Okonomiyaki crochet hat!

Just finished this little cap last night. I used a star crochet pattern from one of the Japanese pattern books I purchased in Tokyo on my last trip in March. I added a fun pom as embellishment that I found the inspiration in one of the recent stationery/other cute goods Japanese books. It's a pretty yellow superwash wool and I was lucky enough to have all these cute trims in yellows in my stash! I added a little pop of pink! I should actually say that I used the repeat pattern but not the hat style, the actual hat they have is a slouchy hat.






Now Amitai Hyo_2! And cute little yarn knitted goods
by Kazuko ISBN978-4-07-268091-9 C2077


Star Crochet, ISBN978-4-579-11323-1, Yoko Imamura + Star Onuma

Finished skirt

The pic doesn't do it justice, it's been rainy so it's hard to take a nice pic, and the skirts a bit wrinkled but I'm really happy with it. It wasn't too hard to interpret the pattern, but you probably need at least intermediate sewing skills to understand how to put it together without reading the instructions.

Friday Skirt-Working with a Japanese Pattern

I started a skirt from one my Japanese pattern books Couture Skirt Adult by Tsukiori, Yoshiko this weekend with the Nani Iro fabric I've been saving for a year. It's a beautiful charcoal double gauze with tern grey tipping. I'm using this calf-length bubble skirt pattern but not making it into a bubble skirt, just a clean edge. I'll post pics of the finished skirt this week.







大人のクチュールスカート 大人のクチュールスカート
月居　良子 著　文化出版局
2007年05月 発行　ISBN 978-4-579-11153-4
ジャンルは、ソーイングです。 ネット在庫僅少

Couture Skirt Adult
Otonanokuchiyu - Ruska - What
Appendix: patterns (2 sheets) 文化出版局
Ryoko Restaurant Mon Author
Tsukiori, Yoshiko Publisher 文化出版局

Sick Day=Sewing Day

(link to original dress)

Whenever I'm home sick I end up working on a project. I can't help it, creative energy helps me feel better. I have to be sick in bed kinda sick to not work on a project. Yesterday I was okay enough to sit in my studio and work on my dress from the Stylish Dress Pattern (ISBN978040579-11185-5)Book with the Nani Iro fabric. The dress is finished apart from having to hem it, but I really want to hand hem it, hoping to get that done tomorrow. Then I have to press it. I also would like to make a corsage flower to wear on the yoke on the dress to reflect the flower pattern of the dress. Like this guy, from a Japanese fabric flower book I got at Kinokuniya.

Part II Nani Iro dress update!

I realized I never even posted a pic of the finished Nani Iro dress I was making this summer. I finished end of August, after completing all the sewing I dip dyed it and added sashiko embroidery to the placket.
Part I of Nani Iro dress
Lost in Translation: Interpreting Japanese Patterns

Mittens!

I started crocheting these mittens last night with this amazing handpainted yarn that's, a merino wool, alpaca, acrylic blend, called Bunny Paint by Tahki Yarns color lot#074, it's greys, creams, camel and light creamy orange. The pattern is from this book ISBN4-529-04284-7

Dress me!

After scouring over all my Japanese sewing pattern books(mooks), I finally decided what's my next sewing project. This lovely quarter sleeve yoke style dress seems like the perfect fall/winter garment and can sorta be casual and dressy too. Now the fabric! No idea what I should even start with.

This is the book the pattern is from ISBN ISBN978-4579-11226-5

Crafting books A-Plenty!

I took a long lunch today to run up (well take the train to) to Kinokuniya Bookstore in Midtown, and I got so many books and goodies. I can't help it, I'm always afraid that if I don't buy the ones I like they won't be there the next time. I got a bounty of sewing pattern books and one each of crochet, knitting, and felting. I was so disappointed to find out they aren't carrying Fumi's new crochet book, it just came out in Japan so I will have to wait I could have it special ordered but it would be more expensive if than I would patiently wait until the store gets them in, dagnabit! Regardless I have many new additions to my expanding collection of amazing Japanese pattern books.


