Blog

Tokyo Bloggers Fabric Shopping Meet-up

July 21, 2013 By Chie

When I met Angela at the Etsy Craft Party in June, she suggested that we do the Tokyo bloggers meet-up. I’ve seen the NYC sewing bloggers do it and was envious of that, so I thought it was a great idea! Last Saturday, four of us – Angela of Sake Puppets, Inna of Thewallinna and Frances of Miss Matatabi met up in Nippori fabric district. I’ve vlogged here about Nippori in the past, but it is my favorite place to shop fabrics.

From left – Angela, Inna and me. I love we all wore something we made! I wore these new pants I made along with handmade bustier and refashioned crochet top. I didn’t buy much that day compared to other days – some days, I buy rolls and have them ship the fabrics to my home so I don’t have to carry them back on the train. The next day shipping cost is only about 600 yen (6 bucks) so I find it is totally worth it. I bought this great city scraper picture print fabric, silk satin for silk painting, and bunch of trouser fabrics on sale to make more palazzo pants.

After that, we stopped at Zakuro, a Persian restaurant for lunch. It is in the other side of the Nippori station against the fabric district. The other side is called “Yanaka Ginza”, and all the small zakka shops and eat-ins are worth checking out. Also if you like cats, there are lot of cats hanging out in Yanaka Ginza.

{find me elsewhere: shop, facebook, etsy, twitter, pinterest}

Made:: White Palazzo Pants

July 15, 2013 By Chie

Splatter top made by me (blogged here, and skirt version is available here), ASOS bathing suit worn as bralette, Forever 21 earrings, Michael Kors watch, Palazzo pants made by me, Alexander Wang Prisma Tote

Palazzo pants have been in my “to-make” list for a while. I bought high waisted and wide legged trousers at a thrift store last year and just loved the look and how comfortable they were. The color of those pants are mustard yellow, so I had been looking for something more versatile. I finally had a chance to make myself those pants last week. At first, I was not sure what to wear with these pants, but after browsing through Pinterest, I realized that these can be worn as if you are wearing a maxi skirt. Some slouchy top tucked in or cropped top work well with these pants. I’ve pinned these images for more palazzo pants inspirations…1. with chiffon blouse, 2. all white, 3. in wool tweed for cooler seasons, and 4. with T-shirt and statement necklace.

The patterns were made by me and it is a variation (just lengthened) of these shorts. There are pleats in front, darts in back, side pockets and fly front. Since the fabric was a bit sheer, I lined the pants with polyester lining fabric. I finished the hem with blind hem stitches by machine.

Rina showed me how to attach the pants and lining with a thread the other day. I used #30 thread and crochet hook to make a small chain thread to link the two pants together. It prevents the lining from twisted inside.

{find me elsewhere: shop, facebook, etsy, twitter, pinterest}

Mommy’s Diary: Cat Applique T-shirt and Easy Shorts

July 11, 2013 By Chie

When Kiko was first born, we had more clothes than she could ever wear. Our friends and family generously provided us with many clothes, shoes and hand-me-downs. But now Kiko is a little over two, she obviously has grown out of all of her baby clothes. For the first time since becoming a mother, I am finding that Kiko is low on outfits and I need to make her clothes to wear.

Kid’s clothes’ making is fun. I have a lot of scraps that I am dying to get rid off, and she can basically wear whatever and still be acceptable in public, as opposed to me, I shouldn’t be wearing a dress with elephant an motifs. Kiko is really into animals now like all kids, and she loves pointing at different animals and demonstrating her ability to say the name of them. So I added the little kitty applique on handmade t-shirt that I made out of a non-wearable muslin.

These shorts are made by me too. As usual, I used the scraps but didn’t have enough length, so I added the gingham check fabric as a hem details to cover the lack of fabric.

{find me elsewhere: shop, facebook, etsy, twitter, pinterest}