width (30cm/1 foot) anwhere else. It was in a big roll and if memory serves (this was 15 years ago!) it was sold as bulk Japanese baby nappies.

b

[Hai_hai]

im having some thoughts of making a club tenugui.. just as a gift of appreciation for clubs who take the time to visit us. how do I go about making one? is it possible to DIY (do it yourself)? any tips in ordering a batch for a custom-maker? anyone in melbourne/australia know a good place?

please share any experiences you have in making your own tenugui! thanks!

Best to buy in bulk, but it's a lot of money upfront. You might not feel so philanthropic after you get a price quote.

[Washington]

If you get the fabric shop to cut the piece using a surge machine instead of hemming that should get rid of the bulky hem side.. surge puts a loop of fabric along the edge while it cuts it.. not folded over and sewn like a hem

[Infinity]

There's a couple of problems with home-made tenugui. First is the width of the cloth. The cloth used to make tenugui in Japan is woven on a loom that is a foot wide or so, which is why two edges are neat. Looms that narrow aren't found in North America, nor Australia I suspect. You have to buy material that is much wider and cut it down, which means you'll have a hem on at least one side. The other problem is that I don't think the same dying process is available. If you get them printed at a t-shirt place you'll get the silk-screen printing or whatever that's not the same. If you want to get them done properly, you have to order from Japan in which case you need to buy a whole bunch before it's economical. Unless someone has found a place to do them properly in small batches?After teaching myself the Japanese are of Kumihimo to make sageo, I turned my attention to making tenugui.

The process of making tenugui is not screen-printing. I work with teachers of this trade and they were baffled when I showed them an example. They suspect the process could involve digital printing as the images were very crisp.

More than likely the process is achieved through wax resist dying. The wax (or some other dye resistant substance) is imbedded into the fabric and then dyed. I have experimented with this process with varying results. The wax can be hand painted onto the fabric. While this is fun for me, it is not economical and it is very time consuming. Every tenugui would be unique. Other products that resist dye could be screen printed right through the fabric as it is very thin. This may be how it is done in Japan to produce many tenugui all perfect and the same.

Obtaining the fabric is the other concern. As Neil said, the width of the fabric is important. Fortunately I know someone who has a few meters of the stuff and intend to obtain it for further experiments.

The end result for me will probably be tenugui that are unique pieces. I may be able to do 20 or so that are reasonably similar. The cost of dye and fabric may be high and I know it will take time to do each individually. That is good for me as I enjoy the artistic process of such things as well as the result. I will let you know the results.

[Stephen]

tenugui roles can be sourced from kimono fabric shops in japan...Our club has ex-members buy them in 9.2 mentre rolls so we get 10 tenugui with a lenghth of 92cm each..I've been trying to search for a shop on google and have to admit its harer than i initially though but...anythings possible

[shotoblogger]

If you get the fabric shop to cut the piece using a surge machine instead of hemming that should get rid of the bulky hem side.. surge puts a loop of fabric along the edge while it cuts it.. not folded over and sewn like a hem
?? My local fabric and sewing supply shop will have a surge machine?? Or go where?

[Oxygen]

Isn't it possible just to buy some thin material and cut i down touself? Or does it have to be a specific material?

[Simon Chien]

Go visit http://www.indigo-print.com/ and buy indigo-print clothes there.

Cut to the right size and wash 5 times before putting it on.

[Washington]

?? My local fabric and sewing supply shop will have a surge machine?? Or go where?
If it doesn't then they would be better at telling you were to go in your area to find one. " Tailors " in the yellow pages is a good place to start. Ask around with friends, family ? Some new sewing machines double as a surge.. do some cool stuff. Maybe know someone in highschool ? Home ec. class might have one.. could cut your size for credit.. and free ! :)

Ask whomever first on the original size they need to cut it down to the size you want before you buy your fabric.

[Kendoka]

im having some thoughts of making a club tenugui.. just as a gift of appreciation for clubs who take the time to visit us. how do I go about making one? is it possible to DIY (do it yourself)? any tips in ordering a batch for a custom-maker? anyone in melbourne/australia know a good place?

please share any experiences you have in making your own tenugui! thanks!

Talk to Tony at west brunswick about the fabric and Sue at Fudoshin about screen printing.

Without the right vacuum type of printing machine you won't get double sided printing. They seem to only exist in Japan.

[jms2451]

I ordered and got tenugui thru www.e-mudo.com (http://www.e-mudo.com).
They look so nice, and they helped so nice to get me correct design (image).

I do asian apparel business for myself, and www.e-mudo.com (http://www.e-mudo.com) uses Japanese 100% cotton. Anyway, I recommend www.e-mudo.com (http://www.e-mudo.com) to you people if you need custom tenugui.
I am sure that they will help you a lot to get you right design on tenugui.