Cozy knit items

The weather cooled down a lot in the past couple of days here. It had been raining a lot until this morning, and I really felt like making something cozy and warm.

I did not knit these hats. I bought this gray knit fabric from Tomato in Nippori. I got the fabric a while ago, and it was sleeping in my closet because it was still warm in September and early October. Yesterday it hit 10 C in Japan, and it was time to take out the knit.

The knit hat has 4 panels, and I simply sewed them together. I did the same for the red jersey, and made it a reversible hat. I also made a small bow with a black cotton fabric, and the bow can be attached/detached with a safety pin.

The one below is a beret - my first time trying to make a beret! The pattern is very simple. The top part is a circle with 25cm in diameter.
Top: Gray and Red reversible knit hat
Bottom: Gray and Red reversible beret

You might have seen me make the hoodie scarf last year. I blogged about it before. I combined the hood, scarf and pockets, all in one this time!
Hoodie Scarf

In winter, I never feel like I have enough knit items - I still want some gloves and fuzzy ear muffs. What's on your wish list for this winter?

13 weeks

13 weeks now!
I'm counting my pregnancy in American calender here. In Japanese calender, I was 15 weeks when these photo were taken, which was last week. Why 2 weeks difference in American and Japanese pregnancy calenders? That's because Japanese doctors count the week you start your last period (before you actually get pregnant) as week 1, not counting from the day of actual conception. So Japanese week 1 and 2, you are not pregnant, but for some reasons that's how they count. Very strange.

Although it's not really showing in the pictures, and I might be just too self conscious, but last week I started to feel like my belly is getting bigger. I can't stop touching my belly and look in sideways when I stand in front of a mirror. I gained another 1 kilo in a week, and I don't know how that was possible, since I ate right and worked out regularly. I was a bit overwhelmed with my changing body..

But the bright side is, I got to go to a maternity fair hosted by a Japanese magazine, called "Nin Sugu". My friend works for the magazine, so she let us, another friend of mine and her husband in. It was a lot of fun, and we got the photo taken professionally for free (below)!

We got a lot of samples from the fair - diapers, pacifier, caffeine free tea, body oil to prevent stretch marks etc..
There was a booth where your husband can experience what it feels like to be a pregnant. They put you the body (see below) that weighs 5 kilo or so and have you walk around. My husband tried it and it was so funny! I tried it myself too, just to see how it feels like to be 9 month pregnant. and oh boy - it was heavy! I'm whining about my body weight already, but it's a whole different story if you are 9 months pregnant!

Backpack

One of the Japanese models that I really like is Jessica Michibata, and I've been following her blog for a while. One day last week, I saw her wearing a black leather backpack with beige trench coat, and since then I get obsessed with chic backpacks!

I've never own a single backpack in my life. I spent one year in high school in Florida. There, almost everyone was wearing a Jansport backpack to carry their stuff (I think a lot of American high schoolers wear backpacks?), but I stuck with a tote bag. But now I really really want a backpack, and just ordered one off ebay. Can't wait to receive it in the mail!

Images: Top: Jessica's blog, Middle: fashiontoast, Bottom: That's Chic

Big polka dot

I got this fun polka dot fabric at the end of this summer. I finally had a chance to use it yesterday. I also made a small curtain for my bathroom with the same fabric. The fabric is not really a "curtain" fabric, but it does not wrinkle at all so I thought it would be nice not to have to iron my curtain.

It is great that I don't have to iron this dress but it was such a pain in the butt to work with. It was so slippery and I found myself pinning the fabrics together in so many ways and it still slipped when I started to sew. I'm glad that I'm done with it now!

After I finished the dress, I realized that this dress resembles the Zara dress that Carrie from WishWishWish wore. It also reminded me of Marc Jacobs Resort 2010. I didn't mean to copy though!

