Monthly Archives

May 2014

Translations and Help with Patterns

Translation Requests – Nani Iro Kids Culottes

May 29, 2014

This pattern translation was requested by Vania, and I’m sure many of you will find it useful since it is a free pattern, the construction diagram is provided, and it will be perfect for summer!

Use your favourite nani iRO double gauze fabric, or a light cotton lawn for best effect.

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The original pattern is from nani IRO’s official site – link to pattern page, and do check out the other free patterns. This is from the 2014 design range so you can check out the gorgeous fabrics at the same time!

Happy Sewing!

Bags or Zakka Sewing Patterns Book Reviews Japanese Sewing Magazines

Magazine Review – Cotton Time May 2014

May 26, 2014

The covers of Cotton Time magazines never fail to brighten up my day. Look at this pretty and super colorful mix of bags, zakka, accessories…. Yes, all these projects and more are included in this month’s edition.

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Fabric freebie! A 40x26cm wide piece from Sweet Charms fabric design range by Cosmo-tex. It’s the same fabric used on the bag on the cover. There are patterns for making the round bag on the cover, or a shell shaped zipper pouch, or a metal frame purse.  There is probably only enough fabric to make one project of course, so choose wisely!

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The next section is all about using the “House” as a motif for all kinds of zakka goods, starting with this sweets pouch. The photo shows the pouch being used to literally carry sweets, but at 10.5cm x 7cm x 5cm it will be perfect as a little pouch for carrying keys,tissue paper, or just a little bag for your child.

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House shaped Pin Cushion

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Stationery organizer

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Mini Felt Cases for holding jewellery and small knick knacks.

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It’s Summer, and it’s time for picnics! The next section covers a whole bunch of projects for making your own co-ordinated picnic accessories! There are two different themes. The Lovely theme,

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Or the Sporty theme. Patterns included – Bottle case, Cup case, Dish case, Leisure mat and  Lunch bag.

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Next up, a very popular and often revisited theme in Japanese sewing books, the Granny bag pattern.

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Other than the basic version, there are 5 other suggest variations of the granny bag that you can try. Here’s one example – where tucks are added to the opening. The other arrangements include – sizing down for kids, using different types of materials for the handles, and adding detachable long handles.

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There are always lots of bag patterns in Cotton Time. I can’t show them all here so here are just a few that I really like  – Canvas tote with round base.

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A colorful patchwork tote designed by quilt artist Akiko Endo.

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A really useful pattern to have – A vanity bag that is designed to slip over the handles of your suitcase.

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Other than bags, there are lots of little accessories and useful objects to make.

Like these hair accessories,

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Hair band decorations, necklaces

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Cute Cord rolls in the shpae of macarons, and bears! – for neatening your cables and electrical cords, and beautifying your desk too!

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Get ready for summer with these summer hats!

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Matching flower hats for mother and daughter

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Step by step instructions for making the hats.

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I just wanted to cover one last section. This is a little late for mother’s day, since I only received this magazine after mother’s day, but nevertheless a cute matching set of accessories you can still make for Mum (or even yourself!)

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Father’s day is coming in a few weeks time, so you can still make this in time! There are a couple of projects, all centred around the use of leather. Like this key holder,

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Small accessories tray, and even a book cover.

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One large sheet of actual size patterns included. You can see that there are large number of patterns included based on the list below.

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Cotton Time / Shufu to Seikatsusha

I know that many of you are big fans of the Cotton Time magazine, and many of you have asked me where to buy this from. Those of you who prefer a English shopping experience can buy it from cdjapan (or click on the image above).  Those of you who already know what you want and want to buy other Japanese sewing books as well (that are not found on cdjapan) can opt for amazon.co.jp. The descriptions are in Japanese but the checkout process is very much like the English site. Both of these websites ship internationally to most destinations. You may want to compare the shipping rates and see which is better. I hope this will help you find your copy of Cotton time and other sewing magazines. Good luck and happy sewing!

Translations and Help with Patterns

Translation Request – How to Sew Gathers

May 23, 2014

Hi Wendy, this translation is for you. I know I still owe you part 2 (sewing the bias necklines) but this took a while as it was quite wordy 😛 So please give me some more time for part 2. Also, I hope I got most of the translation correct. Some phrases were hard to translate directly so I just described the gist of it. It may not be 100% accurate in terms of language translation. But I hope it will help you anyway. 🙂

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I will post up the other page once I’ve gotten around to translate some other patterns for others in the queue. Thanks for waiting! 🙂

Book Reviews Japanese Sewing Books in English Ladies Sewing Patterns

Book Sneak Preview – Basic Black

May 20, 2014

This book is not out in the bookstores yet but thanks to the very kind folks at Tuttle, I received a copy for a sneak preview. The title of the book is Basic Black, and needless to say, all the garments featured are black. Have no fear if you are not a fan of wearing black though, because with these essential patterns in hand, you can create your own wardrobe in your own favourite colors.