Sweet Dress Recipe ISBN978-4-579-11198-5

Sewing patterns, really modern and girly.


"Sweet Dress Recipe" ISBN978-4-579-11198-5 (one of the patterns)


"Small Animals" ISBN978-4-529-04757-9
Felting Patterns and color step by step instruction


"Small Animals" ISBN978-4-529-04757-9



"Romantic Knit" ISBN978-4-579-11251-7
Beautiful modern "Mori Girls", Marie Antoinette style crochet patterns


"Romantic Knit" ISBN978-4-579-11251-7


"Nordic Knitting, Seven Miraculous Techniques" by Kirja Kongsbak ISBN978-4-579-11162-6

As the name sort of implies these are modern Scandinavian patterns and techniques.


"Nordic Knitting, Seven Miraculous Techniques" by Kirja Kongsbak ISBN978-4-579-11162-6



Girls Fashion Clothing Patterns (not sure of title)ISBN978-4-529-04526-1

Get this book just for the little girl that's the model might be the cutest thing the world, she actually makes me want to "get one" ;)


Girls Fashion Clothing Patterns (not of title)ISBN978-4-529-04526-1




"Happy Homemade vol.2" Kids Fashion Sewing Patterns ISBN978-4-579-11243-2



"Happy Homemade vol.2" Kids Fashion Sewing Patterns ISBN978-4-579-11243-2



unsure of title ISBN978-4-8347-2767-8, womens' sewing patterns, one piece and tunics, layering clothing.



This is my Kino stash of cute stationery stuff, new pencil case, notebook, letter stationery (two sets!), a tiny memo notebook to throw in my bag for jotting down reminders and shopping lists, and a tiny fine pen!

more japanese pattern books

I got these four pattern books yesterday, really lovely.
This is a bag pattern book.


great dresses
awesome skirts
lots of tunics and yoke dresses

Part I of my Nani Iro pattern dress finished!

Me in the dress I just finished!
So here's the dress that I finished this week. It's a lovely box weave cotton, with a nice drape. Since the summer's soon to end and I'm not much of a white wearer Part II of this dress project is that I dipped dyed it today in a grey gradient. It's in the process of drying so I will post pics later of that portion of this project. Next step is some Sashiko Embroidery!



The dress in Nani Iro book


I have the fabric in this picture so think I may also do it in this fabric which is the reason I bought it in the first place. But I want to finish the dress I'm still working on.

Lost in Translation: Interpreting Japanese Patterns

So, after much planning and deciding, I picked a dress to make from one of my Japanese pattern books. I've sewn handbags, doll clothing, baby accessories, crocheted all sorts of stuff and even felted accessories and toys from my collection of Japanese craft books. This will be my first attempt to make clothing for myself from a Japanese pattern book. Ok, first hurdle, figure out which pieces of the pattern from the pattern sheet belong to the dress, only three pieces, easy right? WRONG! I had to enlist my friends Michelle and Adriana, to very smart ladies with great graphic design and crafting skills and both good problem solvers (I consider myself in all three categories but apparently I needed 3 sets of eyes). After much frustration we figured out 2 of the pieces of which one of the pieces you had to add a bit of pattern to it, and they other, yes you guessed it, doesn't exist you have to make it from measurements and tiny diagrams. So finally I successfully traced and made the patterns and thankfully I realized that most Japanese patterns don't have a seam allowance on the pattern so you have to add your own when tracing the pattern. I bought beautiful fabric on Superbuzzy from Nani Iro, the one for this dress is the same one as the one pictured in the dress above. Because I'm not sure that pattern will work out well for me since Japanese ladies are built differently than latin ladies like myself, I'm trying it on a nice white gauze cotton that's similar in weight and fabrication as the Nani Iro stuff but a third of the cost. cross your fingers for me.

THIS IS THE DRESS


How to use Pattern