Book Reviews Japanese Sewing Books Ladies Sewing Patterns

Book Review – Skirt ala carte

December 7, 2012


We’re approaching the end of the year and it’s almost time to make new year’s resolutions! I would like to sew more for myself next year, with books like these that I’ve hoarded for years but never used. 🙁 Today’s book review is all about skirts! Skirt a la carte by machiko kayaki. It’s not a very new book but it’s full of skirt patterns. All the variations you can think of.

There are 20 skirt projects in this book.

Skirt in linen blend with pockets.

Cargo style skirt, with front fly zipper.

A 6-panel denim skirt with invisible zip on the side.

Skirt with frills

This is the skirt on the cover. The pockets are so cute!

Sailor skirt with pleats and buttons on the front.

Gathered skirt with a wraparound panel.

Crinkly linen skirt.

With side buttons enclosure.

Pleat skirt in a cute polka dot print!

Wrap skirt with darts.

Woolly flare skirt.

Sizes included are from 7-15 (Japanese sizes). According to wikipedia, that’s about US sizes 6-14, or UK sizes 6/8 – 16.

Before the how-to-make section, there are a couple of pages with diagrams on the common techniques used in the making of the skirts in the book. Unfortunately, there are no step by step pictures, but here are some sample diagrams.

The actual how-to-make section is rather simplified too. There isn’t even a step by step procedure list. There are diagrams but they sometimes skip the basic steps so I guess this book is not for beginners.

This book was published first in 2004! I haven’t had it for that long though. I guess skirt designs are pretty standard and can weather the test of time and fashion trends 😛 Well, hope I do get around to finally making a skirt for myself!

Title : Skirt a la carte
Author : Machiko kayaki 茅木真知子
ISBN : 978-4-579-11000-1
Publisher : Bunka

By the way, I will be going off to Japan next week, but there will be something exciting happening here, so remember to check the blog on Monday!

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7 Comments

  • Reply Jillian in Italy December 9, 2012 at 5:27 pm

    I adore that sailor skirt!

  • Reply Rebecca December 10, 2012 at 11:09 am

    Thank you for showing some of the different skirts. They were fun to look at. I’m really into skirts right now, I would like to make more after the holidays are finished here. Enjoy your trip to Japan. We had an exchange student from there for a year.

  • Reply Gaye December 10, 2012 at 4:56 pm

    Pretty! I love these skirts with pockets, very handy function for me!

  • Reply Miranda January 7, 2013 at 8:31 pm

    I love the wrap skirt and also the sailor skirt. Both would be perfect for this spring!

  • Reply New Japanese Sewing Books for April 2014 » Japanese Sewing, Pattern, Craft Books and Fabrics April 5, 2014 at 8:57 am

    […] ワンピースがいちばん Best Dresses (by Machiko Kayaki  author of Skirt ala carte) […]

  • Reply Book Review – The Best Dresses » Japanese Sewing, Pattern, Craft Books and Fabrics July 18, 2014 at 10:34 am

    […] and 13. The author of the book is 茅木 真知子 (Kayaki Machiko), who also wrote Simple Chic, Skirt ala carte, and many more. If you have come across or own any of her books, you should know that her style is […]

  • Reply New Releases – April 2017 | Japanese Sewing, Pattern, Craft Books and Fabrics April 22, 2017 at 9:31 pm

    […] new book by Machiko Kayaki (author of Skirt ala carte and Simple Chic and many more) This one is about dresses that you can wear for  both daily and […]

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