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There are 26 patterns in all, designed by Sato Watanabe. Sato Watanabe, as you may already know, has had many many Japanese sewing books published. I have reviewed one of them here – Straight Line Sewing Dresses. A few of her books have already been translated to English, namely I Am Cute Dresses and Stylish Skirts .

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The full list of 26 patterns you can find in this book.  Here are some of my favourites.

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This blouse has a nice girly shape to it, which makes it perfect for wearing with your favourite pair of jeans or even a skirt. You can even alter the look of this blouse by omitting the lace. But remember to extend your hem and patterns if you do so.

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A dress with a very simple shape, but given a designer touch with the tucks in each tier.

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I like the look of this very smart looking zip up jacket. I don’t think I will choose to make it in quilted fabric though since there is no winter season here, but it will serve as a good basic pattern for a short cropped jacket.

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I’m not usually a fan of long dresses, but I love boatneck necklines because they are so flattering. And once again despite the simplicity of the overall dress, there is a special designer detail to this dress. I hope you can see it clearly since everything is black, but there are actually alternate slanted darts on the bodice.

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These two vests share the same “Whimsical” name but they are using two slightly different patterns. The bodice portion of the corduroy version has darts for shaping while the chiffon lace version is meant to be loose and drapey. The two vests use a similar pattern for the “skirt” portion but given the different weights of the fabric the chiffon lace hangs with a irregular hemline for a drapey look, while the corduroy version has more structure and body.

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This looks really comfy for winter, as the fabric is a thick jacquard fabric which really holds the shape well. But I am thinking this will be a great pattern to use for a summer dress too, except that you have to take note that this design is cut loose to allow layering of the dress over a shirt/sweater. If you want to wear it on its own, you will have to make modifications to the armholes for a better fit.

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If I had to choose one pattern to make from this book, this is it. Partly because it is close to what I would wear on a daily basis, but also because 3/4 length sleeves are a lot more flattering than sleeveless tops, but also more comfortable and convenient than long sleeves. The description actually suggests making it a size smaller for a fitted look, but as with all shirts, the fit in the chest area is always tricky so I would strongly recommend making a muslin to test for fit first.

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A very sweet design but made using fabric more frequently used for mens’ shirts. You can follow suit or even change your fabric choice to make a really sweet blouse. Even in pure black I think it will be really cool. My only gripe about this one? The length. It looks kind of short on the model, but I guess that can be easily rectified by lengthening the hemline and ruffle panel in front.

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A proper classic shirt pattern that never goes out of date – you will definitely need this as a staple item in your stash of patterns.

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This is the dress on the original cover of the Japanese version. This shirt dress is again made in jacquard fabric but I am sure the pattern can be adapted with lighter fabrics for warmer weather. The jacquard fabric does help alot in giving shape to the dress, which is probably the reason why it was chosen to be featured in this fabric. But personally I have not made clothes using jacquard fabric, have you?

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There are also a couple of skirts included in this book. This is a typical A-line shaped skirt, but once again made interesting with the use of panels.

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I love the lace detail on the shoulders, but I suspect the blouse the model is wearing is made of pretty thick fabric (wool perhaps?) which gives it some bulk. Honestly this fabric looks a little too heavy and not entirely flattering. The description does suggest changing the base fabric for different seasons to create brand new looks.

Now for the instructions. The how-to-make section of the book begins with an introduction of sewing tools, sizing, how to use paper patterns, as well as a glossary of the symbols used in the patterns.

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Here’s the size chart (pic below) for your information. There are 4 sizes covered in this book – XS,S,M and L.

This chart indicates the completed dimensions of the garment, note that the projects are grouped into 3 different categories . Specifically – Loose, Shaped (with darts/shaping seams), Fitted. So the finished dimensions are different, depending on the ease of each garment. Units are primarily in inches, with their cm equivalent in brackets.

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The how-t0-make instructions for each project is laid out like this. With Materials, Sewing Steps, Cutting Layout diagram, followed by detailed diagrams for each step.

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The sewing steps may seem a little brief, but that is because every step is illustrated by a diagram.

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The diagrams look like this. Note how both sets of measurements “inches (cm)” are included with every dimension on the diagrams.

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There is a handy envelope at the back for storing your pattern sheets.

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And there you have it, the latest Japanese Sewing Book to be translated into English.

Available for Pre order now from Amazon

Title : Basic Black – 26 Edgy Essentials for the Modern Wardrobe
Author : Sato Watanabe
ISBN : 978-4805313084

Japanese Sewing Magazines Translations and Help with Patterns

Translation Request – Vest from Cucito Early Spring 2014 – for Nina

May 15, 2014

A translation request from Nina for this vest from the winter/early spring edition of Cucito 2014. For those of you who have this magazine, the pattern is on page 95.

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Click on the image above to zoom in

There was another request for a kimono pattern in the same magazine to be translated, I will be posting that at a later date after I am done with my other requests.

For those of you who are interested in sending me translation requests, please read this first.