I was very excited about an entry on the Purl Bee last week. They had just received an order of nani IRO fabric from Kokka in Japan in the store and wanted to let everyone know. The fabrics certainly are beautiful - lightweight cottons in delicate, water colour prints - but the best part of the post from my point of view was the link they provided ... the free patterns section of Kokka’s web-site.
 
I should probably explain that I have been seeing Japanese craft books on all sorts of blogs since I started reading them last year and have been building a list of all the ones I think are pretty (my only real criterion).  One of the neat things with Japanese pattern books is that everything is explained with diagrams - think of origami - so you don’t really need to read Japanese to make the project. They are also full of beautiful pictures and inspiration. Sadly I have not been able to get my hands on any of these lovely books as yet.
 
When I saw the free patterns I was quite excited and happily spent most of my morning looking through them all and trying to decide which one to print off and try first. I eventually picked a simple short-sleeved blouse with gathers at all the hems. I drafted it out onto freezer paper and cut out the pattern pieces on Sunday night. Now I just need to figure out whether or not the seam allowances are included.

I got a new book today. I even had a full stamp card so it didn’t cost as much as it said it would. I’ve looked at this book a few times but never got it because most of the stuff in it I can find somewhere else or do myself with some work.I finally decided to buy it because (a) it’s really handy to have a whole bunch of useful knowledge in one spot and not have to hunt around for it and (b) it’s kind of handy to have had someone else do all the hard work and just hand you what you need. I’ve also discovered that this book is full of little bits and pieces that really flesh out my sewing knowledge. It’s also very down to earth and enjoyable to read.
 
The idea behind it is that the author (a designer) has made up three basic patterns - a skirt, blouse and trousers - that can be used as a jumping off point for creating whatever you want. What’s really great for me is that she goes into just enough detail about how patterns fit together and how different fabrics behave for the book to be useful without me having to slog through a lot of text. I learned a lot of my basic sewing skills from my Mum but I’ve just sort of picked up pattern making skills here and there a long the way. Some things are starting to make sense but frankly altering armscyes still scares me.
 
My Regency gown is my best fitting project to date and I love how well it fits (though it will only fit over my Regency underpinnings). I’m determined to take a little more time with my sewing and make things that really look and feel the way I want them to. I’m starting with a couple of skirts.
 
The brown and dark green chunks of fabric above are going to become skirts for fall and winter respectively. The brown is a linen blend (going by feel) that I got a few years ago but never decided what to do with. I think there is just enough for a nice tea length skirt if I use something else for the facings. I think I might give it a lining for a nicer drape. The green is actually a skirt already; it’s just to big. I got it last year knowing I would have to alter it but because it was just the sort of thing I wanted for a winter skirt and as it’s A-line it wouldn’t be difficult to alter... Except that I haven’t gotten around to it yet. I’ve found some kind of strange things in the construction that I think I need to fix (the facings have been sewn in without any reinforcement and the whole waist band is stretching) so it is no longer just a matter of taking in the side seams.

Actually, it’s alpaca fibre from Alberta. This is another bunch of birthday fibre. I started spinning it up at a spinning demonstration I attended a few weeks ago. It feels wonderful to spin. It’s so soft and the individual fibres move apart very easily. The staple is long too so I don’t find my strip of roving breaking apart very often.
 
I’m spinning this very thin in the hopes of plying back on itself and getting enough yarn at the right weight to make the Wine and Roses Mitts from Interweave Knits Winter 2006 issue. I think they are so pretty and girly but the alpaca will make them reasonably warm too - just right for fall and spring or in my chilly office.