ISBN # 978-4-7966-5419-7
I just received another wonderful Japanese craft book in the mail. The aesthetic sensibility of these books in general is so appealing -- clean and beautiful with lovely color schemes. The writing in the books is in Japanese, but there are clear how-to diagrams making the projects fairly easy to follow. Japanese craft books can be found online at Amazon.jp , YesAsia, eBay, and now there are several shops on Etsy that also sell them. Amazon.jp (On Amazon.jp you can use a credit card, but to actually see how much you are spending, the site Universal Currency Converter is very helpful.) and YesAsia both have English shopping options. If you put in an ISBN number in a search, the book page will come up if it is available. For eBay and Etsy, do a search for "Japanese craft books" to find the sellers. Shipping can be expensive because many times they are coming directly from Japan, but YesAsia has free shipping for orders over $39.00
Here are a few of my favorites on reconstructing clothing. The one at the beginning of the post and the one below have examples of new clothing designs created from old clothing, scarves, t-shirts. The ingenuity used in the reconstructions is fun and inspiring. My favorite section is the way the author approached reconstructing sweaters.
This photo is from the interior of the above book. It shows two versions for wearing the same reconstructed pullover. One is worn upside-down.
The third book shows how to make wonderful stuffed animals from socks and gloves. It has also been translated into an English version, Sock and Glove: Creating Charming Softy Friends from Cast-Off Socks and Gloves, which is available here.
ISBN #4-579-11061-7
The original Japanese book can be bought here.
Below is Riina, a red plaid dog I made from a pair of socks. I followed the diagrams in the Japanese version. I made her as a sample for a Renagade Sewing class I was teaching.
Here is Riina wearing one of my daughter's American Girl doll dresses (one of Addy's dresses).
For some more on reconstructing clothing, please see previous post on the “Renegade Sewing” class I taught to a group of teenage girls.
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