Japanese sewing pattern revisited

When Abner was nearly two, I made her the most adorable apron-y smock type thing from the Carefree Clothes for Little Girls sewing book (an English translation of the original Japanese publication). I loved that apron and Abner got heaps of use out of it until she was about four. Last night, with a little time on my hands and no access to a computer to otherwise waste my time with, I sewed up a brand new one for my much bigger five-year-old little girl.

Unlike the first version, I did finish my seams with a proper hem this time and I also added the front pocket which I'd skipped on the first one. For the button, the loop seemed easier than the rigmarole of all that button holes usually entail. Please ignore the absolutely wavy stitching lines as for the life of me, I can't seem to wrestle my sewing machine into submission these days - it has a mind of its own!

I'm so happy I've dug out this book again. It wasn't until I cracked it open last night that I realised Abner is about to out-grow the patterns entirely! She's about to enter the no man's land of sewing pattern cuteness. You just don't see nearly as many patterns for bigger kids as you do for the preschool set.

It also dawned on me last night that I now work at a place where they actually teach Japanese (among about a billion other programmes) which means I can finally find someone to help me figure out the patterns in my other two Japanese sewing books - the ones that haven't been translated to English. I think those patterns are a bit bigger than the ones in Carefree Clothes, so there's still time to get some use out of them. Happy day!

Little miss Abner insisted on climbing the tree out front of our house to model her new top. I'm actually surprised our little tree still looks as naked as it does right now. With the exception of the last couple of days, it's been downright balmy around Dunedin and evidence of spring's arrival is everywhere - except in our front yard apparently.

I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge how quiet it's been on the Milkybeer blogging front lately. Obviously, stuff has been happening in our lives - Abner's been up to five-year-old type things, we've been exploring our new Kiwi home, and things are being sewn up on a regular basis even if I don't write about them here on the blog.

The truth is, now that I spend my days responsible for writing and posting content to a website read by hundreds (dare I say thousands?) of academically-minded (read as incredibly-adept-at-spotting-typos-and-grammatical-errors-and-therefore-rather-intimidating) individuals, I just don't feel like writing/posting one. more. thing. when I get home at night.

All that being said, now that I have almost two months under my belt at the new day job, I promise to get back to all things Milkybeer.

Anyone read Japanese?

Let me introduce you to my latest obsession: Japanese sewing books. And, yes, they really are written almost entirely in Japanese...no handy dandy English translations to help you out...only illustrations to help guide you along.

I first stumbled across this one, Stylish Girl's Clothes, on Make Something. If I could, I would only dress Abner in clothes just like these. Aren't they adorable? I love the simple lines and non-kiddish colours and fabrics.

Isn't the styling of this book just incredible? Seriously, could I have those floors please?

One thing I really like about this book is the coordinating pages for spring/summer and fall/winter. I don't think assembling complete outfits is my forte so these pages are super helpful for folks like me.

Aren't these little hooded capes cute? And that drop-waist skirt on the facing page, is just so sweet. I picked up some remnant fabric at a friend's place yesterday and already have plans to use it on this skirt.

Here is another new addition to my growing collection. It's called Heart Warming Life Series: Little Girls' Outfits. My brother picked it up for me for Christmas and I absolutely love it! This one has much more detailed pictures with the instructions, so I imagine it's going to be easier to work from. Why there is a picture of a little girl eating a giant cracker on the front, I don't know, but it's still cute.

This vintage-y shirt reminds me of some of the pieces I might have worn when I was little (hello '80s!).

Given our rainy West Coast weather, this sweet little rain coat will be a must-make this spring. Can't you just picture Abner's curls spilling out beneath that sun hat? Seriously...so much cuteness, I just might explode.

OK...I love these shorts. It's actually the detail on the bum of them that I love the most, but it just didn't seem quite right to post a picture specifically of that little girl's back side. Trust me - it's a cute detail and I will definitely attempt to make a pair of these for Abner.

If you would like to pick up your own copies of either book, both were purchased from The Workroom in Toronto. Would love to know if anyone has seen them in the Vancouver area.