The First Japanese Pattern Sewing Week!

Welcome to the very end of the First Japanese Pattern Sewing Week!

There's a lot of good things on Facebook (and a lot of crazy nut-job things too...) but one thing that is great is like-minded, or at least like-sewing-minded folks coming together.  It's kind of a beautiful thing.

Definitely (if you haven't already) check out these blogs for some seriously amazing creations - all made from a wide variety of Japanese patterns....and, yes, mostly written in Japanese!



In a Manner of Sewing  |  Conversas de Hermanas  |  Pequenos e Verdes  |  Climbing the Willow
Bartracks and Singletrack  |  S is for Sewing  |  Sew Happy  |  Mamacosesola
Fairies, Bubbles & Co.  |  Sewing Like Mad  |  As it Seams  |  Sewing For Mini Me
La Folie Sewing Booth  |  Just Add Fabric  |  Blogless Anna  |  Sweeter Than Cupcakes  |  Needle and Ted
Miss Castelinhos  |  Made by Toya  |  Lil Luxe Collection  |  House of Estrela
Patty Made It  |  Paisley Roots  |  Rita Pirolita  |  Call Ajaire
So-cal Sewing Mom  |  Kiwi Crafty Chemist  |  Sew Shelly Sew  |  Made by Sara

Here's my creation:

I love the clean lines of Japanese patterns.  I only own 4 - 3 children's clothing, and 1 dog clothing generously gifted to me from the brains behind Bartacks and Singletrack.  I actually intended to make a dog outfit for my small pup, but I ran out of pattern tracing paper.  So, poor Sadie has to go without...for now.

I used the Pintuck Smock pattern from Happy Homemade Sew Chic Kids. Yes, it's translated into English.  I feel a bit like a cheat.  I made a long sleeve version which is what is shown on the dress version of the pattern.  I used the size 120 for my tall, skinny-ish 6 year old.  For the top, I used fabric from my shop - a lawn from Kokka.  Lawn really is a great choice for this pattern, in my opinion.  Being cheap with my fabric, I actually couldn't squeeze in the pattern pieces with a seam allowance for the hem, so I thought I'd add some lace.  Turns out, my kid really, really likes lace.  She squealed when she saw the back pockets on the shorts.

For the shorts, I used another pattern from Sew Chic Kids - Shorts with Back Pockets.  I really didn't even read the directions for these, as they are pretty simple shorts.  I made a size 110 in these as I wasn't sure if the kid would go for the long fairly oversized shorts.  Turns out she fits perfectly in the 110 and she was very happy with the shorts.  Next time, I think I"ll combine the pockets on the Knee Length Shorts pattern with this pattern as my child really likes both front and back pockets.  The fabric on the shorts is from the shop also - Denim Chambray Dobby from Robert Kaufman. 

Stuff I messed up on- I did the pintucks the wrong way.  I think they're supposed to stick out on the front side, not the back.  I didn't cut the front neck facing strip on the bias so it doesn't lay very well.  And, next time I make this top, I will use a plain fabric just so the sweet details show up better.

And, last but not least, there's a giveaway!

- One pack of 2 two Japanese Sewing books from Tuttle Publishing

- One pack of 2 two Japanese Sewing books from Tuttle Publishing

- A $40 fabric voucher from Urban Sew 

a Rafflecopter giveaway