kids sewing patterns – Page 3 – Japanese Sewing, Pattern, Craft Books and Fabrics

Giveaways

Mother’s Day Book Giveaway

April 20, 2012

So I’ve been thinking about a book giveaway for a while now. Seeing that it may not always be easy to buy a Japanese sewing book you’ve seen online, especially if you are not near a bookstore that stocks a large selection of hobby and craft books in a foreign language 😉

I’ve been seeing a lot of new friends liking my Facebook page as well as new friends visiting the site, so I would like to welcome everyone and hope that you guys can keep leaving me comments so that I can improve on the content and make this site a more useful one for all of us.

For my first giveaway, I have a brand new copy of Pochée Kids Special that I reviewed a few months ago. This book is great for Mums because there are step by step photographs for some of the projects (great for beginners), plus there are patterns for BOTH girls and boys!

So here’s what you have to do….

Like my Facebook page …if you haven’t already 🙂
Leave me a comment below this post and if you have any suggestions, let me know what new features you would like to see on the site.
If you have twitter, follow me and spread the word with the hashtag #jpsewingbks

Edited to add: I will be picking a winner from the list of people who have commented below, and not from facebook and twitter, so you have to sign up for the book giveaway here!

That’s it! The giveaway ends 25th April (Wednesday) at 12 midnight Eastern Standard Time. I will announce the winner here on 26th April. So check back then to see if you are the lucky one 🙂

Good luck!

31 Comments

Free Japanese Sewing Patterns Links Free Patterns

Free Japanese Sewing Patterns – Otsukaya

April 9, 2012

Today’s free pattern find was contributed by Alice Heil from Sommet Outta Nuthin… Thanks Alice! 🙂

The patterns are from Otsukaya.co.jp which is a fabric store with branches in Nagoya, Gifu and Osaka. Just like the fabric store I went to in Otaru, they provided free patterns with the sample products that were on display in the store. These are PDF patterns which require some construction using basic geometry. Some patterns are easy to construct (such as bags and small items) but there are also some that are more complicated (shirts and dresses) and require a bit more time.

The direct link to the patterns page is here – http://otsukaya.co.jp/TedukuriTop.htm .There are lots and lots of patterns. Scroll down all the way to the bottom and there are links to more archived pages of free patterns.

I really like the dress with the bright and colorful flowers. Really good idea for using with fabrics with border prints.
Check out the little kimono bag in the right column as well. It is so cute!

Here is an example of one of the patterns for making a yukata which is something like a casual lightweight kimono that they wear in summer. Looks a little complicated doesn’t it? But its mainly constructed out of rectangles and some curves, with a little bit of time and effort it should be quite doable. Now if only I can think of an occasion for the kids to wear this…. 🙂

Happy Sewing!

2 Comments

Free Japanese Sewing Patterns Links Free Patterns

Free Japanese Sewing Pattern – Sasatto Sewing (offline)

April 2, 2012

Update 24 March : It seems that the following website has been taken offline. I tried searching in Japanese but they all turn up the old domain name which is no longer available.

Most of the free patterns you can find online are for small zakka goods like bags and pouches, or simple skirts/shirts constructed out of rectangles and simple shapes. This is because pattern pieces are usually much larger than A4 size which is what most of us can print at home. I’ve been looking for more free patterns that are for clothes and not just small goods because I think these will be quite interesting to make.

Today’s free pattern comes from a site called Sasatto Sewing. I’ve bookmarked this site some time back but it was quite hard to navigate. I think she has recently reorganized the links and even though it is still not so easy to find all the bits and pieces as there is a lot of text, I think the completed garments are quite elaborate for free patterns, so it’s quite worth checking out! If you are using a browser with an auto translate feature like Chrome, you can try turning it on. It might help search for the correct links, although the text translation is not very accurate 🙂

This is the link to the main page – http://sasatto-sewing.com/ From the main page it is quite easy because the projects are listed by thumbnails so you can just click on the thumbnail to the project you want. Once you get to the project page, you will see lots of links (the links are in green).

Just a few things to take note of. The sizes are quite varied from project to project. Some are for kids only and some include kids and adults sizes. So refer to the word size サイズ and the numbers next to it. Units are in cm! (Conversion from inches – 1 inch = 2.54cm)

The other important text to note – 作り方(how to make) and パターン (pattern). This two links are what will lead you to the diagrams needed to construct the patterns as well as the steps for making the garment.

The other links in green (for this particular skirt) are some explanatory notes about the skirt as well as variations of materials on the skirt which will give it a different effect. But the main links you will need are the two I mentioned previously.

Happy Sewing!

4 Comments

Bags or Zakka Sewing Patterns Book Reviews Japanese Sewing Books

Book Review – Handmade Rilakkuma

March 29, 2012

Today’s book is really fun. Have you heard of Rilakkuma? It’s a character from San-x, also known as Relax Bear. It’s one of my favourite characters. I have many Rilakkuma goods. Notepads, a tote bag, even have a 3D Rilakkuma iphone case! 🙂

For those of you who are fans, this is a great book. It provides you with the patterns to make all kinds of Rilakkuma and Korilakkuma goods. The crafts include Amigurumi (crochet dolls), felt mascot, stuffed toy, puppets, personal accessories, lunch goods, interior goods, appliques and even bath goods.

Stuffed toys! The only problem I have about this is where to find the correct fabric to make these.

This is much easier, tiny felt mascots. Felt is much easier to get in the correct colors 🙂

Awfully cute hair accessories!

I wanted to make this for my daughter’s lunch bag but her bottle is too big for it.

I love these! Coin pouches and sling bags. Perfect for little girls. I know they will both want the Korilakkuma purses. (White and pink)

Bath gloves! But need terry material in the right brown and orange. Korilakkuma should be easier?

As these are small goods and accessories, the pattern pieces fit into one page of the book. But it looks a little complicated. Some translation might be needed here.

Example of a how-to-make section for a keyring. Looks simple enough once you cut out the basic shapes. There are alot of labels with words but don’t worry, they are just telling you the body part, color of embroidery thread and type of stitch. All of these can be deduced from the finished product pictures in the beginning section of the book. And it’s ok to use a different stich if you want, so no real translation necessary here.

ISBN No : 978-4-391-13107-9

1 Comment

Free Japanese Sewing Patterns Links Free Patterns

Free Japanese Sewing Patterns – lecien.co.jp

March 26, 2012

Today’s free patterns come from one of my favourite Japanese fabric brands. Lecien Corporation is a manufacturer of fabrics, handicrafts as well as ladies clothes and even lingerie. I’m sure most of us who sew will recognize their brand as a manufacturer, given that they produce so many pretty fabrics.

On their website, there is a hobby page with free patterns of bags, zakka items, quilt patterns and even embroidery patterns. Click here to view full list of free patterns. What’s interesting is that there are some garment patterns for adults and kids. But the pattern requires some construction as it is not possible for most of us to print out large size pattern paper. It takes a little work but it is a free pattern after all, so no pain no gain 🙂