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Sunday, October 4, 2009

Blogtober-Day Four

One of my favourite things are Japanese sewing books.
I got this one a few months ago and thought I would share. I am not sure of the name of it, but if you can translate feel free to leave me a comment and the translation. If you want to get it for yourself the ISBN is 978-4-8347-2828-6. It does not have a pull out pattern and all patterns you have to draft yourself but they don't look too complicated.
Sorry for the bad lighting and glare, I took the pics a few minutes ago.
Pleated goodness.
I love the bias binding and flower on the bag above.
And this one is so cute. I love the fabric combination.

I do love using these pattern books and they are reasonably easy to decipher even though they are written entirely in Japanese. They have simple easy to follow diagrams with all the measurements written on them. I would suggest making a few commercial patterns before you tackle some of the harder bags in these books because they don't go step by step instructions to guide you through every process like say, a Simplicity or even an Amy Butler Pattern would.
But they are great for inspiration. The fabric combinations and the shapes of the bags.

So where do you buy these pattern books?
Online on www.yesasia.com is where i bought this from.it was a bit of a gamble as I only had the front cover to go by. Also you could try Japanese Amazon, ebay and also etsy.
If you live in Sydney you should visit Kinokuniya which is opposite the QVB on George St. I found the books there to be a little cheaper than ordering them online. But getting to flick through them before you buy is definitely better.
I have some books, now what?
It's definitely worth having a translation for some of the diagrams so here are a few links to help you out.
  • Moving Hands has a list of some of the more common words/phrases you will find on the patterns. Click HERE
  • My little Mochi has a PDF you can download to help out also. Click HERE
  • There is a fairly comprehensive PDF you can download as well. Click here to download PDF (865KB)
Here are a few more useful links for you.
  • Angry Chicken shares some of her favourite Japanese books.
  • Crafting Japanese is blog where people upload picture of their favourite or recently purchased books
  • Japan Couture Addicts is a blog dedicated to Japanese sewing and craft books. The only thing is, it is written in french and my google translator does a very poor job of translating it. I hope yours does a better job!
Well I hope that is useful and please feel free to leave a comment and let me know your favourite Japanese craft books, or where else you can buy them.
Thanks for stopping by,
Mel

3 comments:

  1. I would love to get my hands on some japanese sewing books. I have looked at several japanese patterns online and it does seem if you are a fairly experienced sewest you could draft the pattern and sew it up acording to the pictures. I agree that the pictures are fun to look at and give great insperation,

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  2. Hi there,

    The book is called "linen to cotton no otona kawaii bag" which translates to "Cute adult bags made from linen and cotton". Great find!

    Another wonderful Japanese craft book. They are so addicting!

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  3. Hi Mel,
    Yesterday I was on your blog for giveaway and now I am back because you have many interesting things for me on your blog. Thanks a lot for this post. In october when I was on my way home from Holland I bought 2 japanese bagbooks in Paris. there is a Japanese bookstore. When you sew all the sewing books the have..........unbelievable. So I 'll looking at your links. Next februari I'll return to holland and..yes again Paris....so again japanese books
    Good weekend,Baukje

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