I’m so excited to share an awesome resource with you today! As you probably know, I’m a big fan of Japanese sewing patterns. I love the simplicity and timelessness of their style and their clean lines and beautiful details. Of course, most of these patterns are in Japanese, and for someone who doesn’t read Japanese, it can be intimidating and challenging, even if the diagrams are superb (and they always are). Which was why I created the Japanese Sewing Book Series last year, to try give others helpful tips and tools to tackle these patterns.
Well, if you’re interested in Japanese sewing patterns too, but are still hesitant because of the language barrier, I’ve got the perfect resource for you! It’s an e-book called, How to Sew Japanese Patterns by Rin Gomura-Elkan of Sew in Love.
This book contains a lot of the great tips my awesome guests shared, and much more. It’s 41 pages and covers everything from where to buy patterns and Japanese sizing for men, women, children and babies, to common Japanese sewing vocabulary and all the steps you need to sew up a garment from one of these patterns.
Honestly, I wish I had this e-book when I was first learning how to sew from Japanese patterns! It answers so many of the questions that I had when I was starting out.
I really think Rin did a great job putting together this informational guide to Japanese sewing patterns. She covered so much and organized it neatly in this useful resource that you can refer to over and over again.
The e-book is available for purchase for $15. But Rin also created 2 women’s PDF patterns that you can purchase with the e-book as a set for $25. The patterns are written in both Japanese and English, so it’s a great way to get started with a couple of Japanese patterns to put what you’ve learned to practice, but also have the help of the English translations.
The patterns included in the set are a high waisted skirt with a tie and a dress with a pleated neckline, available in sizes S, M, L, and LL.
Rin is offering 10% off this book for the rest of February with the code “JapaneseBook4Mie.” So go check it out! And I must say, this is a REALLY good time to grab the e-book if you’re interested in Japanese patterns! I don’t have the details worked out just yet, but a lot of people have been asking for a Japanese pattern sew-a-long, so grab this e-book to get ready and stay tuned for something coming up within the next month or two!! 🙂
*This e-book was generously given to me for this review, but all opinions are 100% my own.*
you and mie 
I can’t wait to try this!
VERY cool! Thanks for sharing this, Cheri, it looks awesome.
I would also really enjoy a Japanese book sew along! Oh, please, do that! Your series on it last year was very educational and helped with a lot of uncertainty of whether I could tackle a Japanese pattern.
Thanks for a lovely review Cherie! Can’t wait to see you make one of the patterns 🙂
Love this. I may have to invest… I’m actually in the middle of trying to learn to read Japanese, but a) it’s really slow going and b) I’m doing it for academic purposes so I can’t really spare time to learn sewing vocabulary right now as well. This seems like a perfect middle ground.
Ooooooo, I am totally going to get this. I have lots of Japanese pattern books and I don’t use them nearly enough. I basically know the symbols for “back” and “front” and that’s it, ha. Those patterns are cute too!
I love this ebook – even though I can speak and read japanese well enough to deal with pattern books, but I always recommend it to my friends (since it is just too much work to translate every single pattern they are interested in..) and they love it too!