the muslin

feeling smug because i was able to follow the japanese pattern instructions. just a couple of terms that google helped with.

but on the other hand being realistic  if you know how to sew japanese patterns are pretty easy to follow.

think i'm going to sew this number numerous times as it meets almost all requirements: easy, stylish and can be dressed up or down.

as japanese sizes are iffy i added one cm to the seams and it fits well. the pattern is medium but i could go up to large and avoid the addition.

now let's see what fabric from the stash i can use.waiting for the japanese fabric booty to arrive, but it's going to be a long wait bcse i sent all surface mail. daijobou as i told the people at the post office: don't worry i can wait.

neki desu

of japanese patterns

one of the fun things i did in tokyo was to visit the nippori fabric town about 1.5kms of textile extravaganza.  many foreign ladies, some of them dragging their suffering husbands going on a fabric o.d. not to mention  those passing glances that recognized the sisterhood and the bags that validated it.

easy because the choice,quality and prices are unbeatable, better than london if you get my drift. 

i bought fabric, but in a controlled way only  succumbing to linen knits ,which never in my life, i had seen such variety.

notions were also hard to resist. all kinds of doohickeys you didn't know existed, but make sewing easier. then trims,needles, marking pens the list goes on. 

a  mention about the japanese pattern department. sizes can be tricky because japanese women are small and a large can not always mean our large.but the styles are simple and stylish.

this line of patterns which i indulged  are a bit more expensive than the regular lines but it really pays.

first they are pre cut, you just loosen them from the paper.

then the paperstock is nice and heavy like  plotter

paper. 

also you don't have to trace the pattern which entails more  paper, pens and lots of patience finding your way in the maze of lines and sizes.

the instructions  are both sides of a paper and come in a plastic sleeve so one really needn't handle them.
and last but not least the pattern sleeve is big enough to hold the cut pattern. i have gone  the whole nine yards trying to fit an already cut pattern into its sleeve and to my frustration it always rips the sides of the envelope.

 ok instructions are evidently in japanese, but if one is relatively  sewing experienced  it's no big deal. and there's always google translate. point the phone camera and off you go. don't take the results literal though. ｡^‿^｡





neki desu

and so it goes

yoshino

akihabara                                                                                           mina perhonen kanazawa

                                                     gion                                                              yarns

some photos from the upton gigas i took. although this year the blossoms were early because of the unseasonably hot weather i did manage to see some at yoshino and kanazawa.

it was wonderful but tiring as i spent a month moving and living out of an unpacked suitcase. felt good to be back home and unpack.
now on with life.


neki desu