Rakusu
This is a rakusu
Rakusu's are a miniature version of the traditional Buddhist robes, sewn in the same "rice field" pattern first devised by Ananda. Everyone participating in jukai will need to sew or acquire one before the ceremony in May.
Historically, it was traditional for students to sew their own. Recently in Japan, it has become customary to purchase them. In the West, most lineages have gone back to the older custom of sewing. Some lineages have strict requirements about how they are to be acquired or constructed. We are leaving that to you to determine for yourselves. You can hand sew, machine sew, or purchase one if that feels best to you. Hand sewing normally takes about 40 hours of work, machine sewing can take around 8 - 12 hours of work. Usually they cost around $200 - $300 to purchase from a reputable source (we don’t currently have a link for where best to purchase one but will try to have one from Gyokei before the first precept class).
Here is the manual I and others here have used for sewing, originally put together by Tomoe Katagiri.
The rakusu section starts on pg 87. Read through the rakusu introduction, and maybe look ahead a little to get a feel for what you’ll be doing (the instructions are written for hand sewing, but machine sewing would follow the same pattern).
If you are especially excited and would like to get started sewing right away, the only thing I would start with for now on your own would be acquiring the fabric and then marking off the measurements with chalk as shown in the diagram on pg 90. Once you get that far, check back in with me before cutting and starting to sew to make sure you have everything going right. Better to go slow and check in frequently rather than make a mistake that might make you have to unravel hours of work later.
The fabric should be a light to medium weight non-see through, non-stretchy black fabric. (Other traditions use different colors to denote ranks or positions which is not a part of our tradition).
We will be organizing Zoom and in person sewing meetups (stich & bitch!) to encourage and help each other out, and I am always available to check in with and help out as you go.
Also! No need to get started right away. If you would like to sew, acquiring the fabric, and other necessary tools is a great start, but there is more than enough time after the first precept class for all of that.
Items & tools you will need or that are helpful for sewing -
- Black Fabric (48 inch x 15 inch)
- Interfacing (See manual)
- Fabric Chalk
- Rulers (a transparent quilting ruler can help)
- Rolling cutter or good scissors
- Cutting Mat
- Iron
- Sewing Needles
- Thread (color is up to you, lighter colors are easier to see, darker colors are less noticeable in the final product)
- Desk or clamp light