Japanese | Frogginette Makes Things

Yes, the title of this post is random. But I was impatient to show you my first Japanese sewing book project!

Voici ma première robe-tunique tirée d’un livre de couture Japonais!

Fabric detail:

It’s the No. 9 dress from this book – actually it’s the dress that’s on the cover – mine is more like a tunic:

C’est la numéro 9, celle de la couverture (la mienne est beaucoup plus courte et près du corps, plus une tunique qu’une robe en fait)

Here are a few tips for sewing Japanese patterns:

1- Do not follow the sizing guide. If I had followed it, I would have had to make the LL size! I made the M instead, and it was still a tad big on me (well it was fine but I like my clothes fitted). I would advise going one size down from what the book tells you, and be prepared to adjust the fit further.

2- The seam allowances and measurements are in METRIC.

3- Don’t be afraid of the instructions in Japanese. There are clear drawings that should help you figure out what you should do next. These dresses are very simple. If you’re still confused, there are many websites that will help you, such as this one, which I’ve mentioned in a previous post.

4- You might need to add some length. I actually shortened my dress, but that’s because the length was too short to start with.

5- Expect to make your own mods/customizations. I removed quite a bit of fabric from the back because I didn’t want it to pouf-out. I made the neckline quite a bit lower. I also french-seamed this dress entirely, because I didn’t like the zigzaged seam. Also, I couldn’t figure out a way to gather and apply the bias neatly, and I was getting frustrated, so I ended up putting an elastic in the bias casing, which worked out fine.

Quelques conseils:

1- Ne faites pas attention à la taille préconisée par le livre d’après vos mensurations. La plupart de ces patrons taillent très grand. D’après le livre, j’aurais dû faire une taille LL, et en réalité, j’ai suivi la taille M, et encore, j’ai retiré pas mal de tissu.

2- Ne soyez pas intimidées par les instructions en Japonais. Les dessins sont très clairs et il existe des sites qui fournissent les traductions des termes de couture les plus courant. Par exemple, Japan Couture Addicts, ici, offre un lexique.

3-Il me semble que les patrons sont assez courts. Si vous êtes grande, ajoutez un peu de longueur au cas où.

4- A mon avis, ces patrons, qui sont très simples, nécéssitent quelques modifications, customisations etc. Les miennes: j’ai enlevé de l’ampleur au niveau du dos (environ 11cm de tissu), j’ai raccourci la robe, agrandi le décolleté, mis un elastique dans le biais de l’encolure, et ai utilisé un tissu différent (une chute de vieux Liberty) pour ladite encolure et les manches.

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