Thanks to everyone for entering the Happy Homemade Sew-Along Giveaway! The three lucky winners are:
Shanna R.
Annette H.
Stephanie S.
Congrats!
Now if you didn’t win the giveaway, but still want to participate in the sew-along, but don’t yet have the book . . . well, you better get moving! If you’re ordering online, you’ll need some time for shipping. So where can you get one? I’m here to help!
But before we get to that, I just wanted to talk to anyone who might be on the fence about getting this book . . .
GET OFF THE FENCE.
This is definitely one of THE most popular Japanese sewing books and for good reason! It’s packed cover to cover with really great, classic styles that you can use over and over again. See more pictures in my book review and Meg’s (she has a ton of photos of all of the amazing things she’s made from the book). And it’s not even expensive! The book has 20 patterns. I’ve seen the book priced between $13-17 and even with shipping costs, we’re talking maybe $1-2 MAX PER PATTERN! That’s an amazing deal.
Now that you’re ready to buy it, where should you start? Well I find online shopping super convenient, but sometimes I don’t like paying for shipping and handling if I can avoid it. If you’re interested in the English version, Happy Homemade: Sew Chic Kids, I’d call your local bookstores. Larger chains might carry it or maybe your local sewing/fabric shop.
If you’re interested in buying online, I’ve found a few places you can try:
Tuttle Publishing
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Rakuten.com
Book Depository
Bookworld (Australia)
Penguin Books (Australia)
Amazon UK (Oh hey! The book is in French!)
If you are up for a challenge, and want to buy the Japanese version, Happy Homemade Vol.2, the best bet to buy it locally is at a Japanese bookstore like Kinokuniya. Some Japanese supermarkets have book sections, so you can always try those as well.
As for online sources, here are some links:
Ok, it’s time to get shopping! You gotta make sure you can get the book in your hands by Monday, June 16th when the sew-along begins!
*Edited to add: a couple of people commented that they found the book at their local LIBRARY! That’s brilliant! What a great way to check out the book and see if it’s worth buying. So definitely check there first if you’re still on the fence about buying the book*
Do you know of any stores, local or online that sell either version of the book? If so, leave me a comment and I’ll add it to the list!
you and mie 
I ordered from Amazon. If you’ve got a prime account it comes with free two day shipping. Yay so excited to do the sew-along!
Sweeet! I love amazon prime 🙂
Oh maaannn. I just realized all the patterns start at a size that is too big for us. Maybe I’ll request this for my birthday. 🙂
Ah yes, it starts at size 3/4. But definitely put it on the list – kids will grow into the size before you know it!!
Hmm I want to make this for size 2, will it be impossible to grade the pattern to a smaller size?
Well it’s certainly not impossible! Here are the measurements for “size 2.” This will give you an idea of how much (or if) you need to adjust the sizing.
Size 2:
Height – 39.5 inches
Chest – 21.25 inches
Waist – 19.25 inches
Hip – 22.5 inches
I’m in Canada, and the wait time for the book to ship from amazon.ca is 3-5 weeks. I did find it in stock at Chapters/Indigo, and should have it within a week. Can’t wait to sew along:)
Arg! That’s too bad about Amazon, but I’m glad you found it elsewhere!!
Any tips for fabric choice while we wait for the sew along and until my book arrives?
We’re going to do a post about that next week, but if you want to get started with fabric shopping, the book suggests woven fabric and really you can use almost any light to medium weight woven fabric like quilting cotton, linen, chambray, double gauze, etc. Hope that helps!
thanks that definitely helps! I havent worked with double gauze before and excited to try. How much fabric will I need? Online fabric shopping here I come!
It says that you’ll need fabric that is 48 inches wide and for size 2, 41.25 inches long. So to be safe, I’d recommend buying 1.5 yards, or at least 1.25 yards.
Yes- I need some recommendations, too! My (English) version of the book lists “herringbone cotton” and “tartan cotton” but these seem more like print types rather than fabric types.
Yeah, it’s a little strange but in Japanese pattern books the “recommended fabric” is actually only telling you what they used in the photographed version. So it’s really helpful if you want to make a replica of theirs. But see my comment above for some suggestions. The nice thing about this pattern is that it’s pretty versatile. I think it would be easiest to stick with a light to medium weight woven fabric, but if you really wanted to try something heavier weight or even try a stable knit fabric, I bet you could!
My library has this book! Maybe check yours if you don’t want to commit to buying it at first. You can trace the patterns with freezer paper. Congrats to the winners!
The library is a great place to look, thanks for the tip!
I found it at our library which kind of feels like cheating, but it’ll help me decide if I should buy it. I’m excited to see what everyone makes!
That’s not cheating at all! That’s so awesome that your library has it – I never would have thought to look there!
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