Making Clothes as Part of Everyday Life: Online Karusan Trousers Workshop (January 7, 14, 21 & 28, 2027)

Make Your Own Karusan Trousers: Online Workshop in English
January 7, 14, 21 & 28, 2027

Our first online workshop in English

Who this workshop is for

This workshop is not intended for complete beginners to sewing.

It is designed for people who:

• Familiar with sewing.
• Follow sewing patterns but sometimes struggle to get the results they want, without knowing why.
• Find it difficult to choose the right fabric.

Learn to make your own trousers while building an understanding of fabric properties, garment structure, and sewing construction. Join us for this online class from the comfort of your home to sew a custom pair of perfectly fitted Karusan trousers. This workshop will focus primarily on hand sewing techniques.

Karusan are trousers made entirely from straight-cut pieces of fabric. Their tapered shape makes them comfortable to wear and easy to style.

A gusset at the crotch allows greater freedom of movement within this straight-cut design. Enjoy making trousers using fabric-saving techniques rooted in traditional Japanese sewing.

Karusan comes in four sizes, ranging from size 0 to size 3. We will use the updated instructions from the second edition, published on December 1, 2025. Please select your preferred size.

A 160 cm-tall woman wearing size 0 in fabric option ①, natural-colored linen.

A 160 cm-tall woman wearing size 1 in linen-cotton denim.

A 180 cm-tall man wearing size 2.

A 180 cm-tall man wearing size 3.

Choosing your fabric

Please prepare your own fabric. Very thin fabrics are not suitable for trousers, while thick, stiff fabrics such as denim can be difficult to sew. We recommend a light- to medium-weight fabric.

What is included

• Four online workshop sessions: January 7, 14, 21 & 28, 2027, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Pacific Time (PT).
• Please expect homework between sessions. You will need to complete sewing tasks at home to keep up with the workshop.

Additional items you will need

• The English edition of the Karusan sewing instructions.
• Fabric of your choice for your trousers.

Materials to prepare

• Sewing thread suitable for your fabric.
• Waistband elastic, approximately the length of your waist measurement.
• A waist drawstring, if desired, approximately 140–170 cm long.

Tools you will need

• Sewing tools: fabric scissors, thread snips, a measuring tape, a fabric-marking pen, 20 pins, and a pincushion.
• An iron, an ironing board, and a bodkin or elastic threader.
• Hand-sewing needles.

How to participate

• Within two weeks of your registration, we will email you a participant questionnaire via Google Forms. Please check your spam settings to ensure that you can receive emails from ws@itoshiro.org. If you have not received the questionnaire after two weeks, please contact ws@itoshiro.org.
• We will use your questionnaire responses to plan the workshop. Please have your sewing tools, fabric, and instruction book ready.
• Sessions will take place on Zoom or Google Meet. No app download is required. We will send you a meeting link before the workshop.
• If you cannot attend a session, we will send you a recording. We encourage you to attend all four sessions whenever possible so that you can complete your Karusan trousers.
• Depending on your sewing experience and progress, you may not finish your trousers during the workshop.

Registration deadline

Thursday, December 31, at 24:00 (midnight).

Preparing your fabric

Prewash your fabric before sewing. Soak it in water, use a gentle spin cycle to remove excess water, and hang it to dry. Then press it on a low heat setting with a pressing cloth.

If you plan to machine-wash your finished trousers, place the fabric in a laundry net and wash it on a gentle cycle. Iron out any wrinkles. The fabric may shrink, but preshrinking it before sewing helps prevent unwanted shrinkage later.

Instructor: Kaori Hirano

The owner of Itoshiro Yohinten, Kaori moved from Gifu City to Itoshiro, where she learned straight-cut clothing-making techniques from the village's elder women. She now shares these techniques with others. She also makes clothing using plant dyes and indigo, with an emphasis on environmentally friendly dyeing.

Interpreter: Sanae Suzuki

What sewing skills do I need?

As a guide, you should be able to sew running stitches and hem stitches by hand.

Rather than simply following a pattern step by step, we will explain why each shape and sewing technique is used. This workshop is suited to those who want to move beyond a self-taught approach and deepen their understanding.

Can I learn effectively online?

We will cover the same content as our in-person workshops in Itoshiro. Materials will be prepared in advance, and during each session we will show our hands as we demonstrate the steps and explain the thinking behind them.

What if I miss a session?

If you are unable to attend, we will send you a recording afterward and help you follow along with the content so you can keep up with all subsequent sessions.

Can I join partway through?

We recommend joining from the first session. Each stage builds on the previous one, so joining partway through may make it difficult to follow.

Workshop capacity

Maximum 6 participants.

Cancellation policy

Cancellation fees:

• From the time of registration until one week before the workshop date: 5%
• 6 to 3 days prior to the workshop date: 50%.
• After that: 100%.

Japanese

Let's make 'Karusan' online
(January 7, 14, 21, 28, 2027)

This is my first online workshop held in English.

This workshop is designed for the following people.

This online workshop,This course is not intended for people who are sewing for the very first time.

· Familiar with sewing
・ You are following the pattern exactly, but there are times when the project does not turn out well, and you cannot figure out the reason why.
・I always have trouble choosing the right fabric.

