Construction Details:

Because Kijin is a character only seen in the manga and not all of the images are consistent I had to find the best images I could and put them together into something cohesive. Kijin is a thunder Shikigami and his younger sister is a water Shikigami. Since I was making both of these costumes I drew color inspiration from this. For Kijin I choose shades of blue, white and grey with silver accents.

Kijin’s Kimono is made of acid dyed silk. I dyed the fabric in a gradient to mimic the colors of the sky. It is lined in dark blue silk essence for contrast. The edges of the sleeves are lined in a silk Jacquard with thin dark blue bias tape edging it on both sides. All of the lining is sewn by hand. The edges at the collar are Duponi silk painted with a silver resist to form the pattern and give texture.

The obi is made of heavy interfacing, satin, silk noil and micro-suede with plastic mesh. The applique was done first, drawn by hand, cut out and machine appliqued. The fabric was then attached with hidden stitches to the rest of the obi which was lined in heavy interfacing. The appliqued portion was lined with heavy plastic mesh for added stability. The drape on the front is hand painted silk. The flowers are done with a resist painted on, then the silk was dyed and steam set. The scarf tied over the obi is also hand dyed silk.

The gauzy under layer is made from a sheer fabric in light grey with hand rolled and sewn seams and hems to prevent fraying.

The crown is made from polystyrene, foam, Sintra, satin, batting, satin ribbon and a wooden dowel. First I glued the polystyrene to a sheet of craft foam, then drew the pattern on it. Using an X-acto knife I cut out the pattern then glued the piece to the pre-bent sintra. The inside of the crown is made from batting and satin sewn into a channel pattern and glued in place. The wooden dowel was painted with rub-n-buff and the back was finished with a satin bow sewn in place.

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