Kimekomi

As some of you may know, I live in Japan. I don’t live in Tokyo. I live a few hours north, in the suburbs of a small city called Utsunomiya. I ventured out on my bicycle today to check out a craft store I just recently discovered in my neighborhood. While I was there I found a kit for something called Kimekomi.

I’ve seen a few of these before but I never paid much attention because I wasn’t interested in creating ornaments using fabric at the time. Also, my Japanese language skills are pretty basic and trying to read the directions was not something I was willing to try. Recently that’s changed. (Not the language skills, just the interest.)

I’ve been trying out some new things and as you saw in my Stars and Stripes Ornament post. I’ve learned what I called the “cutting technique” to create an ornament with fabric panels. Come to find out that the Japanese have been doing this for a long time. Jeez… Don’t I feel silly. Here I am, living in the country where this stuff was invented and I’m just now figuring it out. Well better late than never I guess.

So apparently it started as a type of doll making. Back in the day, they used wood as a base. Now with the invention of smooth foam, anyone can make them. Kimekomi (pronounce key-may-ko-mee) actually means “tuck in” in Japanese. These are not to be confused with temari which are just as beautiful but very different from kimekomi. Some day I will try temari, but not yet.

Here are some pictures I found when typing 木目込み (kimekomi in Japanese) into google.

Example of kimekomi

Example of temari

Anyway, my project for next week will be to film myself attempting to make the kimekomi kit I purchased. It will be interesting to see how well I can figure it out, considering my pathetic Japanese ability. I hope I can convince my hubby to help me translate the directions. Wish me luck.