12 September 2013 by Angela

Summer of Skirts Part 2: Zebra Forest Skirt

I’m quite proud of this next summer skirt because, it’s self-drafted!! I started with a square of fabric and nothing else, and then poof! made a skirt from my mind.

Confession: I actually created a pattern from a skirt that I bought at Anthropologie 4 years ago. I stared at the beloved garment for about an hour and was able to draft a pattern without taking my darling apart. I worked out the measurements and then constructed an exact replica. Except with zebras.

I purchased the fabric at Tomato in Nippori during our Tokyo fabric shopping meetup last month. Inna, Chie, Frances and I challenged each other to make garments using fabric we normally wouldn’t buy or wear. I resist pretty much anything with an animal print so this fabric definitely fit the criteria for me. Though, I love this fabric. It is a beautiful soft cotton and I think zebras in the forest are hilarious.

The waistband and hem are topstitched and I like the way they toughen up the skirt. It feels quite durable, suitable for a zebra frolic. I also included slash pockets, a hand-picked zipper, and lining.

This has been a great play skirt for the summer. The cotton is soft but tough, the skirt is breezy and cool, and the pattern is crazy which encourages summer hijinks. I’m also quite proud of myself for constructing something wearable from almost no pattern. Hooray for new skills! (^O^)／

Maybe I’m still riding the zebra high, but I committed to joining Inna’s couture Little French Jacket sewalong. I’m not sure I’ll keep up with the big girls, but it will be fun to see what happens. Whaddya say, want to join us?!

6 September 2013 by Angela

Summer of Skirts Part 1: The Sound of Music Skirt

This was a summer of sewing skirts. Tokyo gets so hot and humid that I frequently find myself a sweaty mess of stink by the day’s end. It is not exactly the type of weather that encourages you to wear anything nice. I decided what I needed this season were play skirts — easy, breezy, and sweat-absorbent.

This summer I created a uniform of sorts, and paired waist-fitting skirts with tucked-in tanks. Everything is interchangeable, which makes getting dressed a cinch. Because sometimes it is just too hot to have to think these things through, you know?

The first skirt in this summer’s trio is an easy flared Sewaholic Hollyburn. I love this pattern and made it once before, so this version came together quickly.

I made pattern view A in a size 8 and it fits purrrfectly, though I shortened the hem so it hits more like view B. I didn’t line this version and finished it with an invisible zipper. The pockets pucker a bit, so I need to work on that for next time.

I bought the gray linen-ish fabric in Nippori for 100 yen a meter with exactly this play skirt in mind. I didn’t realize until halfway through construction that it looks like fabric for curtains. Now all I need is to climb some trees and I’m practically a Von Trapp! Sounds like a great excuse to eat more strudel.

29 August 2013 by Angela

Sado in Pictures

Glimpses of my weekend on Sado Island.After a great time at Earth Celebration last year, we returned to Sado Island for more taiko and sea air. It takes all day to get there from Tokyo — shinkansen to an express train to a ferry — but for me getting there is half the fun. Each night on Sado we climbed the hill next to the harbor and watched the sunset amidst cicadas until the concert drums and night stars took over. During the day we napped in the grass and swam in calm ocean inlets. Ah, Sado.

21 August 2013 by Angela

We Are Champions

I buy many Japanese craft and sewing books. They are my guilty pleasure. Besides fabric, parfaits, wedge sandals, cappuccinos, and macarons.

I like to share the projects my craft books inspire, like my mega hair bows, felt veggies, and embroidered badges. Japanese books have excellent illustrations (as do menus and train safety signs), and with my somewhat-functional language skills I can figure things out with little problem. But this book had me stumped.

下田直子の手芸技法 Handcraft Techniques by Naoko Shimoda includes 23 techniques for embroidery and hand sewing. It is a beautiful book with stunning examples of smocking, scalloping, gathering and quilting.

Aren’t those textures incredible?! I would love to try these smocking techniques on a dress or blazer someday.