White and brown big polkadot dolly dress

Inspiration: Interview with bows

If you visit BurdaStyle website often like me, you might have come across some creations by bows - a.k.a. Isis. When I first spotted her on BurdaStyle, I almost favorited all of her creations. Her clothes are girly and classy, something that I would love to have in my closet! Also they drew my attention because her dresses has interesting names, like "pimpin be easy" or "slim thug", something you don't imagine from those girly dresses:) I also love all her photos. Red lipstick, hair band and 60's-ish pompadoll updo - they are all so cute.

She was a featured member at BurdaStyle, and you can check out more of her creations here.
I had a chance to interview Isis, and wanted to share it here!
Here is Isis:)



1. Please introduce your self:) Where are you from, where do you live, what do you do for living?

Hi my names Isis. I’m from Guelph ON but I’m currently living in Toronto. I just moved back to
Canada from Japan so I’m just trying out some different jobs in the fashion world. Right now I’m
working as a stylist which I’m really hoping to peruse further.

2. How did you get started on sewing?

I got started on sewing one day last summer when I asked my sister if I could borrow her machine just to try out. I wanted to teach myself so I spent hours in my room just trying to sew things whichever way I could. It was a 100% trial and error but after a while I had the basics. Now I’m actually taking an introductory sewing class to refine my skills which is a lot of fun.

3. How long have you been sewing?

I've actually only been sewing just over a year now.

4. What is your favorite project you've made? What's your least favorite project and why?

Hmm I don’t even really know how to answer that. I guess my favourite project would have to be my Pourin purple stuff skirt. It’s not the fanciest project or even the project I wear the most but I think it’s the first thing I made that looked semi professionally done. I actually took the time to finish all the seams and hide all the raw edges so in the end I was quite proud of it.

As for my least favourite project...well there’s just too many of those to name. When I was starting out I made quite a few outfits that are just ugly or completely unwearable. I had no idea what I was doing so I just threw together fabrics and saw what came out (it wasn’t pretty).




5. You always have interesting names for your dresses - how do you come up with them?

Haha yeah a lot of people ask me about the names. The names for my older stuff came from just trying to think of something catchy that went with the style of the dress. To tell you the truth though all the newer stuff comes from gangster rap songs. Now I’m not a gangster rap kind of person at all! I listen to soft happy music most of the time but for some reason every time I sew I like to listen to this album called Ratatat remixes. It’s just a really fun album that’s super upbeat and happens to be remixed with some really hard rappers. The first dress I named like that was the low back white dress I called Pimpin be easy- I thought it was such a funny juxtaposition since it was such a beautiful and classy dress with such a very opposite name. After that I couldn’t stop pulling out funny names from the songs. I don’t know what made me decide to start using quotes from the album as my dress names but I really like the outcome.


6. What's your creation process? Do you sketch first?

My creative process is all over the place, most of the time I’ll just find a fabric I love and then think about what I want to make with it. From there I usually just start draping or cutting and see what happens. The only time I’ll ever really sketch something is if I just randomly get an idea and just have to write it down but that usually only happens when I’m not sewing.

7. Where does your inspiration come from?

My inspiration comes from everywhere! I get inspired by fellow sewers, current or past trends, travel, movies and art. I know it sounds kind of cheesy but I really do get inspiration from the oddest things.

8. What is your favorite place to shop sewing material?

My favourite place to shop for anything is my mom’s basement. It’s full of amazing treasures. For some reason (even though she doesn’t sew) there’s always great fabric down there. Other than that I’ll get my fabric pretty much anywhere I can find it. I’m definitely not a fabric prude that only shops at high end fabric stores. You can find beautiful fabrics in a lot of different places.

9. Any advice for fellow sewers?

Just keep on doing whatever it is you’re passionate about.

Fall red

First of all, thank you so much for those of you who commented on my previous post! I am so encouraged and excited. Also my apologies for not responding back to each comments - I'm really bad at returning comments:( so I wanted to thank you all here!

