Good morning! I haven’t done a giveaway in a while, have I? The always good folks at Tuttle sent me the Stylish Remakes book
Here you can see the Japanese version next to the English one. The Japanese copy is slightly smaller, and the cover design is obviously different. I find this whole translation process so fascinating, trying to assess a different market, figuring out how to translate idioms into another language. I loved it! It came about quite casually, when I tossed out an offer to translate any forthcoming sewing books when I was in communication with Tuttle about reviewing a book last year. I was delighted when the editor contacted me with this project around October of 2014.
The book is chockfull of ideas for upcycling old t-shirts, athletic wear (think college sweatshirts) and flannel shirts. There are even instructions for repurposing adult-sized clothing into kids’ garb.
I enjoyed looking for the subtle differences between the English and Japanese versions. For example, I noticed that they used different fonts and colors for the project titles.
Japanese:
English:
Japanese:
English:
My favorite projects were the ones with the flannel shirts. They’re very clever and unique. I had a lovely time with this first foray into the world of translations (it’s a flat fee system and doesn’t involve any royalties, which is rather nice), and I’m hoping for more assignments once book #2 is all done! I’m loving all these various avenues into publishing I’m exploring and can’t wait to learn more.
OK! Onto the giveaway…what shall I ask? This isn’t a remake related question, but did you have a favorite item of clothing or outfit as a child? My mom used to lament that I would often pair a pastel yellow wraparound skirt with a pink t-shirt. I don’t know why, but I just loved loved loved that combination. I was about 10. Which is funny to me since I would never wear that color combo now, and it actually seems like an ensemble that my mom would approve of. The world is a mysterious place. What about you? What comes to mind from your childhood apparel?
I’ll leave the giveaway open until this Friday, August 14th and will announce the winner on Monday. International entries are always welcome — good luck!
As a girl, I had a crazy fringe t-shirt with a panda on it, & the fringe on the shirt was threaded with beads. I LOVED this t-shirt! There was also a circle skirt made of knit, with a cat on it. I didn’t wear them together, but when I think of my favorite clothing items as a child, those 2 items stand out in my memory.
When I was 10 my favorite outfit was a pair of old faded Lee jeans, a white t-shirt with “jeans jeans jeans” written across the chest, and a rainbow elastic belt. I couldn’t get enough of it! Love your book!
Wow, congrats on getting offered this job! It would be awesome if more Japanese sewing books were translated by people who actually sew! I have some English and French translations that contain the weirdest translation errors. (They’re still pretty easy to use because of the diagrams, thankfully!)
Hmmm, right now, I can really only remember one garment I liked when I was a kid, and that was a dirndl dress I had when I was about five. I’m not much of a dress-wearing person, and I don’t think I was when I was a kid either, but I had this one dirndl dress with sheep and geese on it, and I loved it. I have no idea why. I might still have a portrait of myself at age five somewhere on which I’m wearing it. (:
Congrats on getting to translate this!
I used to have a pair of hot pink overalls with a tweety bird patch on them. I wore them all the time!
I loved my flowery dresses. Everywhere I went and everything I did I just had to wear them. My husband still makes fun of me, because in most of the pictures he has seen from my childhood I’m wearing the same dress.
I don’t remember a lot of my clothes but I remember a white dress with all kind of colours polkadots and a circle skirt. I loved it and was very sad when it didn’t fit anymore. My mom said I could wear it one more time when I had to swim for my diploma and I have a picture of me in the water with that circle skirt all puffed up. It looked funny and it was hard to swim!
I had a navy polkadots blouse that I woreuntil it, literally, felt apart (I think I was about the last time I wore it). I would pair it with EverThing! I’m still looking for a similar version today 🙂
Wow, how great is that that you translated this book! I’m glad to hear an actual sewist did the translation!
As to my childhood dress, I can only remember one and that was in transition from when we left HK and came to Canada. It was a shift dress, green cotton with a panel of floral down the front, very water-coloured (at least in my memory). I still love shift dresses today and I think that fabric still inspire me in my sewing.
When I was in about the 5th grade I had bright yellow high tops, bright yellow leggings, with a geometric print tunic length sweatshirt. I loved that outfit… I felt like Punky Brewster! 🙂
My mom made me a dress out of purple fabric with cats on it. I loved that dress! I still have a piece of the fabric in my stash, it makes me so happy. This book looks great! Congrats!
I remember a pink and grey striped knit dress that I had when I was about 5. My mom really disliked it, and I remember fighting to wear it. I try and keep it in my mind when my girls are going gaga over something pink and sparkly that doesn’t mesh with my cleaner aesthetic. Hopefully they’ll grow out of it, but for now I just let them wear what makes them happy and squint my eyes at all the razzle dazzle.
My favorite outfit was a hot pink sweatsuit with a huge white plastic zipper I could wear every Monday. I was BIG into zippers.
Very cool about the translation, congratulations! The flannel dress looks great, would love this book. Thank you for the giveaway!
This book would be perfect since that’s all I do with my clothes, upcycle them for my little ones. Congrats on such an awesome gig!
To answer your question: I think one of my favorite sweaters was made of puffy paint with a bear in the middle and my name in the lower right corner. I thought it was the coolest thing since I had my name on it.
I had a silk shorts overalls outfit that i thought was awesome!
