Japanese pattern books are all the rage these days, particularly among French bloggers, and I’ve admired so many simple and elegant creations by people who claim they cannot sew, that curiosity got the best of me.
At first, I was put off by the ebay price tags for these thin books (20-30$), not to mention all the fierce bidding. But after doing further research, I discovered that these books retail at a more reasonnable $13-18 at any local Japanese bookstore (fortunately, I live near one!).
So I splurged a bit and bought 3 soft-covered books a couple of weeks ago.
Of course, these books haven’t been translated yet (if anyone with some business sense is listening, I think there would *definitely* be a market for English versions!) The instructions are heavily illustrated though, so I think it should be manageable with minimal guesswork.
I’ve found a few blogs where common sewing terms have been diligently translated and compiled into a glossary: Moving Hands is a good one. There is a lot of good advice on her blog about these Japanese sewing patterns.
Still, I’m a little nervous about trying this out… If anybody else has experience with any Japanese sewing patterns, I’d love to hear some feedback, or to see what they’ve made
Frogginette Makes Things 
I’ve been curious about japanese books for a while now,and have a friend who speaks japanese who I could hassle for translations,but I’m just curious as to the fit. Would any of these patterns suit an ample western figure,do you think?
i’ll look forward to seeing what you make. ;0)
The fit is definitely a concern for me as well, I know that the patterns include bigger sizes (probably the equivalent of a western M/L), but I’m expecting to have to make a few adjustments here and there.