I never really wear red. Perhaps its because I have a solid black hair, and the combination of straight long black hair and the color red reminds me of a china doll? But something about fall made me want to make clothes in rich, red color, the color of fallen leaves.

These ladies below wear red very nicely - the left is from the Sartorialist and the right is from Natalie off duty.


Luckily, I found a cranberry red color jersey at a recent trip to Nippori. It's a mixture of cotton/wool, and it's really warm.

I know you've seen these designs before - I haven't come up with any new designs recently. I have some ideas that I want to try, but I haven't drafted the patterns yet.

Left: Yukina dress in cranberry red

Right: Cranberry red drappy dress

Oops the skirt looks wrinkly in these photos! Gotta iron them.

News! (Personal!)

I'm pregnant! My husband and I are so excited for our first baby! I'm due next April.
Since I saw the maternity series of Bleubird Vintage blog, I really wanted to document it in a similar way. So each week I will document my growing belly or write something pregnancy/baby/sewing related:)

So far, I haven't had any morning sickness (I got lucky!), gained 2 pounds, and my belly looks pretty normal except after I eat, then my stomach sticks out a bit too much.
I can't wait for next week<3

Pssst...

Check out Diana's blog, exPress-o to receive a coupon code for free shipping at my shop, from October 15th to 22th, 2010!

Hats!

I borrowed this book from the public library the other day. It is a Japanese book, titled, "Otenbana Boushi" (おてんばな帽子）by Yumiko Itoyama (糸山弓子）. I like this book, because all the projects are sewing projects, not knitting. I would love to be able to knit and crochet, but I don't have enough patience - compared to sewing, I feel like knitting takes soo long, time wise.

I think I can use old sweater to make the hats, especially the two hats in the bottom pictures. I wish I didn't take all my old clothes to recycle shop! I got rid of a bunch of clothes when I moved two months ago:(

The same author has two other books about hats: "Wagamamana Boushi" (わがままな帽子）and "Oshaberina Boushi"(おしゃべりな帽子）. I would love to check these books out too!

Stripes in two ways

Top: stripe and mustard yellow, bottom: stripe and black

I meant to post these dresses yesterday, but I got distracted by Nadinoo collection. How I wish I can afford her line, especially the coat!

Anyway, when I sew, I like to work on 2-3 items at a time. I think it saves me a lot of time, instead of making everything one by one. I try to work on projects that are same color, so I can save time to change threads on my sewing machine and serger.
For these stripe dresses, I made one in mustard yellow and one in black. The skirt shapes are different. Which one do you like better? My husband voted for the one in black..

Inspiration: Nadinoo AW10

Oh my goodness, I initially planned to post something else, but I decided to do that tomorrow as soon as I saw Nadinoo AW2010 collection. I just needed to share it with you! It is just breath taking right?! I love everything about it! The cape style coat, lace socks, high waisted trousers... I mean everything!

All images are from Nadinoo blog.

Guest blog post on the Cupcake Goddess

Remember I wrote about Sunni from the Cupcake Goddess and how I had to read all her blog posts in one day? She also wrote a guest blog post here yesterday. Today, Sunni kindly let me write for her blog. Check it out here, along with some pictures of my JJ blouse variation.

Guest Blogger: The Cupcake Goddess

Red-headed. Licensed to kill, I mean sew. Plays regularly with sharp objects, you know like needles and dressmaking shears. Plays flute sometimes. Has a very strong fascination with fabric. Married, to her sewing machine, I mean boyfriend....uh husband, I mean. Simple secretary by day, crazy stitcher by night. Stuck in a vintage Harlequin romance novel.

Code Name: The Cupcake Goddess


I love to sew. I've sewn for a very good portion of my life, fiddling around with it when I was a teenager and now I've grown into a very serious stitcher. Mostly self taught. Mostly a garment stitcher. My parents and grandparents instilled within me the idea of being self-reliant in life. Self-reliant in the sense that you own your own style, you can make your own way in life and live by your own hand. In a world that is so driven by consuming, it's a wonderful feeling to get up in the morning and know that I can give a little of my input by creating. And that is, quite possibly, my most favorite thing about sewing. The creation of a garment. Doesn't it feel like so much more though? It feels like you've nurtured a talent that you didn't realize you had, that you've given yourself a sweet gift and every time you wear your garment you remember that your hands made this and that you learned something new with each new stitch.

