Okay, this is a first for me: a Japanese sewing book, in Japanese. I had an in-law visiting Japan and because Nani Iro had published their new book, I asked for it and I got it.
I’ve sewn Japanese patterns before and used Google Translate
to help with the instructions. I also have Japanese sewing books that have been
translated into both English and Finnish. I own both previous books from Nani
Iro in English and then one of Yoshiko Tsukiori’s books in Finnish and my
previous experience with Japanese sewing patterns certainly helped with this
book.
The book features 20 designs for children in sizes 90-130cm
and the patterns are made for woven fabrics such as cotton, linen, and double gauze
(except there is a pattern for a fleece hat 😊). Most
of the designs are either for girls or are unisex and I appreciate the pictures
that portray different combinations of clothes on both girls and boys.
The book is as visually pleasing as the previous ones. The
pictures of the designs are really great and I wish that more fabric stores in
Finland would sell Nani Iro’s fabrics (not likely happening, but I can dream,
right? Luckily, we have Marimekko). Some of the designs are very similar to the
previous books, so you could totally sew the” Mommy and me”-look with Nani Iro’s
sewing patterns.
I’d say most of the clothes I’d probably sew for a ”smart-casual” event or an informal event where I wanted to dress kids nicely (like visiting in-laws, or going out to eat or church), rather than everyday wear for the playground (or maybe I could try to incorporate woven fabrics in ”playground wear” instead of different jerseys and outdoor fabrics). With good fabric choices, some of the patterns would make especially dashing party outfits, like the vest (pattern K).
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| G, front view |
I made pattern G, a very simple A-line dress, in size 120cm
from sturdy cotton fabric. I should’ve made a size smaller for the recipient,
but this has ”room for a growth spurt.”
The book has two separate pattern sheets and different
pattern pieces are marked with letters. I guess that to make reading (and
tracing) pattern sheets easier, some of the patterns are red and others black. E.g
on pattern sheet 2, patterns L, M,S and R are red, and the rest in black.
Cutting and sewing instructions are both written and have
detailed pictures in every pattern. You need some sewing knowledge on how to
read a pattern and a basic understanding of garment construction, but because
of good pictures, this dress was very easy to sew.
A pro-tip: the
white in the pictures represents the right side of the fabric, gray is the
wrong side and dotted areas are interfaced.
I had no trouble understanding the steps and the dress
turned out quite nice. The picture for cutting instructions helped to figure out
the pattern sheet: what pieces to trace and how much seam allowance was needed in
different places. I can’t really say anything about the written instructions, I
can only recognize a kanji here and there, but the pictures and numbers
indicating the order of steps and details of which seam I was supposed to sew were
enough.
Next time I should probably try a more difficult pattern and
see if I can figure out the pictures, maybe the overall pattern would be a great
pattern to test my skills.
Would I recommend this book?
Yes, absolutely, if you like Japanese simplistic style and
sewing for kids, (and if you are a fan of Nani Iro and have kids in your life
that you want to sew to, this book is a must)
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| Pattern G, back view (yes, I haven't sewn the button closure yet) |
Sizing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5, maybe size 140cm be nice (at least I would've loved to wear these types of clothes when I was that size and I still was a kid)
Difficulty:🌟🌟🌟/5 Most of these patterns look simple and are simple to sew also
Instructions for those who can't read Japanese: 🌟🌟🌟/5, most of the pictures are easy to understand, but to be honest, there are maybe a couple of patterns where I would need to consult my friends that can read Kanji or I'd need to make up a good guess what is needed (le.g. how much elastic is needed and where and how to sew it).
All the best and happy sewing!
