Iron Hakama?

[saki_wooah]

Have you ever tried to iron your hakama? Yesterday I tried to iron mine, but then it was very difficult to put it with the folds on my iron board... Any tips?

[Neil Gendzwill]

You can put the ironing board through each leg to do the large flat parts. To do the pleats, hook the start of the pleat (where it attaches to the waistband) over the corner of the ironing board and hold the end of the pleat with one hand. Keep tension on it while you iron with the other hand.

[Kangaxx]

If your hakama is made of cotton, be aware that it might get shiny by ironing it. This happened to mine on some small spots, which are fortunately not very visible, before I noticed it. You can avoid this by ironing the inner side or by putting a thin cloth between the hakama and the iron.

[saki_wooah]

The problem is, I don't know if my hakama is made of cotton! The dojo where I practice ordered them from Japan. No one ever told me if it is in cotton. It was kinf of expensive (300$CAN gi & hakama with the shipping). I put it in the washing machine and half of the pleats were gone. Cotton or Polyester?

[saki_wooah]

BTW, the etiquette is in Japanese.. can't read!

[JSchmidt]

It's most likely cotton.
Ideally, you shouldn't put a cotton hakama in the washing machine, although I sometimes do it.
The trick is to fold it up when you pull it out of the machine and hang it to dry like that...that way it will keep the pleats nice and sharp.

Jakob

[saki_wooah]

thanks for the washing tip! My sempai told us (me and Raiza) that we could put it in the washing machine.
How should I wash my hakama? I've seen tons of tips on the net, but don't know which is the best.

[Neil Gendzwill]

For cotton hakama, you can hand-wash it in the tub or wash it cold on the gentle cycle in the machine. Hang to dry in either case. If you machine wash it, you can put a stitch at the end of each pleat. That way even if you lose the pleat, you can recreate it.

The best care for cotton hakama is to learn to fold them correctly after each practice. They shouldn't need washing very often - the kendogi will absorb most of the sweat.

[Cary Y. Mizobe]

Saki,

Polyester, polyester blend hakama; machine wash/dry okay can't do much to wreck them. Cotton, on the other hand, very fragile. You should first take steps to "set" the indigo dye.

After practice, correctly fold the hakama. When you get home, unfold the hakama, and hang up to dry. There is very little need to wash the hakama frequently. When the need arises, hand rinse the hakama, in cold water with NO detergent. Hang the hakama up using a "skirt" hanger (the kind with the clips). Using the "waist band" as a guide, hand smooth the hakama's pleats. Once you get to the bottom on the hakama, use wooden clothes pins to "hold" the pleat in place. After the hakama has dried so that it is slightly damp, iron the pleats. I usually do this on the floor. The result is "razor-sharp" pleats. Test an inconspicuous area before ironing. If the spot ends up "shiny", follow Kangaxx's recommendation and use a "cover" cloth.

With kiai :^{ )


Mizobe-sensei

[saki_wooah]

thanks everyone!

[munenmuso]

My hakama is a combi 0f 60% polyester & 40% cotton. I iron it one pleat at a time at least once a month and you can also use starch when washing. I don't wash it anymore in the w/machine because it can ruin the pleats.

[Steve]

One method taught to our members for caring for Hakama, thanks to Richard Tizzard, is so far one of the best I've come across.

According to him, pleats in your hakama are a great "side effect" of keeping them clean. It takes a little work, but its worth it.

fold your hakama into the standard "square". Fill you bathtub with about 5cm (2 ") of water. mix in some detergent. Put you hakama under the water (still folded) and press them down so that the water completely soaks them. Carefully unfold them, keeping the pleats in tact. Press them down again so that they lay flat and aren't "floating". Let them soak for about an hour or so, rubbing any dirty spots with your hand.

Drain the tub, pressing the hakama to get excess water out of them. Rinse with fresh water to get out the excess soap.

Re-fold your hakama back into the "square" and take 'em out of the tub. Unfold them onto some towels and let them air dry. When dry, Iron them right on top of the towels. I guarantee that this will give you pleats as sharp as a knife!

[KATSUJIN]

i iron mine every once a month......so not so bad

[Kendoka]

The manufacturer of my Hakama, reccomended the following method to wash a cotton hakama.

"Use cool water, small amount of mild detergent or soap, wash slowly by hand, don't twist, keep the pleats, hang up and make it dry."

I wash mine flat in the bath in mild detergent then rinse, when it's almost dry I lay it flat and arrange it neatly, when dry I fold it.

