• Home
  • About
  • Sewing Patterns
  • Submit A Project
    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Google+
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

Andrea's Notebook

The best DIY & sewing tips!

  • Make
    • Art
    • Crafts
    • DIY
    • Fashion
    • Fiber Arts (knit/crochet)
    • Gifts
    • Jewelry
    • Paper Craft
    • Pet Crafts
    • Party
    • Photography
    • Sewing
    • Wood Working
  • Food
    • Breakfast
    • Dinner
    • Healthy Recipes
    • One Pot Meals
    • Side Dish
    • Smoothies
  • Health
    • Fitness
    • Healthy Eating
  • Kids
    • Books
    • Kid Fashion
    • Parenting
  • Living
    • Cleaning
    • Home Decor
    • Humor
    • Inspiration
    • Interviews
    • Organize
    • Positive
  • Sewing
    • Baby
    • Books
    • Boys
    • Dogs
    • Gifts
    • Girls
    • Kids
    • Free Children’s Patterns
    • Free Women’s Patterns
    • Tips & Tricks
    • Men
    • Women
  • Travel
    • Travel – Caribbean
    • Travel – South America
    • Travel – United States
    • Family Travel
    • Travel Tips
  • Community
    • Art
    • Beauty
    • Celebrations
    • Crafts
    • DIY
    • Fiber Arts
    • Kid Crafts
    • Recipes
    • Sewing

All posts may contain affiliate links

How difficult are Japanese Pattern books to follow?

July 27, 2010 by Andrea 21 Comments

I get this question all the time. The short answer is; it depends. It depends on the book, it depends on your experience, it depends on how much of an adventure seeker you are.

Japanese pattern books are not for you if:

  • You want a pattern that walks you through how to make a garment. (unless you speak Japanese, of course).
  • You have never made a garment before
  • You are just beginning sewing
  • You aren’t up for a challenge

Japanese pattern books are for you if:

  • You love a good challenge
  • You have made a garment or two from a commercial pattern and understand some basics of garment construction. Again, the amount you need to know depends on the pattern book you chose.
  • You want a book that has multiple fun patterns in it.

There is no denying that many Japanese pattern books are full of super cute patterns. Most times they are pretty easy to follow. I do have one book that is exceptionally difficult because it doesn’t really have picture instructions. When ordering a book, feel free to ask the etsy seller how good the picture instructions are. They should be willing to send you a picture of an instruction page.

A few tips for success:

  • Chose a pattern you want to make and then find the corresponding pattern pieces on the pattern sheet. Most Japanese pattern books have all the patterns layered on top of one another on the sheet so you have to pay close attention to which pattern you want. All are labeled by English letter so you can find what you are looking for. Well, all of the books I have at least.
  • Study the directions and diagrams to find out how many of each piece to cut and whether or not you need to add seam allowances. I believe most of the patterns will need seam allowances added to them.
  • Highlight the pattern piece you want with a highlighter before you trace it onto tissue paper, pattern paper or freezer paper (my personal preference). This will make the tracing easier because there are lines everywhere!
  • Study the instructions and write out your own before you start. This will help so you don’t miss a step. If it seems the picture diagrams start midway through the garment construction there is a good chance the garment you chose is similar to another in the book and their first instruction is something like “follow steps 1-6 of skirt A”. Just take a look around and see if you can find the instruction pictures for the beginning of the garment. You probably will. If not, it will often have a picture of the garment with numbers all around marking which step to do first, second, etc. These are the harder books and I’d save those until you’ve made more garments.

Do you have any suggestions for people who want to jump into Japanese pattern books?

Filed Under: Sewing, Sewing Books, sewing tips & tricks

About Andrea

Andrea is a mom to four and the creator of both Andrea's Notebook and Sewtorial. In her spare time she designs sewing patterns for Go To Patterns and surfs the web for interesting articles to post on The Train To Crazy.

« Go To Dress Pattern
Sewing Clothes Kids Love »

Comments

  1. Sascha says

    July 27, 2010 at 3:40 pm

    I have a Japanese sewing book that I’ve never used. Guess I’m a bit intimidated. I was that way with Ottobre at first, but it wasn’t too bad.

    Reply
  2. Heather says

    July 27, 2010 at 9:19 pm

    Thank you so much the tips. Living in Japan all I have access to is Japanese patterns. I have been a little intimidated to use them so far but I think I will have to give them a try soon!

    Reply
  3. 5 paragraph essay writing says

    September 29, 2017 at 3:24 am

    I’m always a bit scared to begin something new. When I bought this book, I didn’t touch it for about 3 months before I decided to try it.

