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.