I finally purchased my first Japanese Craft Book. I had been long hesitant since the copy is in Japanese but after reading countless blogs and reviews that the step-by-step picture instructions were easy to follow, I decided to buy one. I bought the summer ‘08 volume of Cotton Friend with clothing projects for adults and kids sizes. I love to make clothes for my almost 3 year old daughter so I thought it would be great to try out some of these for her. I love the zakka and amigurumi books too but, wanted to try the clothes first, and I also think those might be fun to do with my daughter when she’s older.
What draws me to Japanese craft books and the want to give the projects a try is the cool, funky styling of the clothes and accessories. I often find that conventional US patterns are, well not very stylish. I do end up finding cute patterns here and there (with a lot of effort) or make a pattern tracing and combining clothing items I like, but I wanted to tackle something kind of hip and different. I have to admit I’ve spent hours look at them online, and on flickr, another great place to check out the books and projects. I love flipping thru it and checking out the ideas, including a project that uses and old men’s shirt for the material. I think collecting the books and doing project could become addictive. I haven’t set out on any of the projects yet, but think the first one will be some loose pajama-like pants for my little one. It seems like a good one to start with and I love her to be comfortable and cute, and able to move easily. I do agree the pictures are very straight-forward and easy to understand. The book also comes with a trace pattern sheet, I just haven’t figured out the sizing and measurements with the pattern sheet for the clothes. I will post again with how the project/s turn out. I am hoping if anything, I will become a better sewing problem solver through the language barrier. Have you tried any Japanese crafting books? I would love to hear about your experience or advice.
A few sites to find Japanese craft books:
Traplett at Etsy
A little goodness at Etsy
Simply Contemporary at Etsy
Modern Craft
More on Japanese craft books:
Label-Free
Crafting Japanese
More at flickr