Later I assess wheter it needs an Iron or not, sometimes I am lucky !

[hobbit]

I was given a home made ironing board, consisting of a plank covered in blanket, then covered in a cotton sheet. this goes through one leg of the hakama, and either between two chairs, or across the kitchen between two worktops. you can then iron one set of pleats and peg then in place, then change legs and iron the other side. ( I also cheated,) using a trick I learnt from the marines, and stiched the creases in - run a line of fine stiches down the edge of the crease, about 2mm from the edge. this makes the crease easy to aquire when ironing, ( best done on the hakama when new and before removing the tacking stiches - this ensures that they are in the right place from day one).

[Steve]

A friend of mines mother is a tailor. She did the same "trick" for him to. A very fine line of stitches running up the pleat. However, this won't keep you from having to iron your hakama. Only ironing will keep the "inner" pleats in order.

A good trick none-the-less though.

[Confound]

Can you trust a North American dry cleaner with your hakama? The cleaners here are pretty good, they send the hakama back folded nicely, with the himo in a better knot than I could ever manage.

c

[saki_wooah]

hmmm dry cleaning is soo expensive...

[Neil Gendzwill]

Originally posted by Steve
A very fine line of stitches running up the pleat.[snip]
A good trick none-the-less though.
I think most Japanese sensei would just consider it laziness - you should learn to properly care for the hakama. Same attitude towards velcro.

As far as dry cleaners - I had a bad experience early on with a dry cleaner, so never again. They ironed in pleats just slightly beside the originals. What a mess.

[slidercrank]

Came across this old thread while waiting for my laundry to finish. Don't think there is harm in resurrecting an old thread:)

Polyester/cotton blend hakams are not indigo-dyed, so it doesn't leak color. If you put your hakama in the washer and the other clothes didn't come out bluish, it's definitely a poly/cotton blend.

Here is my method for washing/drying my cotton hakama. No ironing ever needed (Someone even asked me once if I starched my hakama):

Washing: Fold the hakama very carefully and nicely into a square. Carry it into the bathtub and then unfold it length-wise. Unless you're very tall or your bathtub is not a standard size North American model, you should be able to unfold the hakama length-wise completely. Fill the tub with water (no or very little detergent). While filling, step into the tub and step around on the hakama to keep it under water. Stop filling when there's enough water to keep hakama under water. Step around more to squeeze out the dirt/sweat. Drain the tub completely. Use the shower head to rinse out more soapy water. Refill the tub with clean water and step on the hakama again. Drain again.

Drying: after washing, your hakama should still be nicely folded along the pleats in the tub. The water-soaked cotton becomes kind of stiff. This is the key in helping you never having to iron the hakama. HANG the hakama up with 3 skirt-type hangers (it's just a bar with 2 clips). I use 2 hangers to hold up the front half of the hakama, and 1 for the back half. Position the 4 clips evenly spaced out on the front half of hakama. Position the 2 clips so they clip the himo's just next to the koshita on either side. Position the 3 hangers close to each other, so the hakama is hanging in a way as if it's lying down on the floor. Gravity, and the action of water dripping down along the pleats of hakama, are the keys in maintaining the pleats.

This washing/drying regimen works best if you start with a brand new cotton hakama. Don't ask me how to restore pleats, because I don't know how.

And if you get a brand new cotton or poly/cotton hakama, don't rush and remove all the shipping threads. Before you do that, observe to see if the hakama come folded in such a way that the rear half of the hakama is a bit higher than the front half. If so, then that's the way the fabric was sewed, and you should always take care to keep the front lower than the back when folding the hakama. As well, when you hang it to dry, try to hang the rear higher than the front in the same manner.

[Fraz]

I inhertited a set of cotton hakama with no pleats to speak of.

Anybody got any guides towards re-pleating a set of hakama..?

[roar]

I have used a tozando "aikikai" hakama for iaido and kendo for 10 years, and besides patching the left knee a couple of times, and washing it in the bathtub, I have never ironed it. The pleats are sharp and fine still, in fact I have become sloppy in treating the hakama, because the folds survive anyhow.

