Japanese Pattern Books

Hey everyone.

Well I have been quite busy lately but have still found time for a little bit of sewing. I ordered 2 Japanese pattern books a couple of weeks ago from Yes Asia and received them the other day. This is a great site that has these Japanese Pattern Books at the cheapest price I have found. It also offers FREE POSTAGE worldwide and you can pay by paypal, which is a bonus as you don't have to give away your credit card details. Anyway, I was inspired and encouraged to try out these patterns from reading this blog that has a lot of useful tips on how to interperate the directions and patterns. I was so hoping I could understand enough to be able to create some of the beautiful items they have in these books.

Well I gave it a go this weekend. I think you just have to give it a go and you'll be surprised at what you are capable of. Firstly I chose a dress that I loved since I first saw this book.

It is just such a pretty, girly dress. This was going to be my first attempt. I traced the pattern and cut out my pattern pieces and started sewing the yoke together when I realised it was not going to be big enough to fit over my daughters head.  I thought that maybe it was the pattern's error and so I added a little bit to the shoulder.

I have since realised that I just wasn't reading the pattern correctly and now understand it better.  Although the end result turned out ok I was happy I wasn't using expensive fabric for this first attempt. I was actually using a valance I bought from the op shop. I just love the colour and it was awesome quality in fantastic condition.

I really am very happy how it turned out and pleased at how easy it was to understand the directions. The pictures explain enough that you don't even need to know how to read Japanese.

The only thing I can fault about this dress is that the sleeves kind of stick out when it is being worn. I'm not sure if this because the fabric is quite stiff. This might change when it is washed. But overall, I"M HAPPY!

When I finished I still wanted to do some more sewing so I made one of the tops from the same book. I haven't quite finished it so I will update this blog when I have done so, with some better photos. 

Ok, the top is finished now and I'm pleased with the result.

The bow is at the back.

It does flare out a bit, but it does that in the photo from the pattern book also. It has a funky look to this top and looks great with a cute pair of jeans.

Because the fabric I used for this top was actually a valance, it already had a gathered ruffle along the edge. I used that part of the valance when cutting out my pattern pieces so I was able to skip straight over that step.

Cheeky me.