I have reviewed a few Japanese Sewing Books that have been translated in English – Drape Drape and Stylish Dress Book. I’ve been asked to list all the books I know that have been translated to English, so here they are! I will be updating this page when I hear something new come up. So bookmark this page if you want to find out about new releases in the future!
The English editions of these books are usually modified slightly in terms of pattern sizes. For example, the Stylish Dress Book – wear with freedom by Yoshiko Tsukiori provides patterns in sizes 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 (6 sizes) while the Japanese version provides sizes 7,9,11,13. I am not sure if the new books will be all done in the same sizes, but as they are published by two main publishers (Laurence King and Tuttle) and many of the books are written by the same authors, it seems likely that the sizing will remain more or less the same. Other than the obvious advantage of everything being translated to English, they are also usually cheaper than the original books probably because of the cheaper production costs. It’s a pity that there are so few of them right now. But I believe more will come, given the popularity of these books.
Here are some new titles that will be released over the next few months. You can pre-order them from Amazon now.
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| Sewing for your girls |
The following books have already been released. Click on the thumbnails to view inside pages and book reviews.
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| Casual Sweet Clothes: Favorite Pieces for Every Day Read my review here |
Girly Style Wardrobe – 28 patterns for girls Read my review here |
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| Sew Sweet Handmade Clothes for Girls: 22 Easy-to-Make Dresses, Skirts, Pants & Tops Girls Will Love |
Handmade Bags In Natural Fabrics: Over 25 Easy-To-Make Purses, Totes and More |
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| Basic Black: 26 Edgy Essentials for the Modern Wardrobe Sato Watanabe  Read my review here |
Stylish Skirts: 23 Simple Designs to Flatter Every Figure Sato Watanabe Read my review here |
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| Happy Homemade Ruriko YamadaRead my review here
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Feminine Wardrobe: Town, Party, Resort |
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Happy Homemade: |
Girls Style Book Yoshiko TsukioriRead my review here |
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| Stylish Dress Book: Simple Smocks, Dresses and Tops Yoshiko TsukioriRead my review here! |
Sweet Dress Book: 23 Dresses of Pattern Arrangement Yoshiko TsukioriRead my review here |
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| Shape Shape 2: Sewing for Minimalist StyleNatsuno Hiraiwa |
Shape Shape: Sewing Clothing Patterns to Wear Multiple Ways Natsuno Hiraiwa |
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| Stylish Dress Book: Wear with Freedom Yoshiko TsukioriRead my review here! |
Drape Drape Hisako SatoRead my review here! |
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| Drape Drape 2 Hisako Sato |
Drape Drape 3 Hisako Sato |
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| Pattern MagicTomoko Nakamichi | Pattern Magic 2Tomoko Nakamichi |
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| Pattern Magic: Stretch Fabrics Tomoko Nakamichi |
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| Linen, Wool, CottonAkiko Mano | Carefree Clothes for Girls: 20 Patterns for Outdoor Frocks, Playdate Dresses, and More (Make Good: Crafts + Life)Junko Okawa |
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| I Am Cute Dresses: 25 Simple Designs to SewSato Watanabe | Simple Modern Sewing: 8 Basic Patterns to Create 25 Favorite GarmentsPublished by Shufu To Seikatsu Sha |
Disclaimer : Japanese Sewing Books is is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
24 Comments
Hi there!
I’m wondering if you could tell me what the
seam allowances are in your wonderful
tutorial for the double zip pouch.
Specifically 0.5cm and 0.8 cm. I converted
each to inches, but that still doesn’t
help because the amounts are in decimals.
Usually seam allowances, here in the states,
are 1/8, 1/4. 3/8, 1/2 etc etc. Can you
help?
Thanking you ever so much!!! Kim
Hi Kim,
The two different seam allowances used when sewing the zip is so that the first stitch (0.5cm) that is attaching the fabric to the zip will be subsequently hidden when the next row of stitches (with a larger seam allowance of 0.8cm) is being sewn to attach the second piece of fabric onto the same zip. So theoretically, you don’t have to follow the exact seam allowance. You just have to make sure that the first stitch has a narrower seam allowance than the second.
When I convert 0.5 and 0.8cm to inches, it is actually approximately 1/5″ and 1/3″ but that is not marked on the sewing machine. In fact, 0.5cm is in between 1/8 and 1/4, and 0.8cm is between 1/4 and 3/8 mark.
So I would suggest that you either do a step down to use 1/8″ for the first stitch and 1/4″ for the second line of stitching. Or if your zip is wide enough to accomodate two rows of stitching at 1/4″ and 3/8″, you can do that too if you are more comfortable with wider seam allowances.
Hope that answers your question! 🙂
Yi Farn
Note: This is Kim and I just emailed you
a question. However, I put an extra letter
in my email address and with that you
wouldn’t be able to email me.
I have corrected it and now you will
be able to comment , if you choose!
Hello,
I have been following your blog and read your book reviews with great interest and admiration. My daughter and I are ready to buy our first Japanese Pattern book and would like to know your recommendation. We will be sewing for a 12 month old little girl (my grand daughter), I am concerned that she may be too small for some of the children’s pattern books. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your help.