[Paburo]

my friends with kendoshop/other hakamas have to be constantly ironing the pleats and folding the hakama in the most careful fashion, to avoid losing the forms.

my hakama on the other hand, is known as the highlander. immortal pleats.

the bad part is, by some mysterios law of nature, the stronger the pleats, the less you care about folding properly and taking care of your hakama.

thus this brings a great dilemma: should we all buy immortal hakamas and treat them like crap knowing they will survive no matter what? or should we buy normal hakamas and spend a lot of time folding them all the way everytime after class and iron them regularly? :D

[alexpollijr]

The problem with polyester hakama besides the ones you mentioned is that look awful. The kendoshop ' general ' polyester hakama is an abomination to look at in motion :rolleyes:

However, you can throw it in the washing machine not worrying about staining other cloth or losing color, iron it like you would iron any other pice of clothing and just make a ball out of it after practice. So, these advantages make them very useful for everyday practice, and keep your #10 000 Oz cotton one for special occasions.

I haven't adopted this by two simple reasons, which I believe most of you will understand:

First, it looks horrible despite not fading.
Second, I have developed a strange habit of not using brand new or special gear that I've kept out of use for a long time in taikai or shinsa. I'd rather use the old ones I use every practice, because it feels more confortable, more 'at home'. I can't explain why, but it seems that I begin to 'trust' more the everyday gear than the special one. Do any of you have this habit ?

- Alexandre

[Hongsermeier]

I have one Gi and Hakama set I use for practice and one for taikai/gradings. The practice set is heavier and will stand up to more abuse. The "special set" is lighter and looks better. I feel more comfortable in the "special set". :cross_eye

[Hai_hai]

Is your special set a burgundy robe, black velour pants, and silk ascot scarf?

[roar]

Originally posted by Hai_hai
Is your special set a burgundy robe, black velour pants, and silk ascot scarf?

what a bore
Do you have a hakama at all? Size 20 I guess, with one fold, and plenty of room for pampers. You are the first one to not keep to the topic with a minimum of seriousity. if you want to hijack, do it with more style. if you want your hakama ironed, I can do it for you. No reason to take it off.

[Hai_hai]

Originally posted by roar


what a bore
Do you have a hakama at all? Size 20 I guess, with one fold, and plenty of room for pampers. You are the first one to not keep to the topic with a minimum of seriousity. if you want to hijack, do it with more style. if you want your hakama ironed, I can do it for you. No reason to take it off.

Well Mr. Norway, I was describing a sterotypical, lounge lizard outfit. It was a joke regarding it as his "special set" and how it was more comfortable. If you don't get it, then too bad.

I do not have a hakama. I just wear a geisha kimono and obi to the dojo. I shuffle my feet around and serve tea... bee-yotch.

[roar]

Ms wisecracker

"I just wear a geisha kimono and obi to the dojo."

It would be no big surprise. Dont overestimate the subtlety of your jokes. I havent read anything of you that should be of any challenge for anyone who has the cerebral and motorical capacity to tie their own shoelaces or open a door.
Why not surprise people on this forum with some valuable insight regarding kendo. Or insight at all. Oh I forgot, insight is based on experience. I am beery sorry.


:)

[Hai_hai]

Originally posted by roar
... I havent read anything of you that should be of any challenge for anyone who has the cerebral and motorical capacity to tie their own shoelaces or open a door...

Oh, that's rich.

[DCPan]

A friend of mines mother is a tailor. She did the same "trick" for him to. A very fine line of stitches running up the pleat. However, this won't keep you from having to iron your hakama. Only ironing will keep the "inner" pleats in order.

A good trick none-the-less though.

I had a few of my hakama pleats stitched. Problem is, pressure per area is NOT your friend when you sit in seiza on it.

Also, it'll be a problem if you decided to wear that hakama for iai.

Another trick for those who "don't" want to iron is it.

Fold it into a square like you normally do. Stick it between your mattress at night when you go to bed.

They call it the poodle skirt trick.

:D

[DCPan]

[QUOTE=Neil Gendzwill]I think most Japanese sensei would just consider it laziness - you should learn to properly care for the hakama. [QUOTE]

Well, surprisingly enough, the sensei that I got the stitching pleats trick from actually graduated from the Busen.... :D

But anyhow, I don't think it looks as nice, esp in the cotton hakama because as the material shrinks, the stitch in the pleats bunch up....

Honestly, I don't recommend stitching it...if you can't manage the pleats, go for polyester....

[nollaig]

Just to go back to an ealier comment so "your hakama shouldn't get too wet with sweat..."

Mine gi and hakama look like they have been dipped in a bucket of water after a session.

I know I'm a sweat hog but does anyone else sweat buckets
during a session?

[Fraz]

I can only remeber a few time where I've sweated enough to make my Hakama wet. Mostly it's just my Kendogi...