Inspiration: Japanese Pattern Books

I received many inquiries from readers about Japanese pattern books I'm using in my sewing projects, so I wanted to make an entry on this to share yet another of my addiction J

In this picture are half of the books in my collection. Really, I am a junkie : P


Why I love them? The patterns are just so gorgeous! I am not Japanese and I don't read Japanese. Still, most of the patterns in the books are easy to follow, with the help of pictures and diagrams. Every pattern has its own diagram showing numbers that represent the steps. Example here:

The number 1 means you sew the neckline lace first, 2nd the bias ties, 3rd the elastic back and so on. The book will also show some details on a few salient techniques as well as fabric cutting guide (pattern position on fabric). Sizing for children's clothes goes by the height of the child in cm.
Every book has 2 or 3 designs shown step by step in colour pictures:


Seam allowance is NOT included, you have to add it yourself, there usually will be a picture guide on how to do that :


I used to buy the books according to the designs I see inside. Nowadays I go by how the folded pattern looks like. Because I realized that some books have patterns that tightly overlap each other that gives me headache just by looking, let alone attempting to trace it. Example is this one:


This one makes me breathe easier:


Be careful when selecting the books as I once received a book without patterns, yikes! This one was purchased online and I was surprised to see that there is no attached pattern to trace inside.


It turned out we have to draft the pattern ourselves, with the diagram guide as shown. The measurements in Japanese books are all in centimetre (cm) not inches. I've yet to draft anything from this one *sigh*....


The designs are always cute! I realised most of the children modelling for the patterns don't even look Japanese hmmm….and I think many designs in Japanese pattern books have French influence.


Some books offer mix and match suggestion:

Of course there are many with boys patterns included:


But I'm always drawn to designs such as this:


And I love the mommy and me patterns too! I just wish I am as pretty and slim as the mommy in the books though lol


All in all, these books are fabulous, but I still think that a little experience in sewing is needed as there are quite a lot of guess work to do when you try to decipher the step by step instructions. Complete beginner will have problems trying to make sense of some of the techniques. There are many blogs offering English translation of the Japanese writing on the patterns. Try and have a look at this, I found it really helpful when I first started using the pattern.


If you sew and haven't tried one, I highly recommend them. I buy my first 3 books on Etsy, and later locally when I found out KLCC's Kinokuniya bookstore carries shelves and shelves of these in their Japanese books section (and cheaper too).



Malaysian readers, if you ever find a lone woman making herself at home, sitting on the floor in front of the Japanese craft books shelves, browsing for hours, please say hi! :D

I always spend at least 1 hour browsing before I buy. Lately I am into their bag pattern books, oh my, I am so in trouble, I need to go to fabric and pattern books rehab or something….



(hear that? Me singing "No…No..No…" ala Amy Whinehouse haha).

Babydoll Swing Top For The Girls

It's been awhile since I've sewn anything for my angels. I thought they have so many clothes already. But the current extremely hot weather prodded me to sew this airy, loose fitting babydoll swing tops to ease them on sweltering hot days.

The pattern is from this Japanese pattern book, ISBN 9784834726893, pattern #16, with modifications. I used Jennifer Paganelli's gorgeous Casey Scroll prints from her Bell Bottoms collection. It's my favourite print, I'm collecting them in every color available.

The tops are really roomy and swingy, yet offer enough coverage as Aisha doesn't like anything sleeveless (bless her). I love how it turned out except that Aisha's ended up a bit short. I am, of course, to be blamed for that as I messed up the seam allowance during the manual gathering process. I plan to add a band or a strip of ruffle from the polkadot print to make up for that later.

Hanan's turned out perfect and it was so heart warming how she waited for me to finish sewing the top after her bath. She refused to let me dress her, only her diaper, as she asked me over and over when can she wear her new outfit! :D

As you can see the girls were happy during the photo-shoot. They were goofing around as this time daddy was behind the camera, coaching them to pose and trying hard to get decent photos. With Little Miss Hanan, that is almost impossible lol

And this smile......well, my heart just melts..... :)

Ladybird Dress for Hanan

I made Hanan this dress simply because I need a reason to use this cute Tina Givens fabric. I LOVE the unusual shade of pink. It's like a mixture of pink and coral and really, really beautiful in real life. The yellow lamp/chandelier and the contrasting blue ladybirds are perfect as it makes Hanan wonder and point and a breeze to put the dress on her.

The dress is a Japanese pattern from Natural and Layered Style Pochee Special pattern book. Simple 5 piece pattern with tie up closure at the back. It looks like a no brainer to experienced sewer, but the upper bodice has a curved shape that helps the dress swing, thus different from similar looking dresses.

All in all, when your little girl happily twirl and dance in the dress you made her, you know you've done something right! *grinning momma*

Aisha’s Nina Top and Hanan’s Tiered Dress

As I've blogged about the handmade bag birthday gift for Aisha here, now lemme show you what I sewed for her to wear on her birthday celebration at my parents'place.

