Today’s book review was one of the recent best sellers on Amazon.co.jp. It is a new release by Katayama Yuko – designer of the Coat sewing book I reviewed at the end of last year. She’s back with a brand new book, recently released last month and it’s all about sewing with knits. This book contains patterns for a full range of wardrobe essentials – from tops, bottoms (pants and skirts) as well as outerwear. Sizes start from kids 110cm to Ladies (3L) or Men’s 2L!
Happy 2019! A little late into the year but I must confess I have been taking a nice relaxing time off. I took 2 weeks off in December, and when I came back everything was a mess at home and there was so much laundry to catch up. It is also a few weeks more the Chinese New Year which means more frantic sewing trying to get everyone’s new clothes ready. Anyway, I really wanted to review this book because I think this is one of the more useful Pouch making books I have bought so far. I realize the cover is not that attractive, and maybe many of you might skip it while browsing through online shops. But I saw the sneak preview and one of the set of instructions on the different ways to deal with zip ends caught my attention. So I just had to buy it to take a look. And then there was a pouch with 3 compartments that I’ve always wanted to know how to make, and it’s in there too!
You know a book is really useful if the first thing you do when you buy it is not to make 1, but 2 pouches using the patterns 😛 This book is published by Nihon-Vogue and there are 35 different projects you can make. The lessons include how to install zippers (adjusting length / end of zips / sewing), attaching lining to your pouches, attaching different types of interfacing, sewing with special materials, and how to attach metal purse frames. With this book you can literally make any pouch you want!
This was the first one – a little cosmetic case with elastic pockets inside for small items like eyeshadows or tweezers..
and the second pouch I made was this – This is actually a twin pouch sewn together, and the section in between the two pouches makes a 3rd compartment. It’s really useful for sorting things out and even my daughter has asked for one for her school devices!
And here’s the book flip-through video, you can find lots of other pouch designs in the video.
The lessons are very clear and easy to follow, so I would really recommend this book even though the cover looks rather plain! I hope you like it and make lots of useful pouches out of it!
Title :ポーチの教室 (Pouch Making Classroom)
Publisher : Nihon Vogue
ISBN No. :978-4529058438
(affiliate link)
Today’s book review is for a book that is not very new, but one I have bought for quite some time simply out of curiosity 😂. I did actually want to try it though, and I did!
The pattern designer is Asuka Hamada, author of Piece Work. Her style is very quirky and usually not tight fitting, but I like them because they look modern and fun and very stylish, I just wasn’t sure if it would suit me. But anyway, it was the top on the cover that made me buy the book (as usual), since I buy all my books online. It is a round shape, sewn up leaving two holes for the arms and one for the head. Looks easy!
The title of the book is called Katachi no fuku – where katachi 形 means shapes, and fuku means clothes. So I loosely translate it to Shapes you can wear! Sounds more fun isn’t it? Patterns include – tops/tunics/dresses/poncho/handbag/bags/skirts.
Let’s have a look at some of the more interesting pieces, and then to the book flip-through video.
The first one is similar to the one on the cover, and it is literally called 丸 (maru) which means round/circular/ball shape.
Doesn’t look that bad when worn as a tunic! I tink this is some kind of heavy wool so it looks extra cushy and comfy for winter.
The next (below) is a rectangular shape – hole in the middle for the head and sides sewn up leaving armholes.
Ok maybe the model makes everything look good, but I want to try this one too!
Here’s another shape. Using a square, you can make a poncho. The sleeves look a bit restrictive in the first picture, but it drapes rather nicely in the last picture.
and this is the one I made! There are two versions, the top one – P is a dress length, and the bottom Q is a top length. I like how the bottom corners drape. The cutting of this is still more in line with a traditional top, just that everything is cut out of one piece instead of having to join the sleeves. It was a very quick sew!
and I made this too! But I can’t show you this because it was made out of test fabric and I did not finish the raw edges, it seemed to wide for me though, so I will have to adjust the width a bit.
As for the size info – well, there is none. The book did mention it is suitable for sizes S-L though, but there is one size only – free size! However, seeing that it is made up of really simple shapes, it should be quite easy to scale the patterns?
In the how-to-make section, there is a couple of pages on sewing techniques, which you will use for all the projects.
A close up of the sewing diagram.
1 full size pattern sheet, double sided, is attached.
There are lots of other projects in the book so without further ado, here is the book flip through video!
Title : Katachi no fuku
Author : Asuka Hamada
ISBN : 9784579115174
affilate link
I have been hiding in a hole working on a new pattern and I’ve finally sent it out for testing, so what’s the first thing I do??? Shop! 😛 And I realized I have been sitting on this post for a week because today is 1st October. 🙁
Anyway, happy shopping!