    Reply
  4. play fireboy and watergirl free says

    November 6, 2017 at 5:26 pm

    If you like to play Some Mind Twister video game then play through FireBoy and WaterGirl website and that is for free and online.Thank you so much for this entertaining video game Junction.

    Reply
  5. mona says

    May 16, 2018 at 9:48 pm

    Very interesting book

    Reply
  6. Assignment Writing Companies   says

    August 11, 2018 at 2:34 am

    I’m generally somewhat frightened to start something new. When I purchased this book, I didn’t contact it for around 4 months before I chose to attempt it.

    Reply
  7. Cheap UK Essay Writing Service says

    December 3, 2018 at 1:55 am

    Check any statistics online, and you shall find Buy Online Essay reigning right on top. This is because they never falter in their services, they always benchmark excellence, they deliver work on time, and they make sure that the customer is satisfied in all spheres. Thus, make use of their UK essays help.

    Reply
  8. UK University Assignment Help says

    February 13, 2019 at 4:31 am

    Do you think twice before carrying our detailed and comprehensive research? Is your ability to uncover and unravel details about your subject matter diminished? Then, in such situations, rather than settling for the mediocre, students should see to it that they make use of the best essay writing service UK, which is Assignment Help On Web.

    Reply
  9. online thesis help says

    February 14, 2019 at 5:14 am

    Japanese language is so difficult to learn and Japanese pattern book are very lengthy.

    Reply
  10. Best SEO Company In Karachi says

    February 14, 2019 at 3:16 pm

    I really enjoyed reading this post, I always appreciate topics like this being discussed to us. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  11. aa says

    February 20, 2019 at 6:19 pm

    aaasaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssszxzsdsadasd
    aaasaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssszxzsdsadasd
    aaasaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssszxzsdsadasd

    Reply
  12. My Yoga Works says

    April 12, 2019 at 6:29 am

    Thanks for your post. I have been thinking about writing a very comparable post over the last couple of weeks, I’ll probably keep it short and sweet and link to this instead if that’s cool. Thanks.

    Reply
  13. Topwritingservice says

    June 28, 2019 at 7:29 am

    Seeking professional article writing help at our reliable agency is the best way to deal with multiple academic tasks. So do not waste your time and place an order of any academic writing task.

    Reply
  14. Challenges Faced AI Online Banking says

    July 11, 2019 at 8:34 am

    Thanks for the information. I like the fact that the internet allows you to get coupons that you really need. Often time’s brand name coupons come as a method to get you to try something you may or may not like.

    Reply
  15. Writer in Seo Industry says

    July 16, 2019 at 1:23 am

    I thankful to the owner of this website which sincerely shares these exquisite articles of this website online. That is virtually splendid and beneficial records. I’m satisfied with simply sharing this beneficial record with us. Please maintain it up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  16. examine this article says

    July 16, 2019 at 9:31 am

    Every time your children use a computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone, they are potentially connected to gambling sites, porn sites, viruses, Trojans, and other types of unsuitable content. You may protect your kids by using special spying applications. More info in my profile.

    Reply
  17. my assignment help says

    August 28, 2019 at 4:51 am

    Use composing administrations under Assignment Helper to upgrade your scholastic execution. These administrations are accessible with 24*7 client backing to give moment backing to all understudies. Presently, the time has come to visit the site and statement your request.

    Reply
  18. AD0-E308 dumps says

    August 28, 2019 at 9:05 am

    Study the directions and diagrams to find out how many of each piece to cut and whether or not you need to add seam allowances. I believe most of the patterns will need seam allowances added to them.

    Reply
  19. Gmail hack says

    September 17, 2019 at 8:52 am

    The question of ‘how to hack Gmail account’ is among the most frequently asked. The reason for this can be versatile, but in general, it is a desire to pursue others. Very often, persons need watching their closest friends and spouses. Undoubtedly, they do this to challenge them and reveal secret information.

    Reply
  20. Nursing Essay Help says

    October 3, 2019 at 10:24 am

    I’m thrilled about the update pattern books. Mostly person doesn’t know about it; I hope your this way is useful for visitors.

    Reply
  21. Affordable Website Design Services says

    November 15, 2019 at 8:19 am

    Really effectively written, I hope next time is usually fantastic, thanks for sharing.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to online thesis help Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Today’s Most Read Posts

Spring Cleaning Tips and Tricks

Posts You’ll Love

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • about
  • sponsorship opportunities
  • become a contributor
  • privacy policy
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2019 · Andreas Notebook · Design & Development by Shay Bocks