I practically begged Aisha to sew her a birthday party dress ( I know, I can't believe I did that too lol)...but she was adamant and wanted a long sleeves top to wear with her favourite jeans. Remember I told you how Aisha is never a big fan of dresses? I guess because she's growing up and just wanna assert what she likes and building on her personality.

So I granted her wish and sewed a long sleeve purple top with tiebacks. Purple is her current favourite color so I try to stick to the theme with these Lila Tueller fabrics. The pattern is View D of Nina pattern I blogged here.

I love how the top turned out except the length. It's a size 7, the largest on the pattern. I usually sewed her a size 8. However, the pattern is loose fitting, so size 7 fits her well except that it's a bit short. With Aisha's tall & skinny frame, I'd have to lengthen the top next time I make this for her. Nonetheless, this top gets tonnes of compliments at the party. What stands out here is the faux placket with buttons embellishment. I also love the wider, bell sleeves design. I personally think Aisha looks beautiful in purple and somehow she reminds me of a pretty Spanish princess in that top J

Well now, little miss Hanan should never feel left out, right? I was pressed for time. I had only one hour to sew before going to my parents' house and I wanted a simple dress for her.

I fell in love with a Japanese pattern number 58 in Cucito Summer 2009 and sewed a size 80 for her. It is a tiered dress. I chose soft coral and pink combo. The middle tier is sweet Alexander Henry print, Spring Mix in pink. The other fabric is a sweet coral damask print by April Cornell for Moda.

To my surprise, it is already a bit tight. This could only mean one thing. Hanan has moved up a size! I can now sew a size 90 from all the lovely Japanese patterns, plenty of designs to choose from, yeay!

I made a few mistakes in making this dress. Lucky they are not very obvious once I put it on Hanan. Still, I love the carefree, trapeze like design. She was running around in it so comfortably and lavishing on the attention doting adults showered on her.

So that's it, my latest creation. This week I'm aiming to make a few bags. Will get there when I get there ;)

Meanwhile, have you joined my giveaway yet? Plenty of time left before the draw on the last day of 2009, you're welcome to join. I love reading all your creative inspirations! Thanks for reading and have a creative day! J

Gracie V-Neck Dress and Sweet Retro Dress

We are attending the wedding of a distant cousin today. The girls, of course, need new dresses ;)

Hanan's dress is actually a v-neck top pattern (view C) from Portabellopixie Gracie by Sandi Henderson.

I made an unwise decision with this dress when I cut it one size smaller than Hanan's usual 2T. I honestly thought it would be a bit on the bigger size (some patterns are like that). Note to self: Your baby is growing, when it comes to dresses, better roomy than tight J But of course Hanan loves it because her big sis has a new dress too.

I sewed a sweet & simple, retro inspired dress for Aisha from this Japanese sewing book (ISBN9784834724189, pattern no. 39). I love it!!

I omit the ribbon ties for the dress. And my biggest accomplishment here is the centred zipper, yeay! I wanted this dress to work so much I took the necessary, not for lazy girl action i.e hand basting!

I basted the seam allowance first, then the zipper. There is a reason why all sewing guide books recommend this, the result is so neat and professional, saves me from the heartache of a botched sewing project.

I used vintage inspired roses print Japanese cotton for the dresses. The dusky pink and green stripes trim fabric on Hanan's dress is Kaffe Fasset's shot cotton.

Pinafore Top for Aisha and Round Collar Dress for Hanan

I managed to finish these two before our balik kampung trip.

Aisha's top took a few days to finish as it's from this Japanese pattern book (ISBN 9784834727067, pattern #19) and I was stuck.

Aisha being picky yet modest, decided on this top when she saw the Japanese girl modelling it wears it with a t-shirt inside. She chose a blue polkadot cotton from my stash.

The pattern looks really simple to make but with my no-can-read Japanese limitation, I just could not figure out the strap part. Somehow the way the Japanese designer attached the strap to the bodice and then attach it to the skirt was beyond me. I really respect their innovative work though! The skirt was actually enclosed inside a faced bodice and the strap is supposed to be encased inside the bodice (pening!). So there were a lot of "right side" "wrong side" actions there. In the end I just attached it the way I think will work and gave up on the elastic casings back and just shirred a few rows instead. I think it turned out pretty and unique for Aisha to wear with her favourite jeans.

Hanan's dress was a delight to make! My first pleats and round yoke! So happy...but...(why is it there's always a but in my projects??)..do you notice the upside down apples and pears??

Hahaha...I forgot all about the print direction when cutting and since the fabric is precious I just went ahead and sewed. It looks rather quirky and quite charming to me (nak pujuk hati le ni...) and if this was a cake it would be yummy :D

The pattern is again from ManiMina on etsy and fabric is from the wonderful Alexander Henry-Apples & Pears Collection & a red dots cotton for the yoke.

Right now I'm blogging from my parents-in-law place in Kota Bharu. Already missing my sewing machine J In Eid celebration mood I'm wishing all .....