Origami Yukata

When I was studying in Japan, I often bought origami sets (paper and instructions) from a 100 yen shop. They usually had a theme, such as cakes or clothes, but I have never seen one about yukata. So I was pleasantly surprised when I found an origami yukata howto video on youtube today:

I like the idea, but had some problems following the instructions – my first paper yukata was way off center and the sleeves were uneven. So I searched some more for drawn step-by-step instructions for the yukata itself (the belt was easy), but couldn’t find any! The closest I got is this: How to Make an Origami Yukata, but the method seems to be slightly different from the one in the video.

Finally, I tried searching in Japanese, but this didn’t produce the desired results – origami paper and yukata seem to be among the most popular items to give to foreigners as gifts, so they are often mentioned together (“origami, yukata” as in “stationary, folding fans, origami, yukata,…” not “origami yukata” (as in “paper folded in the shape of yukata”).

But all that searching paid off in the end – I found a very nice origami site that not only has the origami yukata instructions (click on the “clothes” category on the left on the main page and scroll down), but also a collection of free, printable Japanese patterns that seem perfect for yukata! To print, go to their main page, scroll down and click on “Japanese paper” or “figured paper”. Enjoy! ^_^