It looks quite similar to the one on the book cover. But maybe I used a lighter material, so it lay quite flat on the side but it looks okay when I wear since my hip hold it up well.
The fit on me is great, especially on the upper torso but the skirt is abit full which may make me look pregnant if I'm not careful. I hope the pleats stay cause it flare out along the dress part and disappear.
If you are sewing this dress, and don't know japanese, you can refer to the glossary of japanese sewing terms found on my tab above to help you along.
Japanese pattern book is quite easy to follow as there are alot of digrams and if you understand simple mandarin character, you will do fine. This dress have 8 steps:
1) make pleats on dress front and back
2) make bow tie and attach to dress front
3) sew side seams of dress
4) make pleats on sleeves
5) attach sleeves to dress
6) sew facing to neckline
7) hem the dress
8) insert elastic band to sleeve opening
I'm unable to share in details the step by step tutorial as this is not mine to share and I'm afraid this is a copyright issue. But I'll share where I made the changes and point to note when making this dress. But if you need more instruction, I'll be happy to share with you. Just drop me a mail or leave a comment.
How to inteprete the drawing on book
1) Seam allowance is 1cm unless otherwise stated in the pattern. For this dress, the seam allowance for the hem on dress, bow tie, neck facing and sleeve opening are not 1cm. Please refer to the book.
2) Polka dots on pattern pieces indicates interfacing being applied. For this dress, it is only the front and back neck facing. Apply to the wrong side of fabric.
3) Area coloured in stripped means making pleats. For this dress, you have pleats on the dress front and back, sleeves and bow tie.
Front and Back pleats
1) Always iron after you made the pleats, to make it neat and easier for you to attach the neck facings.
2) Refer to pg 49 for C1 pattern (step 1) on how to make and sew the pleats.
Bow tie
1) After you have gathered the pleats in the middle of the bow tie, the width at centre is around 5cm or you will not be able to fit into the centre flap.
2) Bow-tie centre flap is not given in pattern but since it is a rectangle, just need to cut out based on the size given in the book.
3) As my fabric is not enough for the layout as stated in the book, I sew 4 pieces together to make the bow tie piece instead of the one piece. So, please ignore the sewn line you see across the bow on the dress.
Sleeves
1) The original sleeve pattern call for 4 pleats but since I've not enough fabric, I take out the 2 pleats at side and keep the middle 2 pleats on sleeve cap. I also take in some length. If you want to do that, you need to adjust the sleeve curve after taking out the pleat to make it smooth. So my final sleeve appear less puff and smaller as compared to the original.
2) Sewing sequence: sleeve cap's pleats > underarm sleeve length > elastic casing on sleeve opening.
3) Refer to the diagram on pg 50 for C1 to get the direction on sewing the sleeve (step 4) and attaching sleeve to the main dress (step 5)
4) I use this special tool that I got from a shop at Textile centre to help me move the elastic band through the casing. It really works and is less tiring than the safety pin.
5) Note facing when you insert the sleeve into the arm hole of the dress. Be sure to align the seams. The sleeve piece have front and back direction so make sure you check the direction of the sleeve before you insert to the dress.
Neck facing
1) Follow instruction on pg 50 for C1 pattern (step 6) to sew facing to dress.
2) Make sure you align the side seams of the facing and sleeve when you sew the facing to the dress.
3) After you have turn the facing to the inside of the dress, to prevent them from flipping back to the front, sew over the pleat lines on dress front and back.
Okay, will show you more photos when I wear the dress. For now, do keep sewing and drop me a mail if you need clarification on sewing steps.
