STYLISH DRESS BOOK #B
Ah, Stylish Dress book you are eternally inspiring and full of simple things to make!
I realized in a panic last weekend that the Nani IRO fabric was almost gone. It would have been very wrong for me to let it all slip away without whipping up a little something cheery to wear. I turned to the Stylish Dress book and decided on style B, a loose smock top with a nice full sleeve.
Drafting out the pattern from the book always requires a lot of care, to ensure that you trace the correct pieces, mark all the correct markings and remember to ADD SEAM ALLOWANCE! The lovely thing about these patterns is that they are simple and relatively quick to make. I drafted the pattern Sunday afternoon, cut out the paper and then cut out the fabric. On Monday, I overlocked the pieces and did all the sewing in a few hours.
The neckline is gathered and so is the sleeve. The sleeve is cut into two pieces with gathering along the upper arm and then an elasticized cuff. It’s very sweet. It’s all meant to be a showcase for this fabric, which completely sold out on Tuesday when I wore the top to work. The Nani Iro fabric is a double gauze cotton which is two layers of a looser weave cotton that are lightly stitched together. I didn’t even bother to pre-wash the fabric. This top will be hand washed in Soak for the rest of it’s life. (Scent for Celebration is my favourite)
For those looking to get themselves a copy of the Stylish Dress Book or any other Japanese Craft book, I highly recommend Pomadour’s Craft Cafe on Etsy. Just beware that it will be hard to resist the lure of these cute craft books. Somehow I just ordered two more books for my collection. Oh! Make that three books.
19 comments
OH! I love love LOVE that top! I *just* bought a similar fabric by Yuwa and had no idea what to make from it 🙂 Also, I’m super glad you mentioned liking the celebration scent of soak, I just bought some of that as well, but my LFS didn’t have one open, so I’m kinda taking a chance with it 🙂 Thanks for much for this fantastic post!
ahh. you’re so good with these things. very fun indeed.
Oh its fantastic – I love it! Great skills – are you sure you can’t read Japanese?! I’m so going to order the book when my first paycheck since being a student comes in hehehe!
Oh, I got that book a month ago and I will soon finish my 3rd project…maybe I sould take some pictures! And I also got the “back with flowers” Nani IRO fabric and her book. Too difficult to resist!
So cute! Look at that perfect stitching on the binding.
And okay I am so glad you mentioned that you didn’t pre-wash your fabric! Sometimes I just don’t feel like pre-washing and I always feel like I’m committing an unfathomable sin!
Oh I love this fabric…I have a couple yards of each color squirreled away in my stash. I’m still not sure what to make with it. This book looks great and so does that top! Love it! ^_^
Oh no! I followed your link to Pomodour Craft Cafe on Etsy and TOTALLY BLEW MY BUDGET on Japanese pattern books! I’m supposed to be saving up for a new sewing machine. Ordered FIVE, and I wanted more. Can’t resist the eye-candy/inspiration, though, even if I have to redraft/size up anything I make from them. Your blouse is SO CUTE.
My favorite Soak is the Sola. It has the best scent in the world…
Amanda – sometimes it’s so hard to decide what to make out of fabric that you love so much. i hope you find the perfect project for your yuwa fabric! i think you’ll really like the scent for celebration. i know a girl (i won’t mention names) that washed everything she owned in it, just so she could smell it every time she opened her closet!
Bobbinoggin – aw, thanks!
Rebecca – i just WISH i could read japanese. imagine how useful that would be?! when you get this book, you will love it guaranteed.
Claudia – which ones have you made from the book? you should definitely post photos!
Anabela – you should have seen how s-l-o-w-l-y i stitched the binding on to get it as straight as possible. i know, sometime pre-washing can really get in the way of spontaneous sewing. i’ve heard of some people who pre-wash 2-4 times before using fabric!!
Rashida – this fabric is so stash-worthy… in every single colour. i hope i can order more of it.
Venus – i’m sorry! that’s why i try not to even look in her etsy shop, i can never resist. i hope you’ll post up photos when you get yours in the mail.
melinda – sola is so lovely, i just have terrible weakness for anything sweet – it reminds me of dessert, my favourite meal.
that’s so funny karyn because i was just talking to you about japanese pattern books tonight!
i looove it!
this is the book that i was talking about: http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=11209363
i got it from pomadour too.
how do you figure out what to sew first? or is it just from experience? your top and this post are inspiring me to make clothes again!
I made that top, too! Only in a size or two too large…but still, I love it. Yours is PERFECT. So cheery and sweet.
melissa – i have that book too! for the sewing, it’s partly experience, but also looking at the instruction page. even though i can’t read the instruction, they number each of the steps on the photos. i just follow those carefully and hope for the best!
ella – i love that everyone owns this book. i’m trying to decide which one to make next. which other ones have you tried?
hi! i just stumbled upon your blog while looking for how to make metal coin purses and…wow! i LOVE your crafty list of things to do. i’ve had a running list in my head my whole life and i love that you’ve made your list into a blog, it inspires me to organize my thoughts as well. i don’t really follow blogs, but i will definitely be spending some time on yours 🙂 thank you!
all right….you’ve totally convinced me! you should be getting credit for all of us who are purchasing these books, and the nani iro fabrics! i just spent my birthday money on two of the books and several yards of her delicious fabric! I’m hoping the details in the book will suffice, since I can’t decipher japanese characters! maybe i’ll contact you if i have any questions! love your photos, thanks for the details about the books as well as the projects you’ve made! thanks, thanks, thanks!!