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Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

Zip-up Hoodies + Summer Tiered Dress

June 25, 2025

Hello! Summer is in full swing around here, and I’m getting back into sewing mode. I know that this hooded jacket (windbreaker? hoodie?) doesn’t look too summery but it’s perfect for the cool mornings. I had just enough olive/khaki twill for this, and I love it.

I started off with this PatternCouture zip-up hoodie pattern from etsy, and cut out the large. Then I futzed with it and made quite a few modifications. First, I sewed a wearable muslin out of knit scraps I had on hand:

That two-toned hood looks intentional, right? Nope. I ran out of fabric.

Then I lengthened the torso, shortened the arms, modified the front neckline to dip a little lower and to accommodate the separating zippers I had in my stash and made this black ever-s0-practical knit hoodie:

Then I eliminated the cuffs for the twill version:

It’s very reminiscent of the Merchant and Mills Landgate Jacket that I made back in 2021. I still wear that all the time, but every time I pull it on and off, I wish it was a zip up — hence this twill jacket. It’s a good one. I enjoyed that it was a fairly easy project, and by the third hoodie, I wasn’t intimidated by the separating zipper at all.

And then there is this summer tiered dress that I designed and taught as a Creativebug class:

The class launches today!! Check it out here along with all of my other Creativebug classes here. Creativebug is always having amazing subscription deals and it’s SO worth it if you’re not signed up already!

As for the dress, what’s not to love? Simple to draft and make, effortless to wear, POCKETS. Need I say more? This is hands down my favorite summer outfit. In fact, I might have to stitch up another in that olive/khaki color which I’m obsessed with…

Alright, my friends. I will be back again soon to share loads of book news. Very, very exciting!

 

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Giveaway time, my friends! So, 2026 is starting ou Giveaway time, my friends! So, 2026 is starting out in a very exciting way. My latest book, SHIBUI: THE JAPANESE ART OF FINDING BEAUTY IN AGING, is already in its second print run — deepest thanks to every person who purchased a copy, then got more copies to give as gifts!! Speaking of gifts, I have a little giveaway today that’s different from my usual kind. Shibui is available in audio format (a first for me!) read by the talented @edelynokano, and I have SIX free Spotify codes. Please note that you do need a Spotify account to utilize the code. Interested? 

To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment below. Any comment would be lovely but if you have an audiobook recommendation, I’m all ears! No pun intended. I’ll leave the giveaway open until Friday, January 30th and will DM the winners shortly after. Good luck!🍀 @sasquatchbooks #shibui
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