Delving into Japanese Pattern Books

I love, love, LOVE being able to buy all sorts of crafting supplies and books on etsy.com! If you haven't looked around on there, I highly recommend it. I ran across a blogger that lived in NYC and was touting a great independent bookstore there that carried Japanese pattern books and I was bummed because I am no where near NYC. But I eventually found the book on etsy.com from Pomadour24, and it came in a little less than a week straight from Niigata, Japan! There are 21 patterns, all simple lines, and patterns are in large folded sheets (like Burda WOF patterns). The instructions are in Japanese, but if you know how to sew well, you should be able to use the patterns without reading Japanese. The diagrams are really detailed. One thing I hadn't counted on though, was that Japanese patterns are graded for 9, 11, and 13, which I think translates to a size 10 at most! So if you are bigger than a size 10, you also have to grade the pattern to your size. Therefore, this book and it's patterns have landed squarely in my "to-do someday" stack.

If Japanese patterns do interest you and the sizing issue doesn't trouble you, look for an article by Shannon Gifford in Threads Magazine that talked about using European patterns and pattern sources from other countries and languages. There are a number out there, though you may have to order them online to get them:
- Burda World of Fashion out of Germany (I think). English version available.
- Patrones (Spanish, women's wear)
- Ms. Stylebook (Japanese, women's wear).
- Ottobre (Denmark, children's wear). English version available.

Good luck!