Month: August 2008

bags and purses, kidswear
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Matching robot wallet

As requested by Sidra, this is a wallet with the same fabric as his robot bag.I looked at one of my wallet and just tried to figure out how they were connected together, then I drew those squares on the fabric. I put two pieces of cardboard inside the wallet lining to reinforce it and sew a piece of thin plastic for the photo section. Everything went smoothly until I had to sew the bindings. It was so bulky I couldn’t put it under the sewing foot, so I had to finish it with hand sewing. The finished piece look […]

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bags and purses, kidswear
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Robot bag

Sidra loves to carry a messenger bag wherever he goes out, in which he puts his sunglasses, scarves, tissues, sunscreen, and some snacks. As his old bag is now dirty, he asked me to make him a new bag (and a wallet too, actually). We found this cute cotton/linen fabric with robots pattern in Yuzawaya. The red fabric was actually toile fabric that I dyed red. The result is somewhat faded red, which I really like. I made up the pattern myself using CorelDraw! This bag has two pockets and an adjustable strap, I can just add another button (or […]

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womenswear
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Dotty dress

This is another fabric from nani IRO line by Naomi Ito, featuring colourful dots on grey background. I love the strips of colourful dots on the selvedge and random placement of the dots on the rest of the fabric. I use the selvedge on the V-neckline and the dress hem. The pattern is from a Japanese pattern book, a loose dress with cute ruffled sleeves. Those Japanese pattern books are so cute, I just can’t stop making stuffs from them. I was feeling lazy, so I thought that the dress would be finished tomorrow, but it turned out that it […]

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menswear
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Grey nani IRO shirt

I fall in love with the whole line of nani IRO, a fabric line by Japanese designer, Naomi Ito. It features double-gauze fabric that looks like watercolour paintings. I found this grey fabric with blue stripes on the selvedge in Yuzawaya and it’s perfect for my husband’s shirt. The pattern is Jakob pattern from Burdastyle, but I change it to short-sleeves with straight hem. I really like the stripes on the selvedge, with the fabric name on it, so I use them on the shirt hem, sleeves, pocket, and collar, also eliminating the need to finish the hem. Sewing this […]

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making other stuff
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Kitchen mittens

I sewed up this pair of mittens to replace the old one which is now worn out and dirty. This simple project also allowed me to try out those stitches that come with my Janome machine. I bought the fabrics in Yuzawaya, in a pre-cut package of about 20 pieces of 25×55 cm colourful fabrics. I’m still thinking of all the possibilities to use them up. Now these mittens are almost too pretty to be used. Pattern is Burdastyle’s Layla.

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making other stuff
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Denim hats

I found this book of hat patterns in Maruzen and they seem pretty easy for someone who never sewed a hat before. The pattern that I chose was very geometric, with only a piece with all six sides attached to the center. It turned out to be pretty easy to make, so I decided to make some more. Since the pattern is in geometric shapes, I made new patterns for my husband’s and Sidra’s hats using CorelDraw!. My husband wants his hat to be wider and shorter, and Sidra naturally needs a smaller one. Sidra also requested an elastic to […]

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kidswear
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Reversible vest

The pattern is from a Japanese pattern book, a very simple pattern with only two pieces. The check fabric was bought in Marunan, Shibuya, and the off-white fabric is muslin cotton. I found these cute buttons with kabuto-mushi (helmet beetle) embroidery in Yuzawaya, Kichijoji, and Sidra is really happy with those buttons. Pattern is from R&D.M.Co-boys&girls

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womenswear
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Striped dress

The fabric was bought in Okadaya, a fabric store in Shinjuku, and I thought it would be perfect for another dress. The base pattern is still from a Japanese pattern book, but I changed the sleeves and added some pleats and handstitches details on the sleeves and chest. I think it’ll look good worn with some belt too. I did this one slowly, enjoying the process of making it. This little thing makes me happy. Base pattern is from Stylish dress book.

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kidswear
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Boy’s striped shirt

A few days ago, Sidra and me went to Marunan, a fabric store in Shibuya, where I almost died looking at all the fabric. The 4-floors store is not too big, a bit like fabric store in Mayestik or Pasar Baru, but it is packed with the most beautiful fabric I’ve ever wanted. Cotton, linen, with beautiful patterns and everything.Sidra seemed to enjoy the trip, he wanted some fabrics and buttons for himself. At the end, I let him choose two fabrics for him, and one of them is this greenish grey thin fabric with thin stripes. I decided to […]

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