Title : はじめての子ども服 (Beginner’s Kidswear)
Author : 朝井 牧子 (of Handmade baby clothes enanna)
ISBN No: 978-4528021952
Title :春・夏・秋・冬 1枚仕立てのはおりもの
Publisher : Nihon-Vogue
ISBN No:978-4529058315
Title :毎日着たい服、毎日使いたいこもの
Publisher : Boutique-sha
ISBN No:978-4834746365
Title :私の、ブラウスプルオーバー
Author : Aoi Koda
ISBN No:978-4834746365
Title :パターン展開でバリエーションを楽しむパンツ
Author :小峯 有華
ISBN No: 978-4416618806
Title :コートを縫おう
Author :かたやま ゆうこ
ISBN No: 978-4416618806
Title :May Meスタイル 大人のまいにち服
Author :Michiyo Ito
ISBN No:978-4529058490
Title :楽しく学べる! ポーチの教室
Publisher : Nihon-vogue
ISBN No:978-4529058438
Title :大人のかんたんソーイング2018-2019 秋冬
Publisher : Boutique-sha
ISBN No:978-4834746884
Title :NHKすてきにハンドメイド 2018年 09 月号
Publisher : NHK Shuppan
ASIN : B07F83JT4G
Title :レディブティック2018年10月号
Publisher : Boutique-sha
ASIN :B07G1YKPJT
Today’s book review was the second most popular book chosen by you from my IG and FB poll a few weeks ago.
I can totally understand why because I actually bought this book blind…. all for that dress on the cover! It looks like a Double gauze/linen dress, and not only do I have too much double gauze in my stash, but I also needed a dress pattern like that.
The title of the book is Handmade Dresses that I want to Brag about from the Ladies Boutique series by publisher Boutique-sha. There are about 20 pcs to make from this book. 1 full size pattern sheet is included, for sizes S-LL. I wasn’t sure what to expect about the rest of the book so let’s have a look together!
The dress on the cover that made me buy the book! It’s a simple dress with a tie-string gathered waistline and the side seams are longer than the centre hems. I thought it was a linen fabric but as listed in the book, it says the fabric is a rustic cloth??? I googled it and actually found a listing of it on a fabric manufacturer‘s site. It is a french linen series but is actually Flax Yarn Dyed Poplin but the material content is 100% Flax. Honestly I think it’s just a lightweight linen 😛 I can imagine one of the nani IRO linens will be perfect for this dress!
The first dress had a really cute collar. This collar is more often seen on kids patterns but not so much for adults. I like that the front of the collar is more subtle and not so “Sailor moon” 😛
This shouted Marimekko to me because of the irregular circle dots. I’m not sure if this is a Marimekko print but I think this was really cute for this dress. It does distract a little from the dress pattern which has a slit on the neckline and gathered skirt. I prefer some kind of segmentation of the dress at the waistline which can help to prevent the maternity look.
A camisole-top with a drop waist skirt, coupled with a cute ribbon tie detail on the back. I recognized this fabric instantly. It’s the camino linen from 2018 nani IRO collection!
This dress caught my attention because of the color, but on closer look I do like the french sleeves a lot! There are two side slits which makes it look more interesting. Somehow despite it’s super loose cut, it doesn’t scream maternity as much.
These ribbon ties on sleeves and cuffs are in a lot of Korean/Japanese/Chinese dramas lately. So it must be a thing! I’m not sure about using this gingham because my kindergarten uniform was made with the same fabric. 😛
But I do like the sleeve details and yes, the belt makes it so much better!
My favorite dress in the book. Looks so simple but it’s a perfect match with the striped fabric! I like the gathered waist tie too. Will definitely be doing this next but maybe in a shorter length.
2 way casual dress – this is actually a loose wrap dress, which doubles up as a coat. I think the design is meant to be loose and layered over a top instead of being worn on its own because the position of the side ties prevent you from tightening the waist portion any further.
Another coat dress. Button up and add a belt for a casual dress. or layer it on as a coat on cooler days.
There are lots of other dresses to be made in this book so have a look at the book flip-through review below!
This book covers S-LL sizes but in actual fact they are grouped into 2 sizes as shown above. I guess it’s not much of a problem since the dresses are all meant to be loose and not fitted.
A close up of the instructions included in the book.
Only 1 sheet of patterns and it’s bound to the book which means you have to cut it out along the lines.
There are quite a few pieces I like in there and will actually wear but I still find that most of them belong to the baggy style that I usually try to avoid. But there are some interesting collar and sleeve details that I like from some of the baggy dresses that I think can be adapted into tops instead! So I still think this was a good buy. If you like it too, here’s the link to buy it from cdJapan! (aff link)
Title : 自慢したくなる手作りワンピース (レディブティックシリーズno.4616)
ISBN : 978-4834746167