• Home
  • shop
  • Illustration Portfolio
  • About
  • My Books

Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

Happy Monday + Easter Bunny T-Dress

April 6, 2015

Good morning! Today, I have more of a craft project to share with you since the garment itself is simply an elongated t-shirt (using the same pattern as here). I added roughly 10 inches to the length. The frogtastic tee is so beloved (and now that I think about it, I used the same pattern for that tee too), I wanted to give freezer paper stenciling another go. I even created a visual step-by-step! I used the ubiquitous, standard freezer paper like this one, and the fabric paint is ... Read more

Filed in: crafts, sewing, sewing for K • by sanae • 8 Comments

Happy Friday + Advent Randomness

December 5, 2014

Happy Friday! Even though I'm sharing it today, I did, in fact, finish this Advent Calendar in the nick of time on November 30th, much to my relief. Compared to the last couple of years, it's a more understated calendar, but I put a lot of thought into it. This year, I had some very specific rules for myself: 1. Construct the advent calendar out of what I already have on hand (the exception was the little gifts that are part of the calendar) 2. No candy or sweets 3. Include lots of ... Read more

Filed in: crafts, life • by sanae • 12 Comments

DIY Shelf + Tolerations Update

March 6, 2014

A couple of summers ago, I found myself with a lot of time and an ever-shrinking budget. I was on a huge home improvement kick, and one of my goals was to corral the explosion of books everywhere in the house. I've always been a bookworm, and as much as I love the library, I love buying books even more. These days I've been really good about not purchasing any, but I still have way too many and I used to have enough to completely fill a room (oh, I dream of having a room I can call a "library", ... Read more

Filed in: crafts • by sanae • 10 Comments

Valentine’s Word Search

February 12, 2014

For some reason, K's school hasn't allowed Valentine's exchanges in past years. This has been hugely disappointing for me because I LOVE making Valentine's. As with any holiday involving cards and sweets, I get completely jazzed while K looks on with a jaded expression, resigning herself to yet another craft project gone bonkers. This year, still inexplicably, her school is allowing its first ever Valentine's exchange. I am beyond excited. I created this word search card, thinking it ... Read more

Filed in: crafts, download • by sanae • 16 Comments

Juggling Balls

December 31, 2013

So much for not posting daily. I was trying to cut myself some slack, but when I spent time thinking about this past year, I realized that one of my favorite parts of it was blogging. M told me the other day that for the last 18 months or so, I've been happier than he's ever seen me. We've been together nearly fifteen years, so that's saying a lot. There's something about this medium of visual and textual storytelling and community interchange that fits my temperament. This morning, I was ... Read more

Filed in: crafts, sewing • by sanae • 12 Comments

« Previous Page
Next Page »

Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address below to get blog posts delivered to your in-box. I'll occasionally include fun digital goodies!

Order My New Book!!

Order My Latest Sewing Book!!

Archives

Categories

The word that incites terror in most newbie sewing The word that incites terror in most newbie sewing enthusiasts: zippers. Now that I have a few years of sewing under my belt I’m less cowed by them, but there’s something about long, separating zippers that still makes me nervous. I powered through, however, and made this versatile twill hooded jacket originating from a @patterncouture_ zip-up hoodie pattern meant for knit fabrics that I modified a lot. I blogged about it! Link in bio if you’d like to see the different versions I created. 

To skip zippers altogether and make a truly summery garment, swipe and check out my NEW @creativebug Tiered Dress class (link also in bio!). Back to sewing more hot weather stuff because I’m going to Japan for a special trip next week! 🇯🇵🇯🇵
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2025 · Theme by Blog Pixie

© 2025 Sanae Ishida