Another Japanese sewing book that has been translated to English, Yay! Adding that to the growing list 🙂
This is another translated book by Sato Watanabe, the other being I Am Cute Dresses: 25 Simple Designs to Sew. There’s another one coming soon sometime in July – Basic Black: 26 Edgy Essentials for the Modern Wardrobe. I hope I will be able to get hold of that before it’s release. But first, back to Stylish Skirts.
There are 23 skirts to make. Let’s see what type of skirts you can learn to make from this book.
A – Embroidered skirt with gathered waist and lace hem.
It looks like a very simple skirt, but this has a proper waistband with a side zipper construction. Ideal for those of you looking to progress beyond drawstring or elastic waistband skirts.
You can’t quite see it from the picture but this A-line skirt is made up of 12 panels! The overall shape is still a simple A-line shape but I think the multiple seam lines give it more structure. This skirt uses a invisible size zipper enclosure.
A wrap style panel skirt with an asymmetrical front panel.
Skirt with Lace trimmed Irregular Hem. There are darts in the yoke for a snug fit on the hips.
Now for some pleated skirts. At first glance this looks like a simple box pleat skirt.
Until you look closely between the pleats. Notice the vertical striped pattern hidden within the pleats, in contrast to the horizontal pleats on the front of the skirt panels. I love the beautiful top stitching detail around the pleat lines too, it gives the skirt a professional touch!
I thought this was a simple tiered gathered skirt at first, then I realized the gathers were located in alternate sections for the different tiers.
A wrap skirt with a frilled edge.
Very interesting looking skirt made with irregular shaped frills.
Finally a balloon skirt for adults! This comes in long and short versions. I personally find the long version a bit much, but the short version looks a lot cuter and more wearable.
Another very sweet skirt – Skirt with shirred yoke and lace belt.
Close up on the shirring details on the yoke.
For those of you who have a more adventurous fashion sense 😛 Here’s an avant garde skirt you can make.
18 panels this time! The colors are nice but some how this reminds me of a circus tent. A little too stiff and structured looking for me.
8 Button skirt. I can imagine this in a shorter and cuter summer version, i.e. without the extra stripe sections.
A functional skirt with large cargo pockets.
Now for the more technical details…
1. There are no patterns included, because these skirts are all made up of simple rectangles or trapezoids. Drafting diagrams are given for each project so you will need to draft your own patterns (see example below)
2. There are no size charts, because the drafting dimensions are derived by using your exact body measurement. Which means that you can custom the skirts to fit you perfectly!
A project how-to-make consists of the following – Cutting Layout,
Drafting Diagram. Main units are in inches, while those in brackets are in centimetres.
Update : There has been some confusion over the construction of these diagrams. So I emailed the publishers to clarify matters. Basically the Width (W) and Hip (H) measurements are taken based on your individual measurements, then depending on the number of panels needed to construct the skirt, you have to divide this measurement accordingly. In the example above (from Skirt V on page 88), the correct dimension for the panel should be
W = Waist measurement divided by 18
H = Hip measurement divided by 18
(effectively ignoring the number 7)
For the question raised in the comments below – skirt L – Trapezoid Skirt with Line Detail, the drafting dimensions should be
W = Waist measurement divided by 16
H = Hip measurement divided by 16
(ignore the number 6 3/8)
If any of you have questions with the other patterns, do post them below and I will post the correct drafting measurements below.
Sewing Steps
Included in the book are also tips on for sewing better skirts (addressing fit and ease depending on your desired comfort level), notes on skirt linings, glossary of sewing terms etc.
Title : Stylish Skirts: 23 Simple Designs to Flatter Every Figure
Author : Sato Watanabe
ISBN : 978-4805313077