u/hkmckrbcm

My first ever sashiko project, not to mend anything but just add some personality to my jeans. I love tea and didn't want a stark white on my jeans so dyeing the thread in some tea was the perfect solution.

The pattern was drafted by my wife, meant to look like the refraction of sunlight in water. We spent an amazing day in a completely isolated beach in Japan collecting seashells so I love that the memory of that day is immortalized in my jeans now.

Jeans are omoto denim jeans after a wash, so I think it still has plenty of indigo to lose. For those here who have done similar projects, will the thread eventually take on a blue colour? I sure hope they do.

Hi all! Got myself my very first pair of raw denims during my recent trip to Japan (Omoto 0415 jeans). Been reading up about dyeing and sewing construction since then and am excited to know how my jeans would fade over time. For those interested, the denim is 100% cotton, with 65% Memphis cotton and 35% Zimbabwean cotton. Rope dyed with 100% indigo.

Decided to use some of the offcuts from hemming those jeans to add some flair to 2 tshirts: a green one I got at a flea market and a black t-shirt from family mart in Japan.

For the green one, it actually came with a huge denim chest pocket that I didn't love. Painstakingly unpicked it carefully but it left a couple of holes on the top which I covered up with my scrap of denim leaving omoto's signature blue-green selvedge ID showing. I hand stitched this using a chain stitch and the original cotton threads from unpicking the offcuts. My first time handsewing, taught by my wife who helped me set it up with an embroidery hoop to make things easier. Very uneven and I wish I could redo it, but I'm out of thread 😂

The black t shirt was from family mart in Japan, 1500 yen which is less than $10 usd. Crazy good quality for the price in my opinion! I added a small tag at the bottom with a small piece of denim, and I also embroidered the shoulder with colours close to family mart's signature blue and green.

I've been sewing scrunchies and coasters, but now my goal is to eventually sew a pair of jeans! Not sure if I could actually do it but a man can dream.

Hi everyone, I recently got interested in heritage wear after getting my first pair of one wash selvedge denim and would like to dip my toes further into this hobby.

I've been looking at getting a pair of fatigue pants and love the look of the OG-107s, but don't have the budget to go for premium brands. Searching online and on taobao, it seems like these 3 brands are always popping up: Sauce Zhan, Red Tornano, Bronson.

My requirements:
- Not super baggy fit (I know this probably removes Bronson as an option immediately)
- Lighter fabric (I live in Singapore)
- Real reverse sateen 100% cotton used in construction.

Good to have: Side adjusters. I actually liked that detail when I served in Singapore's mandatory military for 2 years and my weight does fluctuate quite a bit so this would be great. I could of course just use a belt too.

I'm not tall (171cm) so the relative short inseam of these brands shouldn't be a problem for me. Going by all my requirements, I almost settled for red tornado's 380gsm version (~11.2oz). However, I texted sauce zhan and they said they're coming up with a lighter weight version very soon. I'd like sauce zhan because I think I'd rather get a khaki coloured pair as I already own a pair of green pants that I think are also reverse sateen, got it at a vintage market for about $20 usd.

I've seen comparisons on this sub here, but nobody in that thread specifically gave their thoughts on the red tornado. I hope this time someone might! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.

Got this from a work trip to Changzhou China, my supplier gifted some. Originally thought it was a chaoqing but when I observed the wet leaf, realised it isn't even camellia sinensis! It has almost no bitterness. Aroma is slightly earthy with note of chocolate!

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I've tried using various AIs including Chinese ones, but none seem to have correctly identified it when I search for pictures of their answers on Google. If anyone has any idea, I'd really appreciate your help in helping to identify this!

Got these khaki pants at a vintage market in Malaysia yesterday, would love to know which year's collection this was from or what the model number is. I could find khaki pants made by whiz with similar buckles and the inner thigh pocket, but nothing embroidered like this. Hope someone knowledgeable here could shed any light on this piece!

Left to right: Chromax Kagekiyo Petty 150mm with walnut handle, SG2 Kagekiyo kiritsuke WA gyuto 210mm with walnut handle, Ashi 210mm WA gyuto with maple handle.

First off I wanna say thanks to everyone who responded to my Sakai post. I know there are a million posts on which maker to visit in Sakai and people get sick of responding, but each situation is slightly different. I had listed my budget and my time restraints (only 3 hours in Sakai!!!) and some of you guys responded kindly which helped me plan my 3 hours efficiently.

I hit Baba Hamano first, right when they opened at 9am. They kindly showed me their sharpening workshop and got to learn a bit about the process and watch their 2 sharpeners in action too. Quick walk over to the craft museum where I wish I could've spent half a day at, but did a quick browse before heading to Ashi Hamano. Got my gyuto there and headed back to Baba to get the kiritsuke gyuto and the petty.

I was doubting my Ashi Hamano the entire time, but decided to try it out anyway. Visually it doesn't look stunning, and the western handled ones even look like my Tojiro. But when I got home and started cutting with it, wow. I almost got myself a western handled one because I always thought Japanese styled knives felt too light. But the lightness and the grind of the ashi gyuto made it such a joy to cut with, and halfway through cutting a carrot I switched to my Tojiro and realised what a difference it is. I'll definitely be thinning my Tojiro now to see if I can get its cutting performance closer, but I'm very happy with my purchase.

Had to rush off for a work trip so my kiritsuke gyuto and petty remain unused. Can't wait to go home and use them!