Japanese Sewing Books Ladies Sewing Patterns

Book Review – Handmade Dresses I want to Brag About

August 20, 2018


Today’s book review was the second most popular book chosen by you from my IG and FB poll a few weeks ago.
I can totally understand why because I actually bought this book blind…. all for that dress on the cover! It looks like a Double gauze/linen dress, and not only do I have too much double gauze in my stash, but I also needed a dress pattern like that.

The title of the book is Handmade Dresses that I want to Brag about from the Ladies Boutique series by publisher Boutique-sha. There are about 20 pcs to make from this book. 1 full size pattern sheet is included, for sizes S-LL. I wasn’t sure what to expect about the rest of the book so let’s have a look together!

cover

The dress on the cover that made me buy the book! It’s a simple dress with a tie-string gathered waistline and the side seams are longer than the centre hems. I thought it was a linen fabric but as listed in the book, it says the fabric is a rustic cloth??? I googled it and actually found a listing of it on a fabric manufacturer‘s site. It is a french linen series but is actually Flax Yarn Dyed Poplin but the material content is 100% Flax. Honestly I think it’s just a lightweight linen 😛 I can imagine one of the nani IRO linens will be perfect for this dress!

sailorcollardress

The first dress had a really cute collar. This collar is more often seen on kids patterns but not so much for adults. I like that the front of the collar is more subtle and not so “Sailor moon” 😛

necklineslitdress

This shouted Marimekko to me because of the irregular circle dots. I’m not sure if this is a Marimekko print but I think this was really cute for this dress. It does distract a little from the dress pattern which has a slit on the neckline and gathered skirt. I prefer some kind of segmentation of the dress at the waistline which can help to prevent the maternity look.

backribbondress

A camisole-top with a drop waist skirt, coupled with a cute ribbon tie detail on the back. I recognized this fabric instantly. It’s the camino linen from 2018 nani IRO collection!

bigslitdress

This dress caught my attention because of the color, but on closer look I do like the french sleeves a lot! There are two side slits which makes it look more interesting. Somehow despite it’s super loose cut, it doesn’t scream maternity as much.

gathersleevedress

These ribbon ties on sleeves and cuffs are in a lot of Korean/Japanese/Chinese dramas lately. So it must be a thing! I’m not sure about using this gingham because my kindergarten uniform was made with the same fabric. 😛

But I do like the sleeve details and yes, the belt makes it so much better!

flaredress

My favorite dress in the book. Looks so simple but it’s a perfect match with the striped fabric! I like the gathered waist tie too. Will definitely be doing this next but maybe in a shorter length.

wrapdress

2 way casual dress – this is actually a loose wrap dress, which doubles up as a coat. I think the design is meant to be loose and layered over a top instead of being worn on its own because the position of the side ties prevent you from tightening the waist portion any further.

coatdress

Another coat dress. Button up and add a belt for a casual dress. or layer it on as a coat on cooler days.

There are lots of other dresses to be made in this book so have a look at the book flip-through review below!

This book covers S-LL sizes but in actual fact they are grouped into 2 sizes as shown above. I guess it’s not much of a problem since the dresses are all meant to be loose and not fitted.

sizechart

A close up of the instructions included in the book.

samplediagram

Only 1 sheet of patterns and it’s bound to the book which means you have to cut it out along the lines.patternsheet

There are quite a few pieces I like in there and will actually wear but I still find that most of them belong to the baggy style that I usually try to avoid. But there are some interesting collar and sleeve details that I like from some of the baggy dresses that I think can be adapted into tops instead! So I still think this was a good buy. If you like it too, here’s the link to buy it from cdJapan! (aff link)

Jiman Shitaku Naru Tezukuri One-piece / Boutique-sha

Title : 自慢したくなる手作りワンピース (レディブティックシリーズno.4616)
ISBN : 978-4834746167

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