For those of you who,Create while gaining a full understanding of the fabric, structure, and tailoring details.This is a workshop for that purpose.Join us remotely from your home via online stream to craft a perfectly fitted custom 'Karusan' made just for you. This workshop will focus primarily on hand-sewing techniques.

The Karusan pants are constructed entirely using straight-cut pattern pieces. Thanks to their tapered silhouette, they are extremely comfortable to wear and feature a versatile, easy-to-style design.

A crotch gusset is incorporated to expand your range of movement, while maintaining a clean straight-cut construction.

Let's enjoy making waste-free bottoms rooted in traditional Japanese sewing techniques, where no fabric goes unused.

The Karusan pattern is offered in 4 distinct sizes, ranging from size 0 to size 3. (This has been updated to match the construction instructions from the 2nd edition released December 1, 2025) Please feel free to sew your piece in your preferred size.

Size 0 is modeled here by a 160cm tall woman (① Natural unbleached linen fabric).

Pictured here is a 160cm tall woman wearing size 1 (linen cotton denim).

A 180cm tall man is wearing size 2.

A 180cm tall man wears size 3.

About the fabric

Please note that you will need to provide your own fabric. As these are pants, very thin fabrics are not suitable, but thick, stiff fabrics like denim are difficult to sew, so light to medium weight fabric is recommended.

【Product Contents】

• 4 online workshop sessions (January 7, 14, 21, 28, 2027, 19:00-21:00 US time)
  • *This course operates on the premise that homework will be assigned. Please be aware that you will be required to complete catch-up homework at home after every session, and only participate if you acknowledge this condition in advance.

【Additional Required Items】

• English version of Karu-san's how-to guide
• Fabric required for crafting (please prepare your preferred fabric)

【Required materials (please prepare these on your own)】

• Sewing thread that matches the fabric
• Waist elastic (length matching your own waist measurement)
• Waist drawstring (only for those who need it, approx. 140-170cm)

【Required Tools for Assembly】

• Sewing supplies (fabric scissors, thread snips, measuring tape, chalk pen, sewing pins (20 count), pincushion),   iron, ironing board, elastic threader
• Hand Sewing: Hand Sewing Needle
  

【Participation Process】

• After we receive your application, we will send you a participation survey via Google Form within 2 weeks. (This will be sent to you by email, so please be sure to adjust your spam filter settings to ensure messages from ws@itoshiro.org reach your inbox.) If you do not receive the survey after 2 weeks have passed, please contact us at ws@itoshiro.org.
• We will be holding a workshop based on the results from the participation survey. Please come prepared with your sewing tools, fabric, and instructional guide on hand to join the session.
• We will host the workshop via Zoom or Google Meet (online meeting, no app download required). A participation URL will be sent to you before the event, so please use that link to join the session.
• If you are unable to attend any session, we will share a recording with you, but we strongly encourage you to join all four sessions whenever possible to complete your 'Karusan'.
• Depending on the skill level of participants, there may be cases where the project cannot be fully completed.

【Application Deadline】12/31 (Thu) 24:00

【Prep Work Before You Start Crafting】

Please pre-wash the fabric. Submerge it in water, run a gentle spin dry, then hang it to dry. Iron on a low heat setting using a pressing cloth between the iron and the fabric.
* If you wish to launder this item regularly in a washing machine, place it inside a mesh laundry bag and run it on a gentle cycle. Smooth out any wrinkles with an iron. While some shrinkage will occur, the fabric was pre-shrunk prior to sewing, so you will not need to worry about further shrinkage with future use.

【Instructor:Kaori Hirono

Owner of the Itoshiro Apparel Shop. They moved to Itoshiro from Gifu City, learned straight-cut garment making techniques from local elderly women, and now pass those skills on to others. They also practice plant-based natural dyeing and indigo dyeing, and create clothing using environmentally friendly dyeing methods.

【Interpreter: Sanae Suzuki】

About sewing skill level

As a general guideline,
・Capable of hand sewing, supporting both running stitch and slip stitch techniques

If this applies to you, you are welcome to join us.

In addition to simply following the steps to make the item exactly as laid out in the pattern,
We proceed through the process while explaining exactly why this specific shape was chosen and this particular stitching method is used,
This content is ideal for anyone looking to move past their own self-taught, ad-hoc approaches and take their skills to the next level.

Can you learn properly even through online learning?

Even online, we will share the exact same content as the workshops we previously held in Itoshiro.

We will prepare materials in advance, and on the day of the session, we will explain the process and our approach while demonstrating the work live for you.

What happens if you are absent?

If you are unavoidably absent from the session, we will send you a recording at a later date. We will take care to ensure you are able to follow along with all content from future sessions.

Is it possible to join partway through?

As a general rule, we recommend that you participate from the very beginning.

Because the steps are connected sequentially and build on each other, it may be difficult to follow and fully understand the content if you join partway through.

Regarding capacity limits and application deadlines

・ Capacity: 6 people

Cancellation Policy

Cancellations made after application and up to 1 week before the event date: 5%

Cancellations made 6 to 3 days prior to the event date: 50%

Cancellations made after that cutoff: Full charge