For my first project from this book I thought I’d start with a simple rosette ribbon project inspired by these pages.

These rosettes seemed like a good beginner project and I dreamed of wearing my ribbon award proudly like a Grand Champion heifer. But I was quickly proven wrong.

For Technique L [Ribbon Work] I was instructed to measure, mark, and pin the ribbon into various folds. My fingers were not nimble and the pins left holes in the ribbon, and my rosette started to resemble an award for Grand Prize Loser.

The project sat on my desk for months, deflated and sad. It wasn’t until thumbing through another craft book about ribbon rosettes that I found a tip — use a small piece of cardboard to help fold-and-hold the ribbon while you simultaneously tack the bottom edges with needle and thread. Once I got the hang of that, my rosette came together nicely.

And now I feel like the Grand Champion of Winning.

I’m going to make more of these, since now the only challenge lies in finding interesting ribbons and button centers. Perhaps I’ll present them to my friends and loved ones for tasks I deem prize worthy: 1st Place in Chopping Onions, Grand Prize in Hailing Taxis, and the coveted Mr. Hustle Award.

What awards would you present?

9 August 2013 by Angela

Shift Work

Because I’ve been eating so many macarons, I needed a dress with a little ease. I’m only half joking.

I was given a wool shift dress last year and love it. The boxy shape isn’t one I would have selected for myself, but it turns out a simple shift is flattering if done right. I decided to make a summer version using the Colette Laurel pattern. But I’m not sure I did it right.

I made a muslin and thought I was happy, and then finished the final garment in stripes and am solidly on the fence about it. I feel like a stripey marshmallow. Or like I’m wearing jail pajamas. Or, from far away, that I look sort of naked.In hindsight, selecting fabric the same color as your skin tone is not a great idea, regardless of how much you love stripes.

There were a few wins with this project, however. It was my first time installing an invisible zipper, and my first time matching stripes. Victory is mine!I used self-made bias and lined the dress in really soft natural cotton lawn. The lining was more expensive than the striped linen. Maybe I should wear the dress inside out?I think some of my ambivalence about the dress comes from the extra fabric in the back. It doesn’t hang the way a shift dress ought to hang. This pattern is for a dress with sleeves, and I thought I could simply leave the sleeves off and voila — sleeveless! Perhaps I was wrong. Maybe I could take it in a bit more at the back darts? Anyone have advice? I don’t own a serger and dislike raw edges, so I finished the sides with a flat felled seam and taking the sides in is not an easy option.

I think I’ll wear the dress again, maybe with tights and heels and a cardigan and a trench coat. If anything, this project was a good exercise in fabric selection and learning to really examine the fit of a muslin before forging ahead. I think learning to sew your own clothing takes a lot of experience gained from trial-and-error. Maybe this dress is just meant to help me log those hours.

Anyone else ever feel this way?

6 August 2013 by Angela

The Macaron Craft Kit winner is …

… the 4th comment, Melanie!

Thanks to everyone for sharing! I have more Japanese craft kits to giveaway in the next few weeks, so check back again for another chance to win. (^O^)／

2 August 2013 by Angela

Macaron Craft Kit Giveaway

I am in a macaron phase.

This was a macaron zipper pouch kit, and according to the package it was only supposed to take me 40 minutes to assemble. Liars!

Admittedly, I spent most of my time with the sparse instructions and a dictionary. I’d look up kanji and then with an exasperated eye-roll think, “I know what that means. Damn you, memory!”

The kit comes with a 10 cm zipper, precut felt circles, plastic button parts, and a small cell phone strap. Here is the part that had me stumped:

This is an example with a different zipper. Once you sew the ends of the zipper together, creating a zipper-circle, you want to gather the sides with a basting (or running) stitch. This creates a nice bed for the felt-covered button part.

Back to the real deal, you can see the zipper teeth are the middle of the felt sandwich. The sweet macaron guts.

It is just the right size to hold a 500 yen coin, for those moments when you need an emergency macaron.

And lucky day, I bought an extra kit to share the macaron love!