I'm inspired by this idea every time I start looking for a new sewing project. I get that wonderful feeling of treading on new territory, paving new roads, challenging myself with something new. What inspires you to sew? Do you like to challenge yourself with something new every time you pick up the needle and thread?


I'm surprised by how much one can learn about themselves and their personal tastes from sewing and by how vast the art of sewing really is. I haven't always known what I liked and disliked when it came to clothes and sewing them. I've learned the hard way that sometimes crazy prints only create a chaotic and "homemade" look and that it's OK if I need something basic, like a navy blue tailored jacket, which is on my docket next. I've learned that real beauty in a garment shows itself through the construction and finishing details rather than just by the fabric choice. And there are so many techniques out there that can really give life to a garment and that mastering them comes only with time, patience and more patience.

So, what are you sewing up next? Why do you like to sew? When did you learn to sew? I love hearing about sewing adventures and I love hearing about what others are inspired by. I recently posted a quote on my blog that sums it all up, well at least for me:

Just around the corner in every woman's mind - is a lovely dress, a wonderful suit, or entire costume which will make an enchanting new creature of her. ~Wilhela Cushman

xoxo,

Sunni ~ The Cupcake Goddess

Inspiration: Papercup Lookbook

I find a lot of sewing inspiration from the new Papercup lookbook. My absolute favorite is the top left, I think the picture is really cute.
Tie front, ruffled camisole, scalloped hem and white & black combination. I think each pattern they use is pretty simple, but they have a great fabric choice and details. By the way, those pumps with big hearts are super cute!

All images via Swonderful boutique flickr.

JJ Blouse

I've printed and cut out JJ blouse pattern from BurdaStyle a long time ago. Probably more than two years ago, but I hadn't had a chance to try the pattern until yesterday. Perhaps because I'm not really a blouse or shirt person, I don't think I look good in them. I barely wear a button up shirt unless I'm meeting a client at work. Also I had not tried the pattern until now because I was intimidated by the button holes and sleeves and collar when I first started sewing.
But I wanted to try something new, and decided to pull out JJ from my pattern book.
I really enjoyed sewing this blouse, it really wasn't as bad as I expected! I used my favorite crab print I got from Tomato (also seen here). The only thing I did differently with this pattern was to omit the ruffles. My husband hates ruffles, so I decided not to scare him with three rows of ruffles. Overall, I think JJ is a great pattern, and I'm already making some modified version of JJ - It's coming soon! Oh by the way, the pattern is FREE at BurdaStyle.

Furutoshi

To celebrate my husband's birthday, we dined at a restaurant in Nishi Azabu, Tokyo, called Furutoshi. I found this nice small restaurant through this blog, Tokyo Eater. The restaurant had a quiet atmosphere, it was a perfect place to eat out after all the hassle with my family last week (my grandmother passed away). We ordered a course called, "Dolce Vita Fize", which came with a soup, 12 different small appetizers, appetizer pasta, main dish of your choice, desert and coffee. The portion was just right, not too much or not too small and we really had a great time. On the way to the station, we found this camel wall art that I had to take pictures of.. :)

Wearing:
Vintage dress, thrifted in Philly and hemmed, made this skirt with left over fabric.
Bally bag
Payless booties
Faux leather jacket and
lace socks (bought in Japan for 3 bucks)

Inspiration: Orla Kiely Mood Shots

I wrote about Orla Kiely's AW2010 collection and how I loved it before (here). I found some mood shots of their collection in their website, and wanted to share them here.
Aren't they lovely? I love the polka dot long sleeve dress and the orange-ish red color for the coat.