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Japanese Sewing Books

Translations and Help with Patterns

Translation Request – Sewing Recipe for Girl’s pg 24

January 7, 2014

I’m catching up on my backlog of translation requests! Here’s one that Vy requested late last year (Sorry! :P) Hope it’s not too late!

The pattern is for basic pattern #2.

howtomake_S The instructions on page 73.

 

and here’s the translation!

Materials

Fabric [Cotton Print] ……. based on 110cm wide fabric
For Heights 100cm,110cm use 70cm
120cm use 80cm, 130cm use 90cm
140cm use 1m

Interfacing ….
For Heights 100cm,110cm,120cm – use 45x45cm
For Heights 130cm,140cm – use 45x50cm

Elastic band …. 8 coil
For Height 100cm use 44cm
For Height 110cm use 46cm
For Height 120cm use 48cm
For Height 130cm use 50cm
For Height 140cm use 52cm
(Includes seam allowance)

Heart shape buttons …. 1.3cm diameter x 5pcs

How to make

Preparation … Attach interfacing to front and back neckline facing.

Along the entire width and back edge of the neckline facing, Zig-zag or serge to finish the raw edges.

1. Sew shoulder seams of bodice pieces (refer to p.18). Zig-zag or serge seam allowances of the 2 layers together.

2. Sew shoulder seams of front and back neckline facing pieces, sew the facing pieces to the bodice pieces around the neckline.

3. On the right side of the garment, topstitch around the back edge and around the neckline to attach the facing in place.

4. Sew a gathering stitch on the upper curved edge of the sleeve pieces, fold over the bottom edge of the sleeves twice and crease the fabric to mark the double fold hem lines.

5. Align the curved edge of the sleeve to the curved edge of the armhole on the bodice, and sew the sleeves on. (p.52)

6. On the bottom edge of the sleeves, leave an opening for inserting the elastic band later on, sew down the side edge of the sleeves down to the edge of the bodice in one continuous stitch (p.52 diagram 6)

7. Zig-zag or serge the side seam allowances together. Sew the double fold hem on the bottom edge of the sleeves. (p.40)

8. Insert elastic band into the bottom edge of the sleeves. (p.53)

9. Finish the hemline with a double fold hem. (p.40)

Make buttonholes, attach buttons (p.39)

 

Do any of you have this book? It actually has quite a number of good step by step photographs in it. Highly recommended for those of you who are looking for basic garments with detailed sewing technique instructions. You can see a bit more in my book review here.

I am preparing to do a sew-along next week. Will tell you more on Friday!

Bags or Zakka Sewing Patterns Book Reviews Japanese Sewing Magazines

Magazine Review – Cotton Time Magazine

January 2, 2014

Happy New Year everyone! It seems that I gave myself a much longer holiday than I planned to, and here’s why. I was back last week of December but had to deal with a number of issues including a mountain full of laundry, getting ready for the new school term, lots of Christmas and New year get-togethers and way too much feasting. On the technical side, there was also a problem with the server, which happened just before I left. So when I came back I had to hold back on posting till the files were migrated to the new server and the blog software upgraded. So far everything has been running ok (hopefully) and it’s time to get back to posting!

What better way to begin the year than posting about the latest issue of Cotton Time Magazine, Jan edition (No. 112), which is all about sewing and crafts for the New Year!

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The cover is so colourful and cheery, it brings a smile to my face. 🙂

Freebie alert! : A free calendar….

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that includes gorgeous photos featuring handicrafts…

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as well as the instructions on how to make them!

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FREEBIE #2 : A free sample piece of 40cm x 26cm fabric with a cute kitchen print , from the Le Ciel collection by Daiwabo-tex.

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They even give you ideas on how to use the fabric.

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You can cut out the printed bottle shapes and use them to make jar labels, or apply as an applique on your kitchen towels.

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This year is the year of the horse, so there are lots of cute horsey crafts too!

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There are also some Mount Fuji inspired crafts. This is too cute!

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More sprucing up for the home. A quilted floor mat in the shape of a snow pea pod.

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It’s hard work spring cleaning for the new year, so you have to cheer yourself up doing the chores wearing a cute little apron.

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Instead of using disposable wiper sheets, use microfibre cloth and make a dog cover for it instead. You can pretend you are walking the dog while cleaning the house.

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Other than household zakka projects, there are always a number of bags and accessories patterns included in every issue of Cotton Time.

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I love the structured look of this bag (below).

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Pretty wallets to make.

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Other than sewing projects, there are also a number of craft projects with really interesting applications. The following is a feature on making tassels and how to use them for accessories or embellishments on your other sewing projects.

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There is another special feature on cardboard weaving….

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with step by step instructions to show you how to make your own hand weaving loom out of pieces of cardboard.

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Can you guess what these cute thread holders (below) are made out of?

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Same material as these colorful earrings below.

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There are all made from プラ板. I’m guessing it is a direct translation of plastic board. I found some references online that call it Shrink Plastic or Poly shrink. I’m not sure if you have played with it or seen it before but It’s basically a plastic board that is thin enough for you to draw and cut out shapes from, then after you shrink it in the oven it will harden up and become much smaller than the original size.  You can use it to make all kinds of arts and crafts. They sell it here in the $2 shop but I’ve never tried making anything out of it because I am not sure it’s a good idea to shrink plastic in the same oven that I use for food. But it certainly looks like a lot of fun if you have a spare toaster oven to use.

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One of my favourite features in sewing magazines – peeking into the sewing rooms of other crafters, especially how they store their sewing supplies.

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Since it is the beginning of the year, there is also a school goods special. The official school year in Japan doesn’t start in January but I guess it is always a good idea to get started early since there are so many pieces to make!