To enter this giveaway for a strawberry-pink macaron coincase strap kit, which doesn’t make much sense so I decided to call it a mini macaron zipper pouch kit, which makes much less sense, leave a comment on this post telling me what you’d hide inside your macaron. Comment before noon (Japan standard time) on Monday August 5th. I’ll choose the winner randomly.

Good luck!

25 July 2013 by Angela

Homemade Macaron Ice Cream Mouth-Pop

I recently read this article on Serious Eats about macaron ice cream sandwiches from Francois Payard Patisserie in NYC. Full stop. I’ll let you ponder that for a moment. Two delightful desserts mashed together into sandwich form … YES.

But alas, NYC is very far away. I pouted for approximately 20 seconds before my resident Expert of the Internet remarked, “This is Tokyo where they love French things so I’m sure they have one here and oh yes, there is a shop in Shibuya.” And then we went to Shibuya and all was right with the world.

We found Tokyo’s version at Pieree Hermé which sells the Miss Gla Gla, their own version of the same thing. It was everything I wanted in raspberry pistachio ice cream sorbet sandwich named Gla Gla.

I went back a few weeks later and the woman ahead of me was taking forever. Understandable that it is difficult to choose just 6 flavors of macarons for your gift box, but I was impatient. She was getting in the way of my Gla Gla. I did some anxious pacing and went by the several other macaron shops nearby including Sadaharu AOKI, the patisserie which sells my favorites. They come in a rainbow of Japanese flavors from wasabi to yuzu to black sesame, in addition to the traditional raspberries, salted caramels, and vanillas. I noticed they sold the macaron bits sans filling in a plastic jug and macaron magic struck me like lightening: I will make my own Gla Gla.

A quick stop into the Euro Mart (not really what it is called, but might as well be) on my way home to pick up gelato and voila! C’est magnifique! They may be ugly, but these little mouth-pops of pistachio gelato and macaron were a victory. Vive la ice cream sandwich!

Admittedly, the second batch was consumed like chips and nacho cheese. My devotion is fickle.

22 July 2013 by Angela

Nippori Fabric Party

I have been to Tokyo’s fabric district many times, but like a trail horse I always go to the same shops. Recently I’ve been feeling brave enough to start sewing garments with fabrics other than cotton or linen, but I have little idea about where or how to start. Sewing bloggers to the rescue!

Photo courtesy of Chie. We are all wearing clothing we made. 🙂

I met Chie of Vivat Veritas, Inna Thewallinna, and Frances of Miss Matatabi (hiding) for a day of shopping and fabric education in Nippori. It was fantastically fun. We showed each other our favorite shops, they answered my questions about synthetic and drapey materials, and we challenged (dared?) each other to make something wearable out of bright prints.

I bought some knit jersey and flamingos wearing high heels from Tomato, the largest and most popular shop in Nippori. We also popped into Zak Zak where everything was 100 yen per meter. We were in and out of a few other shops along the way and ended with lunch at a Persian all-you-can-eat restaurant where the owner tickles customers, insists you eat with your hands and ride his camel.Photo courtesy of Inna. I am frightened.

Thanks for the fabric education and great day, ladies! We’re planning another trip later this summer, so let us know if you’d like to come along!

15 July 2013 by Angela

Summer Sashiko Season

Happy Marine Day everyone! Today is 海の日, a holiday to celebrate and give thanks for the sea. Many people use this 3-day weekend as an excuse for a beach vacation and to me it feels a bit like Memorial Day in the US — the weekend that marks start of summer festival season.

I love hanabi and matsuri season in Japan, and last year I posted this free sashiko pattern to celebrate. Hanabi, the Japanese word for fireworks, roughly translates to “fire flowers” though sometimes in Tokyo you’ll see fire shapes like fire Hello Kitty or fire sushi. No joke. I’m convinced that’s what I saw. 😉

Click here to download the free PDF pattern.

Happy summer!

Saké Puppets

Crafts inspired by Tokyo.