How to ....Tracing Japanese Magazine Pochee patterns

I am just getting to grips with deciphering the instructions in Pochee Vol 7.  I am breaking myself in gently by making a waistcoat, mainly as an exercise in understanding the diagrams and pattern pieces   before I start one of the tunics.

This pattern is one size.  The other patterns are M or L and there is a box with measurements so you know which you are.  They are based on a relatively slender Japanese frame.  Height is 160cm for all sizes, I am 164cm so for other garments I may need to lengthen hems/ sleeves etc.   The magazine works in the traditional Japanese way which for a western reader means from back to front and the instructions and diagrams scan right to left.  The first pages show the main feature garments in the mag, beautifully styled and pics/info about the designers.  There are detailed colour photo instructions how to make of a basic version of the main design of that issue and some key techniques that feature in many of the designs.  The instructions are all together in the middle and the pattern pieces are on big fold out sections ready to be traced off.  At the back there are more pictures of garments.   The photos of garments you can sew will have a How To Make caption and a page ref which will take you to the right page for instructions, pattern layout etc. 

In the instructions  there is the page refernce for the photo of the garment in a shaded circle (top left).  you can see the shape of the pattern pieces in the layout diagram in the bottom left.  On the far right there is info about fabric quantities although this is easier to read in the layout picture.  There is also a number in square brackets, in this case [20]  which will identify the pattern pieces on the fold out section,  and a number preceding it, to identify which fold out section to use.   Each fold out section has a key printed on it:

Look for the fold out section with your number in square brackets e.g. [20] and the pattern pieces will be printed on that sheet.  you might have to look at it for a while to find it- there will be the number next to the pattern piece.  You can see it in pic below half way down the right edge.

I tape layout paper over the top secured with little bits of masking.  Japanese patterns have no seam allowances so you need to add these.  I added 1cm for shoulder and side seams.  Instructions for the size of other hems, seams etc are on the layout.

On the waistcoat pattern pieces there are numbers 2 and 3 in circles with a line pointing, these mean add 3cm or 2 cm when you trace the pattern on these sections.  Sorry if I am stating the obvious but sometimes you need to spell it out!

In the layout pic above there is also a diagram for cutting bias strips, 2 strips 4cm wide 29cm long for the waistcoat ties. Two strips 3cm wide 65cm long for arm hole binding and 2 strips 3cm long which will join together to make a 120cm strip for the long neck edge- I think that is right!

I will cut these out and assembly a toile version over the weekend.  I'll post more on this next week as I get to grips with it.

A sneaky peek at the giveaway purse I am making for the Sew mama Sew giveaway 17th May.

I am going to try Japanese clothes patterns as my next immediate project.  I have made a lot of clothes before and pattern adaptation and blocking but these are something new and need a bit of decoding work.  I have a favourite which I am going to make as a toile first just to check on fit.

I have been so tempted by all the discussion and photos on Flickr and blogs by Anna Maira Horner's new cotton voile Little Folks prints.  They are still hard to get in the UK but Saints and Pinners who are also based in Devon, are stocking some and have kindly sent 7 samples.

Last year Heather Ross's Far and Away fabric line seemed to be the big summer hit, I succumbed to that and I think I will have to yield to this as well.

I am thinking of Diamond Mine sky for the main body of the top and 4 square in Berry for the bias trim. Which is your favourite?

Birdy Quilt

Just over a year in the making, my relationship with this quilt has been variable to say the least, but now it is finished I love it.

My inspiration came from a Flickr picture a quilt is nice.  I had just started to return to sewing after years in exile (RSI) and had discovered Moda pre cuts and craft on the internet.   It sounds naive but the new craft boom had passed me by until I picked up the first issue of Sewhip mag and found all the websites, blogs, free patterns, tutorials, etc.  It was a revelation how much was out there.   The disappearing nine patch was an easy pattern to start with and I used this tutorial.  Originally I was going to do a quilt very similar to the original Flickr pic, but I realised after making a little table runner that my hands couldn't deal with the weight and manipulation of handling a whole quilt on the machine so I found Quilting-on -the-go (method in this post) in Sewhip  and designed the quilt with sashing border squares so each bit could be handled individually, so inadvertently I designed this pattern.  

Nice weeds in the garden there.  Our courtyard is small, I didn't realise it would be so hard to take a pic of the whole quilt!  

Being a first quilt there are many errors and it was a steep learning curve, yet once washed and dried a lot of bits that really bothered me have evened out and I can't believe I did it all.  The back looks a lot more regular and even than it did when I was sewing it.

Binding is hard.  I had bound a few little things before and I couldn't face hand sewing so I tried Red Pepper Quilts method but I wasn't neat or accurate enough to completely pull it off.  I ended up with the last stage of stitching on the right side and controlling the fabric with lots of pins and scissor points.

 

Looks OK in the end and binding, however difficult, can really lift the end result.  I love stripy binding and I love layers of folded binding.

As a thank you to the crafting blog world and all its positive and generous inspiration and energy I am going to do a give away next weekend linking with the Sew Mama Sew giveaway starting May 17th. It will only be a little bundle of fabric squares but you are welcome to come and take part!

Sewing, sewing, sewing... it is nice to be back...

Complete

Lula is back happy and tired.  I am proud of her, she coped well away from home and was relaxed and only slightly emotional on her return.  And, the Nest quilt- no name yet- was ready for her, she sat on the sofa and wrapped herself up and settled down to watch TV.    I sewed through election day afternoon and finished the labeling listening to the results this morning.  I'll post more on it over the weekend and some better pics...

Reverse is better than I thought, my perspective has changed on this quilt many times.  More on that another time.

Rather conveniently the two magazines I had been waiting for arrived today, ready for the next project, apart from the other 3 quilts that are in the back of my mind.

The house is strangely quiet.  Lula is away on her first residential, only 3 days but it has thrown me out of kilter.  The nest quilt will be finished for Friday when she returns so I have been prepping the binding.  I have had the fabric in my head for ages but I had forgotten it was a long narrow strip less than 12 inches wide so I have been cutting and cutting to make sure I have enough.  I must've lost track (or my mind) as there is easily enough to bind another quilt left over so I rolled it up and kept if for another time.

I must have joined over 30 strips but as I zig zag it together I am starting to see the end,

Sewing Space

As I am sewing furiously to finish the Nest quilt I thought I would put a post up about my sewing space.  I did sew at the kitchen table which meant taking the machine up and down every time I wanted to sew so I moved into the back room.  This room is where I do my office work,  piano and where Lula plays piano and we all use the computer.  It is a busy room but cozy and bright when the sun is shining and next to the kitchen so not far to go for a cup of tea.

This is neat for me and tidied for the photo.  I'm not messy exactly, but I spread my stuff out whatever I am doing so every surface is quickly filled.  I am always envious of those white and tidy work spaces I see on other crafter's blogs and websites.  Lots of gaps around the inspirational objects, everything has space to breathe.   I know I am never going to achieve that.  I live in a small house with pressure on space so my work areas will always over flow.  If I'm really into a project I just clear what is necessary and work away in the piles of thread and scissors.

The sewing machine is on a breadboard as beneath it lies a large whole where a Singer treadle used to sit.  The house is a Cath Kidston sewing box and a personal favourite.

Radio is essential, as is tea.

The sewing cabinet is a beauty and was a great find in Steptoes. I found it on the day I went looking for a sewing table and could not believe my luck.  My work space is a happy place.