I’ve reviewed a Japanese sewing book that has been translated to English before (Drape Drape), here’s another one! The title of this book is Stylish Dress Book by Yoshiko Tsukiori.

It’s not a very new book, but I only discovered it recently. In the bookstore, the English translated books are placed together with the English sewing books. Since I haven’t checked those out in ages, I guess I missed it when it first appeared on the shelves. The book is published by Tuttle, which is a name a I across often in Asian books that have been translated to English as well as language learning books. The book is cheaper than it’s Japanese original, and about half the price of an English sewing book, so it was really a no-brainer.

Here are some of the projects from the book. There are 26 projects in all.

A simple blouse made more interesting by layering it on a T-shirt.

Love the print on this fabric! And the styling of the whole outfit.

I really like this! The gathered details around the neckline and below the buttons. I even have the right fabric for it. This pattern made me decide to buy the book.

Another dress with a simple silhouette made stunning by the choice of lace fabric (lace fabric is not cheap though!).

Smock blouse in chiffon.

Love this dress! But it looks like you have to be ultra skinny to pull it off?

Pattern for flared sleeves.

Very sweet. I even the have the spotted voile needed for this one.

This is actually a knit blouse. Love the pin-tucks and how they co-ordinate it with another skirt underneath.

An example of the instructions. It’s pretty much similar to the Japanese book style where there is a main diagram with the corresponding steps indicated. The instructions for each step are listed down in order.

Seriously? If I only had this, it will take alot of imagination and re-reading to understand.

But luckily, there are diagrams!

No step by step photos, but diagrams are very clear. And oh, everything is in English which makes is way easier.

Comes with 3 sheets of patterns.

There are even additional notes on the pattern itself. I don’t recall extra explanations on the patterns itself for Japanese books. Possibly a helpful tool due to the difference in sewing symbols for English and Japanese patterns.

The patterns are enclosed in an envelope, you don’t have to tear them off!

All in all, a great book for those of you who have been keen to buy a Japanese sewing book but still find it hard to justify buying something in a foreign language. Even for me, it does make a big difference when I can just read it without having to consult with dictionaries. I am keeping this in mind for a sew-along next year if there are a substantial number of you with the same book. Will be more fun if we can sew-along to the same patterns. Let me know if you have this one!

Title : Stylish Dress Book
ISBN No. : 978-0-8048-4315-7
Author :Yoshiko Tsukiori
Publisher : Tuttle

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