kidswear
1 Comment

Dog jacket

This dog jacket and pants use the same pattern as the sailor-collar jacket. I make the pockets bigger and change the collar to a hood and add ears, eyes, and the mouth part to make it look like a dog’s face. For added warmth, I lined the jacket with the same type of fabric in mustard yellow. This is my first attempt in lining a jacket, so there was a lot of trial and error along the way. But I’m quite satisfied with the end result. The pockets are also lined because I like the yellow fabric kinda peek a […]

Read More
making other stuff
5 Comments

Cloth pads

Okay, you might say, “Eww!” or “WTF?”, because that was kinda my first reaction when a friend mentioned that she’s using reusable cloth pads. But then she said something like, “But you cloth-diapered your son, isn’t that just the same?” That got me thinking. As a baby, Sidra were using cloth diapers all the time. My mother sewed a bunch of them for him (it was really a lot, like 50 or something so they lasted the whole babyhood). He never got any rashes, bumps, or any problems on his skin; and I think he looked happier in cloth diapers. […]

Read More
kidswear
1 Comment

Band-collared shirt

The fabric was sold in pre-cut package, and it was only 50×110 cm. It is double-gauze cotton fabric, very soft and comfortable on the skin. I also like the soft colour and tiny white apples and ducklings on the pattern, so I thought it would make a nice shirt for Sidra. Because the fabric was very small, I just sketched a simple short-sleeves shirt with band collar. The opening is just a slit on the front, attached by a button tab. I also sewed a piece of linen ribbon in place of the label. I’m quite satisfied with the result. […]

Read More
kidswear
6 Comments

Sailor-collar jacket and wide-legged pants

Summer is over, and the weather is really nice right now. But it’ll get colder so I think Sidra is going to need a new jacket. I found the fabric in my favourite store, Yuzawaya, and really like the colour and texture. Apparently the 2 meters fabric is enough to make him a little suit. The jacket has sailor collar, two front pockets and coconut shell buttons. The pants have wide legs with turned-up hems, invisible front pockets and big back pockets. This is a casual jacket so I don’t put any lining (another reason for my laziness). Sidra wants […]

Read More
womenswear
1 Comment

Apples dress

I think I’ve wanted too many things when I started sewing this colourful cotton fabric; pipings, collar, princess seam, ruffles. It ended looking like a toddler dress, and when I put it on, it looked so costumey. So it went back to the sewing room again. I just chopped off the old bodice and made a new one. Fortunately I’m on the small side, so the scraps are enough for a whole new bodice. This time, I only played with a little pleats on the button area and use bindings to finish the neckline and armholes. There. Now I’m happy.

Read More
kidswear
3 Comments

Autumn apples shirt

These apples fabric were on sale in Yuzawaya, Kichijoji. They are just too cute I can’t choose between the two, so I decided to buy them both. This shirt was pretty easy to make, mostly because cotton is one of the easiest fabric to sew. The pattern is from a Japanese pattern book. I especially love the buttons, which have nine holes in each instead of the usual four. When they were sewn on, the thread makes interesting starburst shapes. Sidra said that he’s going to wear his new shirt to school tomorrow. Pattern is from simple+one.

Read More
bags and purses, kidswear
3 Comments

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 […]

Read More
bags and purses, kidswear
8 Comments

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 […]

Read More
womenswear
3 Comments

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 […]

Read More
menswear
1 Comment

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 […]

Read More