I {heart} Japanese Dress Books, part 1
- On December 9, 2010
- By Amy
- In Blog
3
I have fallen in love with Japanese dress books!
My collection of the books is growing faster than my ability to sew things from them, unfortunately. Why would I buy a book I can’t read, you ask? Simple. The styles are unique yet simple. Clever twists of design. Simple embellishments. And the wonderful line drawings that detail the construction more than make up for any language barrier. Well, most of the time anyway. I find they are endlessly inspirational. And, let’s face it, American publishers just aren’t creating books anything like this. It can be refreshing to look at a subject from a different perspective, and Japanese books give me a fresh perspective on my wardrobe. A nice change.
I’ve bought my books from YesAsia and Pomadour24. Pomadour24 has a shop both on ebay and etsy, and she photographs several pages from each book so you can glance through the projects. The website for Nipon Vogue, a japanese publisher, has an English translation button at the top right of the page and you can view sample pages of their titles. A few coastal cities have Kinokuniya shops where you can find the books. Also, for those people lucky enough to find yourself in Toronto, The Workroom sells Japanese dress books. I am so going to that shop if I ever visit Toronto!
Thoughts to keep in mind:
- These books aren’t for beginners. The styles are generally simple, but the instructions are brief, and unless you can read Japanese (lucky you!), you’re assembling it using their line drawings.
- That said, the visuals are wonderfully clear and precise. Those who have a bit of clothing construction under their belt should have no problem with these books. It’s amazing how much information can be communicated through a single page of illustrations. I find I don’t miss the text; the illustrations are all I need.
- But have no fear if you want some handholding! There are some great resources on the web. The Make Something blog has a whole section of her blog dedicated to inspiration and help for Japanese dress books. When I first discovered these books, I found Japan Couture Addicts inspirational, even though it’s written in french! On the right sidebar is an item labeled “Lexique couture Japonais-Anglais.” It’s an English translation of many Japanese sewing terms. The Purl Bee blog (a shop in New York City) has a very nice tutorial on Drafting Japanese Sewing Patterns. And for the ultimate step by step instructions for using Japanese dress books, there’s a whole series of blog posts at the Label Free blog. On the final post in this series, and also here on Kuky Idea’s Flickr Photostream, is a great little list of Japanese sewing terms translated into English. I have printed out copies of this list and stick them like bookmarks into each of my Japanese books. The blog Moving Hands has an even longer list of terms. Very helpful.
- If you’re feeling scared off by all the above resources, don’t be. Just start with a simple project to get your feet wet, then graduate from there. It won’t be long before you’re comfortable with the process. See it as a fun challenge!
- I’ve found that these patterns tend to have more ease, they’re looser, than what I’m typically used to, so I usually cut out a smaller size than what their size chart says I need. Measure the actual pattern pieces to get a better idea of what size to use. And pay attention to the length of the pieces as well. They assume a woman’s average height is 5’3″. As I’m 6′, it’s something I pay close attention to!
- There are NO SEAM ALLOWANCES on the pattern pieces. Add your own BEFORE you cut!
In a future post, I’ll add a few more tips I’ve learned in working with these books. Happy sewing! Click HERE for part 2.
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Bee's Nest Deb
Oh, Amy, I LOVE these books too. Although i don’t think sack type dresses are terribly flattering on me…they are so comfortable. I have a stack of fabric that I want to make clothes with after Christmas….we’ll see. I have the good fortune of being not too far from a Kinokuniya so I may have to take a field trip there over Christmas break.
Amy
You might want to check out the posts on the Make Something blog. She often sews some elastic shirring around the waist to cinch up the sack, so to speak! It’s very flattering I think. Let me know what you make!
I {heart} Japanese Dress Books, part 2 @ Pick 'n' Stitch Sew Craft Creatively
[...] For part 1 of this series, click here. [...]