Yukata Dressing Instructions (for explanation)

How to Dress a Yukata (Japanese Summer Kimono) on a Doll

1. Put the doll's arms through the sleeves and raise them.

2. Adjust the hem to the ankles. Since yukata are typically short, adjust the hem to about 1.5cm above the doll's feet. Pull the yukata up to the doll's waist.

3. Wrap the left side (under-front) around the doll's legs to determine the best position for the right side (over-front). Once you've found the right position, tightly fasten it with a waist string (koshihimo). Uns bleached cotton (sarashi) is less slippery, so wrap it once, securing the end with tweezers. If you wrap it twice, you can simply tie it and there will be no excess ends.

4. Use tweezers to adjust the *ohsashori* (the gathered fabric at the waist). First, adjust the back *ohsashori* with tweezers, then the under-front, and finally the over-front as shown in the picture.

5. Adjust the *emon* (the overlapping part of the yukata at the chest). For beginners, it's easier to tie the chest string first. A flat elastic band from a non-woven fabric mask is ideal for this.

6. Align the wing of the obi (sash) with the doll's back. Wrap the obi around the doll's torso based on this position and fasten the snap.

7. Use tweezers to slide along the waist string to remove wrinkles. Be careful not to insert the tweezers too forcefully, as this can damage the fabric. If there are wrinkles above or below the obi, use tweezers to smooth them out.