Granted, I bought this book in English. I have a ton of Japanese pattern books, and have yet to make a thing from them. Mostly, it seemed like so much work - hunt out the pattern pieces, trace, add seam allowances, try to figure out the directions. Well, now, having made one pattern from a Japanese book (even if it was in English) did make me really want to actually use the books I already have.
The pattern they chose was the Pull Over Parka. I had seen this pattern made up tons of times in blog-land. I was always kind of wishy-washy about it. But, I really wanted to sew along, so I decided to make my kid one that's kind of beach inspired. One of the things that Julia and I really like to do together is go to the beach and walk, and collect shells. So, obviously, she needed a big pocket. That's the inspiration.
I used some Riley Blake fabric for the contrast, and whale embroidery. The main parka is made from white linen - yes, I'm a brave woman - white linen on a 4 year old...
All in all, I'm really happy I did this. There's other super-cute dress patterns in the book and now I won't be intimidated to try them at all! Thanks to Meg and Cherie for organizing the sew-a-long and giving me some inspiration!
It looks fantastic. Love the beachy vibe and your whale pocket is great. Except that you'd never want to unpick the neckline once it's sewn, you could shorten the elastic. I was surprised when I made the larger size that the elastic length was unchanged from the smaller sizes (earlier translated book) it was a beast to sew with the elastic stretched to absolute maximum but the resultant neck opening was worth the trouble.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to seeing your next Japanese adventure!
super beachy and super cute!
ReplyDeleteSuuuper cute! I love how summery and beachy it is! But yeah, my pre-schooler wouldn't be able to keep that clean for 5 seconds! :P I was going to say the same thing as Lightning McStitch, that shortening the elastic might help a little bit. But even then, the neckline is large. I think it's a style thing, but my personal preference would be to bring the neckline up in both the back (a little) and the front. Anyways, wonderful job! It's so fun!
ReplyDeleteIt is so adorable!!!!! I just love the pocket. I'd love to give this pattern a try.
ReplyDeleteThis is really cute! I love that contrast fabric
ReplyDeleteWhoa, is that an embroidered Orca? So freaking cool! This got lost in my feed and I just saw it now! One of my favorite hoodies that I've seen. I have the book, but haven't actually broken into it yet. Inspiration!
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