A simple, rosy apron dress for my rosy-cheeked, rose bespeckled, Truffle-y girl. This is made up in a lush flannel from the Japanese pattern book, Basics for Girls. The tie pockets were added from a discontinued McCall's pattern my mother made up for the girls as an adorable Easter dress several years ago.
3 comments:
Love this outfit sooooo much! I have a question about the Japanese sewing books that you might be able to answer. How does the sizing actually work? Can one modify the patterns to be as large or as small as one needs or are the patterns/sizes already laid out? Hope my question is coherent! I'm wishing I could make some of these adorable styles for my daughter Millen who is 17yo and in ladies sizes, but who has Down syndrome and is needful of "easier" clothing than most ladies' styles allow, if you know what I mean.
Diane/persuaded from Sensibility/Tomato Soup Cake
The sizing is the same as European sizing. I use the sizing chart at hannaandersson.com for height/weight references. If I remember correctly, this particular book has sizes 90 to 140 (an American girl's size 12) included on the pattern sheet. The book has pictures of the finished dress, along with one or two pattern sheets in the back with all of the 25+ garment patterns and variations printed on them. Think of 19th century letter writing, where someone would write straight down the page, then turn it sideways, and write straight down again, to conserve paper. You choose the view and size you like, then trace it all out from the sheet to make up your pattern.
As far as modifying the size up goes... I have no idea. One of the main reasons I began using Japanese books is that the sizing is very true for my girls, unlike the Big 3 patterns, which tend to run quite large. If you are skilled in sizing up or pattern drafting (I am utterly confounded by adjusting anything other than a hem), then you'll probably be fine. This particular pattern is very simple in design. It really is just a circa 1980s jumper dress, so a vintage pattern may prove just as useful. I hope all of this is helpful in some way.
truly,
Kara
That is beautiful! I love the style and the fabric. I'm always attracted to Japanese sewing books, but I've been afraid to try them. :)
Post a Comment