Sincerely,
Kamille
Hi Kamille,
Sorry, I have not been buying baby books that’s why I haven’t reviewed any 🙂 But I did find some online that you can browse through and purchase from websites such as cdjapan or yesasia. I’m just listing some of the links here, but I think I will consolidate the list plus other books into a proper blog post soon!
For 0-3 yrs old – http://www.tezukuritown.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=3817
Browse through sample pages – http://www.tezukuritown.com/sample10/NV70038/flash/F_viewer_standard.htm
http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E5%B0%8F%E3%81%95%E3%81%8F%E3%81%A6%E3%82%82%E3%81%8D%E3%81%A1%E3%82%93%E3%81%A8%E3%81%97%E3%81%9F%E6%9C%8D%E2%80%95%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A8%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AF%E3%81%AE%E5%AD%90%E3%81%A9%E3%82%82%E6%9C%8D6%E3%81%8B%E6%9C%88%E3%81%8B%E3%82%893%E6%AD%B3%E3%81%BE%E3%81%A7-%E5%B0%BE%E6%96%B9-%E8%A3%95%E5%8F%B8/dp/4579109961/ref=pd_sim_b_1
http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%83%8F%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89%E3%83%A1%E3%82%A4%E3%83%89%E3%83%99%E3%83%93%E3%83%BC%E6%9C%8D%EF%BD%85%EF%BD%8E%EF%BD%81%EF%BD%8E%EF%BD%8E%EF%BD%81%E3%81%AE80~90%E3%82%BB%E3%83%B3%E3%83%81%E3%82%B5%E3%82%A4%E3%82%BA%E3%81%AE%E3%81%8B%E3%82%8F%E3%81%84%E3%81%84%E3%81%8A%E6%B4%8B%E6%9C%8D-%E6%89%8B%E4%BD%9C%E3%82%8A%E3%82%92%E6%A5%BD%E3%81%97%E3%82%80-%E6%9C%9D%E4%BA%95-%E7%89%A7%E5%AD%90/dp/4528012987/ref=pd_sim_b_6
The links are to Japanese sites, but what you can do is to copy the ISBN number and search it on either cdjapan.com or yesasia.com. Remember to remove the dashes in the ISBN number or it may return an empty result.
[…] has two newly translated books that will be out soon over the next few months, I listed them on my Japanese books in English page and you can check them out if you […]
Hi I was wondering if these books are using the metric system?
Hi Nerah, The translated books use both sets of measurements. If you read one of my reviews here – http://www.japanesesewingbooks.com/2013/06/03/book-review-feminine-wardrobe-now-in-english/
You can see from the pattern cutting diagrams, that the measurements are listed primarily in inches, and cm measurements in brackets. So you can use whichever you are comfortable with.
[…] Another Japanese sewing book that has been translated to English, Yay! Adding that to the growing list 🙂 […]
Brilliant! I remember finding Japanese craft books may 7-8 years ago via Ravelry wishing I was fluent in Japanese …. I had this great idea to translate the books and make a million dollars! The very best of luck to you.
After I initially commented I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now whenever
a comment is added I recieve four emails with the same comment.
Is there a means you can remove me from that service? Appreciate it!
Hello….
I am looking for a japanese handmade wallet book that is “more! Handmade YournWallet” that I have find in this website. How do I buy that book? Is that available in English version?
I want to have that one.
Thank You.
Hi, It has not been translated to English yet. here is the link to buying the book (Japanese version)
Hi, i am new to Japanese pattern books and i really like your site, it is really informative! I like the patterns in simple modern sewing but I have read a couple of bad reviews of some of the patterns. I was wondering if you had heard whether this is a common experience. Thanks Heidi with the patterns in this book
Hi Heidi, I don’t have this book, probably because it was published before I discovered it and I can’t seem to find it anywhere it the bookstores. So I can’t really judge if this is a good book. Sorry about that 🙂
[…] a number of publishers caught the Japanese Sewing Books bug too and started translating some of the popular titles into English. Many of you have commented on how useful these books have been and can’t wait for more […]
[…] For a full list of Japanese sewing books that have been translated to English, click here. […]
[…] Check out my list of other English versions of Japanese Sewing Books here! […]
[…] out my list of other English versions of Japanese Sewing Books […]
[…] one that has already been translated – Japanese Sewing Books translated to English – Constantly updated list of Japanese Sewing Books that have been translated to English, and […]
I love your kids clothes but I’m looking for clothes for 10 year olds. Are there any books?
Hi, not in English at the moment, there are some Japanese books that go up to 140 and 150cm though.
Hello,
I have come across your website just a week ago and am amazed by the amount of information you make available.
I would like to purchase the following book:
(Military Wear Pattern Book written by Ryuichiro Shimazaki and published by Bunka Publishing Bureau)
http://books.bunka.ac.jp/np/isbn/9784579114641/
Would you be so kind as to let me know if is it available in English version?
I know a lot of Italian and English tailors/dressmakers including myself would be interested in buying it, but nobody actually speaks Japanese…
I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards from Italy
[…] Tsukiori, I think many of you are familiar with her name by now, as many of her books have been translated into English. Title : 大人の女性に似合う服 Author : 月居 良子 ISBN No. : 978-4800247636 Buy now […]