Hochner Family Blog

Meet our new friends at home.  On the left, you can see the Emperor and on the right, the Empress. These Kimekomi Dolls are the first ones made by Akiko.

Kimekomi in Japanese means Ki (Wood) Me (Groove) Komi (Insert). So, these dolls (Ningyou) are made by inserting fabric into the grooves of a wooden model.

Here is how she did.

As a beginner, she started by purchasing a kit containing all the necessary elements, the wooden shape onto which the fabric will be placed and inserted into the grooves, the fabric pieces, the heads, the paper model that will be used to cut the fabric, and the various accessories.

  The wooden shape (made with wood paste) is the base for the doll.  It features numerous grooves carved on it that recreates the flow of the cloth and/or kimono.  
Akiko starts by smoothening the wooden shape to make sure no irregularity will show up in the fabric that will be applied.
A hole is made for the head.  It is sometimes necessary to correct or fix some defects or part of the wooden shape.
The kit contains the fabric and the paper model with the pattern for every pieces of tissu that will be necessary for both dolls (her kit is for two dolls).  Akiko has to select what part (color, design, etc.) of the fabric will go where.
She then cuts these pieces one by one.
After that, she puts some glue into the groove, and
wrap the fabric around each section, inserting it properly into the grooves.

It is important to be careful not to create any wrong crease. This is not as easy as it looks.
The first piece of fabric in position.
And the second,

Once all the fabric has been placed on the model, the head is inserted and the accessories attached. The dolls are done. 

(It took her about six hours (with the help of an instructor) for these two dolls.)

# posted by Famille Hochner @ 9:00 AM