Good morning! One of the unexpected perks of starting this little online documentation of sewing and whatnot has been the relationship I've developed with Tuttle Publishing. Considered the largest publisher of "Asian-interest" books, they've recently been adding a slew of translated Japanese sewing books to their catalog. It's been such a thrill to receive books before they're let loose into the big world, especially when they're the type of books I've adored and sewn from for years. Like this ... Read more
Monday Outfit: “Robe Jacket”
Good morning, friends! I started to make K yet another animal print top as per her request this past weekend, but I just couldn't do it. Instead, I flipped through my favorite Japanese sewing book, and was intrigued by the "Robe Jacket". It reminded me of a mini version of the jacket I made a while back, and I had a hankering to sew with linen, so Robe Jacket it was. This is what the illustration looks like in the book (you can't see them, but there are additional ties inside): And here's ... Read more
Monday Outfit: Bow Dress
Good morning! I did something hitherto unheard of: I planned ahead. For almost all these Monday outfit posts, I usually start sewing on Saturday afternoon after thinking a few minutes about what wardrobe holes I can fill in K's closet (this is becoming pretty challenging, as you can imagine). Although she's growing like a rice plant amped up on Miracle-Gro, sewing for K takes a fraction of the time it takes to sew for myself, so I'm usually done by early evening. After breakfast on Sunday, we ... Read more
Monday Outfit: Coral Giraffe Print
Good morning! This week, I decided to sew up something that I knew K would absolutely love. It's knit, it's animal print, and it's bright. The trifecta of success. This tiered tunic is from this book, and because the largest size goes up to only 125cm and K is squarely a size 130cm now, I added 4cm to the length. I need to try to sew more from this book before K completely outgrows it -- so far I've sewn this and this and this from it and there are a few more that's on my sewing docket! ... Read more
Front Placket Dress Tutorial
Well, here it is (this one's for you, Lucinda): the tutorial I meant to post on Monday from this awesome, awesome book that has rapidly become my favorite. This tutorial is very long and is purely a reference post, but it could also be an interesting way to see the Japanese text translated. I just hope it's helpful in some way. I approached this in a way that seemed most practical to me, but let me know if you have recommendations and suggestions for improvements. I want to do more of these ... Read more