Japanese Crafting with Mari: Nani Iro + Drafting Japanese Sewing Patterns
One of my favorite Japanese fabrics is Nani Iro by Naomi Ito. I first discovered it on a trip to Japan last May. Imagine my thrill when I first started working at Purl and discovered that we carried it too! I have been (im)patiently waiting for the past few months for her new line to come out, and I wasn’t disappointed. On top of a beautiful collection of fabrics, Naomi Ito has put out a book, Nani Iro Pattern Book, with patterns using her fabric.
This book features clothing for both women and girls, as well as a few accessories. Nani Iro is a double faced gauze fabric, which lends itself nicely to loose, flowing pieces versus highly tailored clothing. None of the patterns have zippers, and only a few have button or hook enclosures.
I made two dresses with the fabric.
This dress is the one on the cover of the book. It’s a loose fitting tunic dress that could be worn over pants or a skirt.
One of my favorite things about this pattern is how she uses the selvedge motif along the collar and hem.
This simple tank dress is so comfortable I never want to take it off! It’s a slip dress with no fasteners to get in the way.
If you'd like to make a few of the beautiful patterns featured in Naomi Ito's lovely book but feel daunted by the task of working with a Japanese sewing pattern, please visit my Japanese Pattern Drafting Tutorial for directions. --Mari
July 20, 2008 | purl bee | Print | Email Article | Share | in Fabric, Japanese Crafting with Mari, Sewing | 27 Comments
Reader Comments (27)
The pattern book is lovely, too, but $42 for a book with a $16 cover price seems kinda high.
We are very aware that the book is expensive (we wish it wasn't!). Unfortunately importing books from Japan is very costly. Please note that our price is a really just a reflection of what we had to pay for it to make it available at purlsoho.
This is how you draft a pattern from a pre-printed pattern that does not include seam allowances and is printed with a whole bunch of other patterns on the same page. Drafting a pattern from a photo would be quite a feat!
Thanks!
I made the medium size and used three yards of fabric, which left me with about 0.25 yards of fabric. I think you should be able to make the largest size with 3 yards of fabric. Good luck!
i'd like to try the little top the girl is wearing (standing next to the stack of pillows).
How do you do that little "cinch".
thanks
betsy
these lovely fabrics.
Thanks so much
I am trying to make the dress on the cover also but am coming across a problem. I have found the patterns for the skirt and sleeve parts of the dress but I am not able to find the third part- the collar part that you have pictured in your close up photo. Is there not one?? Thanks!
i'm looking for japanese patternbook for womans dresses, can you recommend some?
You need to draw it yourself- it just follows the outline of the bodice piece. There are two widths in the pattern directions, 2.5 cm or 4, depending on which version of the dress you do- the floral one, or the blue one with the natural trim at the collar.
I'm thinking about using some Nani Iro fabric for a simple sleeveless dress to be worn in a hot climate. I was wondering how sheer the double gauze fabric was since I don't really want to wear layers or a slip under the dress.
Thank you.
I made the same tunic dress in the same fabric as yours last year. I'm getting ready to sew it again and just looked at the layout in the book. Are there two separate pattern pieces for the skirt? ( I used one piece for both front and back in my first dress).
Geri
Sorry it took me a couple of days to get back you - I had to find my copy of the book! You did it correctly, the front and back skirt are the same pattern piece.
Happy Sewing!
Mari :)