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This particular feature is targeted at Mum’s who are beginners, so the designs are simple and there are also step by step photos to follow along.

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Some of the other cute school goods – bento cover with matching lunch mat.

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1 large size Pattern sheet for all the patterns in the book.

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Cotton Time is published once every two months by Boutique Sha.

Cotton Time / Shufu to Seikatsusha
Get your copy now from cdjapan

Next week, I will be posting up some patterns that I am considering for the sew-along. It will be a girl’s dress because I really need to get my sewing for my girls done before the Lunar New Year comes around (31st of Jan!) Help me decide which pattern to make and you will get to see it as the sew-along feature for this month!

Giveaways

Winner of 2nd Birthday Giveaway!

December 15, 2013

It’s snowing today in Sapporo and I dread to get out of my cosy bed. But I know you must be waiting for the announcement!

Before I do that I just wanted to thank you all for your wonderful suggestions and for taking part in the contest. There were 110 participants in all. I hear lots of suggestions on sew-alongs as well as to feature other books and some magazines that I have yet to cover. I will try my best to do that next year!

And finally, the winners are….

Winner of Book :

Joana
Un Blog magnifico que he descubierto no hace mucho y el cual sigo. Te sigo desde Catalunya, un poquito lejos. Mi eleccion de regalo es: Libro de Mujeres/ Telas de Kayo Horaguchi.

(A magnificent blog I discovered not long ago and which still. I’m still from Catalunya, a little far. My choice of gift is: Book of Women / Kayo Horaguchi fabrics. – translated by Google Translate)

 

and Winner of Fabric :

Chandra

Two years old! Congratulations! I have only been folowing you for about one, but love your tips & especially the fabric you have introduced me to. Would love to see more finished projects from the books! Book C, Fabric B

 

Once again, thank you all for participating, I hope you had fun and see you guys around soon! I’m going fabric shopping again today. Follow me on instagram if you want to have a look at where I shop!

Giveaways

Japanese Sewing Books is 2 yrs old – Book and Fabric GIVEAWAY!

December 9, 2013

Japanese Sewing Books.com is turning 2! Sometimes I can’t believe I lasted for so long.

I started this blog as a way to document my efforts in translating Japanese sewing book instructions, and at the same time pick up some Japanese along the way. Two years down and thanks to all your support, encouraging comments, emails and Likes, I have found many reasons to keep blogging (and buying more books!)

Those of you who have been following my blog since the early days may have seen some changes over the years. I started out simply reviewing books, then I added fabrics, free pattern links, and even had started drafting my own patterns. I even tried having themes for each month early this year, but as you can see I have scrapped the idea because sometimes I stumble upon a great new book and I just wanted to share it first but couldn’t do so as it was not “in line” with the month’s theme. So I’ve reverted to a more free and easy style, blogging about whatever comes my way and is interesting enough to share.

Some grand plans and ideas I have for the coming year. I would like to actually do a lot more sewing from the books that I already have. I will still be buying and reviewing books of course,  but I am feeling guilty for buying books faster than I am using them! 😛 So I do want to spend more time sewing next year and while I am doing that, I hope to share with you some pictures and videos of the process, and hopefully it will help those of you who have the same books+patterns.  Maybe you, my readers, can even suggest patterns or books that you want to see sew-alongs of. Translation requests will still be entertained of course, so keep your emails coming to japanesesewingbooks@gmail.com.

And now for the event you have been waiting for!

The Japanese Sewing Books 2nd Happy Birthday Giveaway!
Last year I gave away a set of fabric+pattern+notions that I bought in Japan. The good news is that I am heading up to Japan again this year so I will be shopping for the giveaway there!  I have also decided that this year there will be 2 winners!

1 winner will walk away with a book and the other winner will win 1 meter of Japanese designer fabric!

This is how it is going to work.

To enter the giveaway
Simply leave a comment below, leave a suggestion for what you would like to see on my blog next year, and state your choice of category for books / fabric. I will pick one random number for each winner, so do remember to state your preferred option for both categories as you never know if you might be walking away with a book or a beautiful piece of fabric.

Japanese Sewing Books (choose 1 option)
A. Women
B. Kids
C. Bags/small goods/zakka

Japanese Designer Fabrics (choose 1 option)
A. Nani Iro by Naomi Ito
B. Kayo Horaguchi
C. Echino by Etsuko Furuya

An example of how you should comment is like this

I would like to see more sew-alongs on the blog in the coming year. Choice of giveaway – Books A. Women  / Fabrics by B. Kayo Horaguchi.

Contest closes on 14th December, Saturday  00:00 GMT  Check your corresponding using the time convertor
(which is 14th December, Saturday 09:00 in Sapporo and 13th December, Friday 19:00 Eastern Standard Time EST)

I will announce the winner on the blog as well as on Facebook. However, I will only be sending out the prizes after I get back to Singapore (which will be just before Christmas)

Look out for some changes to the blog as well as a long awaited update to the Dictionary of Japanese sewing terms this coming Wednesday. I won’t be blogging much next week since I will be away, but I will only be posting updates on Instagram so do follow me on Instagram if you want to see what I’m up to in Japan 😛
That’s it! Good luck everyone! and Merry Christmas in advance!

Translations and Help with Patterns

Translation Request – Silk Linen Pants

December 5, 2013

Today’s translation request came from Amanda through Facebook. It’s for a pair of silk linen pants from this book いつでも着たい服 (ISBN 978-4579112999)

Size chart for the pants.

Cutting layout diagram

Click on above image to zoom in.


Hope that helps Amanda! Happy Sewing!

Oh, and did you guys know that my blog is turning 2 yrs old soon? Time flies! Those of you who have been following the blog since last year may remember this event 🙂  An important announcement will be up next week so pay close attention…

Have a good weekend!