review, womenswear
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Merchant & Mills Workbook: The Strides

  I’ve often heard about Merchant & Mills patterns and sewing supplies, but have never found the patterns here in Japan. The closest that I can get was several T-shirts by Uniqlo when they collaborated with Merchant & Mills. So I was very happy when they contacted me to review their newest book, Merchant & Mills Workbook. The book has six paterns for vest, dress, skirt, top, jacket, and trousers. Four of the patterns have style variations so you can get more from this book. Although the patterns are simple, they are aimed to develop new sewing skills. So it is […]

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tutorials
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Guest post: Attaching Bias Binding For Corset Making

I am happy to once again have Scarlett from CorsetTraining.net here! This time she will show you how to attach bias binding on corsets. There’s a few tricks for finishing the end, especially when the binding ends in angled shapes. Thank you Scarlett for the tutorial! —————————————————————— I was so excited to find out I’d be guest blogging for Novita, I’m always in awe of all the beautiful clothes she makes. So I had a real think about what you, her readers, might find really useful. Something that could be applied not just to corsetry but to other items of clothing. […]

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life, womenswear
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Neon skirt

Since Sidra entered junior high school, he became very busy with all the school activities. Even on weekends, he often has to go to school for sports practice. I suddenly found myself with lots of free time, so I started taking a couple of jobs recently. One thing that I do is working with a designer in developing a product. The company makes bags for outdoor use like backpacks, photography bags, and such. I’m very excited with this job because I get to work with materials that I’ve never used before (do you know what a gatekeeper is? I didn’t know […]

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review, womenswear
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Review: The Express Corset Making Course

I always love to learn how something works. When I was a child, my favorite book was ‘How Things Work’. In the sewing world itself, there is still so many things that I don’t understand and want to learn. People often says, ‘Isn’t it difficult to make this or that?’ Of course everything is difficult when you don’t understand, but there is a satisfaction when your brain is slowly figuring out how something works. In pursue of this satisfaction, a couple of years ago I learned to make a corset. It was a very satisfying experience and I really love […]

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womenswear
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Shortie shorts

Summer is coming and it means shorts season! Sometime ago I bought BurdaStyle Retro Classics Pattern Collection which have 9 patterns from the 1950s-60s, one of them is pattern for these shorts. I’m not sure what’s so retro about them but I quite like the double pleats on the front. As usual for Burdastyle patterns, I printed them at 92% at cut size 38. They are quite short though, so I lengthened the hem about 5 cm. The fabic is cotton twill with a bit of stretch on them. Sewing the shorts was quite straightforward. The only thing that I don’t […]

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womenswear
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Yogawear

I have started to go to a yoga class several months ago, in addition to daily exercise at home. After seeing Gingermakes’ post about her yoga leggings, I got very inspired to make my own! I considered using Fehr Trade Steeplechase Leggings pattern like her, but at the end I chose Ooh La Leggings by Papercut Patterns. The reason was because I’ve used Papercut Patterns several times before with good result. I had no idea about what kind of fabric that I should use, so I picked this black soft ponte knit at the store.  The content is 73% polyester, 21% rayon, […]

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womenswear
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Sandra jeans and Basic tank

I made a new pair of jeans! Actually they were made a couple of weeks ago, and I have been wearing them a lot ever since. The pattern is Sandra narrow leg jeans by Style Arc, a classic narrow legs jeans with contoured waistband slightly below waist. I love this pattern since I made them last year, the first one that I made get lots of wear. The fabric is dark denim, it has less stretch than the previous jeans so the fit is a bit different. I find it funny that you can see a dachshund in these pictures, similar to the one in […]

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menswear
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Jedediah shorts

As summer is approaching, I’m reminded that my husband has been asking for a new pair of cropped pants since… several summers ago. His favorite pair were made four years ago, and were actually muslin for his jeans so it’s about time for a new pair. Instead of using his much-tweaked jeans pattern, this time I’m using Jedediah pants pattern from Thread Theory, I got it as a part of Parkland Wardrobe Builder package that I bought sometime ago. Jedediah pants are described as “Chino-style trousers updated with a slim, casual fit, back yoke and stylish slash front pockets. These […]

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lingerie
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Slip dress and panties

I like to wear a slip under my unlined dress to keep them from clinging. So when I found this very soft white jersey in a sale box, I immediately got to work and turned it into a slip dress! The jersey is very soft and stretchy, very comfortable against the skin. The pattern is Merckwaerdigh O2, described as: “Pattern O2 from Dutch design Merckwaerdigh with a lovely underwired bra-shirt and a close fitted slipdress. Comes in sizes S till XXL for the slipdress and for the bra-shirt”. I’ve used this pattern before to make this nude and black underwired bra […]

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womenswear
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Burdastyle Wide Sleeve Lapel Jacket

This is my favorite jacket in the last couple of months. You have probably seen me wearing it to Sidra’s elementary school graduation here. The pattern is Wide Sleeve Lapel Jacket 02/2015 #122 from Burdastyle. The jacket has boxy shape with wide straight sleeves, wide lapel, and wide back pleats. It is an unlined jacket with no closure so it’s perfect for when the weather is not too cold. The jacket reminds me of my old jacket that I made in 2010. I lost it during a visit to IKEA! So sad. The fabric is wool in this undescribable color. Recently I have […]

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