My favourite outfit was the new Sunday dress every summer/winter from a beautiful selection of handmade clothes that used to be sent round in a suitcase for mums to choose and buy from. Always exquisite, lots of Liberty and lace. But oh, how I wished I could wear it to school instead of old hand-me-downs, so the children there would know that I DID have beautiful clothes!!
I had a navy blue pea coat that I wore all the time. I thought it looked great with everything. For some reason, it always felt just right.
This translating job is so great!
When I was little I hated going to the shops to buy clothes so my mom would style me however she’d want;-) Might be the reason I sew most of my clothes today? An outfit I can’t understand today how I could have used so much as a kid was a matching pair of Kermit green jeans and jacket…
All the best, Christina:-)
My mom made a lot of my clothes as a kid, but one of my favorite items was a pair of “sports” shorts with pink and baby blue satin ribbon along the side. I believe it had a matching tank top and I thought I was soooo cool in that outfit.
My dad had bought me a faux “Tommy Hilfiger” windbreaker when he was stationed in Korea. We couldn’t afford the real name brand, but this one had awesome pockets and a hood. I loved it until it sadly met its demise when my brother washed it with something that bled all over the white portion of the jacket 🙁 I think I would still be wearing that jacket today.
I loved to wear a long brown floral Hollie-Hobbie style skirt. Maybe a little to Little House on the Prairie for my tastes now.
When I was 10 I loved jeans and t-shirts. Thirty years later I still love jeans and t-shirts, only now my jeans have a bit of a stretch. 🙂
i had a flouro pink, faux (soooo synthetic!) fur zip up bomber jacket that i wore to death. in my pre-teens. ugggh!
I went through a phase where I would only wear clothes that were red, black and white. My mom made a lot of my clothes growing up and actually got to the point she refused to make me anything new unless I chose a color other than red, black or white! I had these leggings that were black and white stripe with little red squares on them and a matching T shirt that I decorated with fabric from the leggings and puffy paint. I thought I was the coolest kid around with my one of a kind outfit and side ponytail.
My mom told me this days that I loved to use a circle skirt when I was a kid, curious because I prefer wearing pants , just this summer I started sewing some dresses and skits for myself.
I don’t have a lot of happy memories about my childhood clothes. I was a chubby child and my mum usually made me wear all kinds of printed leggings and oversized tees or sweaters. I do however remember a set, t-shirt and shorts with elastic waistband, both in the same bright red knit fabric that was really comfortable, such soft fabric. I wore it until the bright red colour turned into something coral-pink like and the seams nearly fell apart trough the many washings…
Nice thing japanese sewing books are being translated!
I don’t remember many of my childhood clothes, though there was a pink, corduroy wrangler jacket which used to be my mom’s. I wore that a lot, think it’s thread-bare now… 🙂 I was 10-12 years old I think? I never tried to be different, but found it hard to stay in the crowd too, took me another 6 years before I figured out what I really like to wear…
Guess the 90s also kinda stinked fashion-wise, so it wasn’t entirely my fault. 😉
Congrats on the translation though!
Congratulations on the translating gig. What fun.
One piece of clothing from my childhood I was recently reminded of was a calico wrap around skirt that I painted on myself with orange paint. We all made them at school and in my memory it was fabulous, but in reality it was probably unfinished, painted, raw calico tied around me.
I probably wore it with a t-shirt and leather clogs. Done well it could be a cute seventies revival outfit for my daughter!
This is awesome reading about everyone’s favorite childhood outfits! I had a pink jumper dress that tied at the shoulders over a white blouse with puffy sleeves and pink rose cluster print on it. I think it was my favorite because it was my first non-hand-me-down outfit ever. (Well ever that wasn’t brown, homemade by my mom and gramma – those were beautiful dresses for my sisters and I looking back at them as an adult, but I cried about them as a kid!)
I don’t want to win the drawing, but love your question!
Oooooooh, for my tenth birthday, fluorescents were all the rage and I begged and begged and begged for a neon yellow jogging suit. Everyone tried to talk me out of it, knowing it looked horrid, but that is ALL I wanted! So I got it – and then quickly realized that it was horrid, and in fact somewhat see through so you could see my underwear. However, I was so stubborn that I insisted on wearing it all year long, until I finally outgrew it!!!!
First off, congrats on the successful book translation! It must be really exciting to be offered to translate books on sewing, which is something you love to do.
Hmm let’s see, I have a sunflower yellow dress I used to wear every time I go out for about a year, before it would no longer fit me anymore (I was hit with a growth spurt).
Congratulations on translating the book!
Hands down, my favorite childhood outfit was a pale pink two piece “party dress” that my mom made for me. The top had clear buttons with small pink flowers in the center. The buttons went down the back and also had a belt and a peplum. The skirt was a little bit twirly (enough to satisfy a 5 year old) but not too twirly to keep it sophisticated. Oh, how I loved that outfit.
Also thought of a second one. I was most definitely stylin’ in my denim jeans (bell bottoms I am sure) with matching denim jacket made by my mom on her industrial antique Singer. Oh yeah! The denim had apples overprinted all over it. I thought it was so cool! Thinking back now, the outfit probably wasn’t cool at all, but I didn’t care, my mom made it and I loved it!