I finally ran out of the mesh material that I have been using for making hikitate eboshi. I had bought maybe 5 yards of it back years ago, and it’s no surprise that eventually I’d use the last bit for something. Anyway, this happened back in December when I went to make a hikitate eboshi for a friend who was being elevated to the Order of the Mark. Sweetie was able to order a new roll of a new kind of mesh and I wanted to experiment with it.
This one is just a tall “pulled” eboshi using the latest version of my sewing pattern. I levae them very open at the back now, so they can accommodate a variety of head sizes. The band is white linen.
I made four of these total, since I was pleased with how they came out and I know they will be useful as gifts. This is a “folded”eboshi using a brand new pattern. I’ve never really made any of these before. The shape is basically just a tate eboshi, but it’s folded once to the right, then back to the left. When you tie it dow like here, it gets its distinctive “samurai eboshi” shape. The band is black linen, with interfacing inside for comfort. There is a cord inside the band across the back, which can be tightened or loosened to change the size.
So this last one is kind of special. I’ve tried making these before, with limited success, but I like how this one came out. It’s a mid-height tate eboshi with the expected “face” in the front. It is also adjustable using the cord at the back of the band. The band itself is linen, with interfacing for stiffness. I left large seam allowances at the top, then sewed them open to give the top a more rounded shape and provide more overall body to the eboshi. This is more of an “out and about” eboshi, not as formal as the other two or as specialty as the samurai eboshi.
I’m very happy with this new mesh. I has a more “woven fabric” look and less of a “window screen” look to it. It is also slightly lighter and easier to work with. I also like how is has just a little bit of glossy sparkle to simulate lacquering. Thank you very much, B&J Fabrics for sending me some swatches so that I could pick the one I liked best.
