The Last Duro Jr of Summer 2008

So this is the last iteration of Simplicity 3875, at least for Summer 2008. This is (if you don't recognize it) some of the fabric I bought at Tomato in Japan.

Here's the bodice, close-up:



There's a little white speck at the vee of the neck where I need to either clip the threads better, or color over the thread with a marker (I'm not fussy!). I used white thread for this, because I didn't really have any red or orange that looked right.

Here's the back:



I altered the pattern to add a back waist seam for ease of construction, but (as you can see) I put it in the wrong place! It's right for my Actual Waist, but wrong for the waist of the dress. I'll raise it next time, if I remember.

Here's the back, close-up:



I actually forgot that the entire back was two pieces, and not one on the fold (and so I cut it on the fold). I didn't want to have a center back seam in the skirt, though, so I left that part on the fold, and just eased it into the bodice. Worked fine. (I didn't want to leave the back bodice on the fold, because that would have screwed up the neck facing, possibly.)

I do this sort of stuff ALL THE TIME (especially if I'm in a hurry) and it's almost always recoverable. A slightly smaller or bigger seam allowance here, a few unplanned gathers there, and everything works out okay. You can do a lot of "fixing" if you just think about it for a few minutes before you give up. (Of course, I wouldn't have to do so much "fixing" if I spent those few minutes thinking before I cut out the pattern pieces, but I suppose that's why they're called "mistakes", and not "happy fun time jitterbug sparkles".)

Despite the mistakes, though, I was really happy with this dress. The fabric is beautiful; smooth and light, and I love the colors. I got a lot of compliments on this dress ... I wish we still had another month of summer for me to wear it in!

But anyway, speaking of "happy fun time jitterbug sparkles", Penny at Antique Dollhouse of Patterns is offering this pattern free to whoever clicks on it first. Go!

And Ingrid is giving away patterns here -- but you have tell her what you like most about Spring (guess what hemisphere Ingrid is in)?

Fabric Shopping in Japan: Liberty!

I found this store completely by accident; I decided to walk down one side of the street rather than the other so as to stay in the shade, and, idly glancing through the shop windows, saw this:



Of course, agonizingly, the store wasn't open for another ten minutes. So I went and browsed through a children's clothes store across the street, afraid to roam further afield in case I lost my way and couldn't make it back. I did cleverly take this picture for directional reference (the shop is at the very corner of this street and the main Nippori drag):



When the shop finally did open (on the dot of 10 a.m., just as the sign said), I was the first one in the door -- to look at this:



and this:



and this:



The gentleman who was running the store when I was there was very helpful -- I asked permission to take these pictures, which was originally refused ... until I whipped out my handy Dress A Day business cards, after which everything was copacetic. I tried to explain "blog", but since I often have a hard time explaining "blog" in English, my hand gestures were not up to the task. So when he said "Magazine?" I said "Yes, computer magazine," and left it at that.

I ended up buying three meters of this:



Here's the selvage:



I am thinking that some of these patterns are Japan-only ... I haven't seen them anywhere else, not on Ebay.co.uk or on the new Liberty website. And it does say pretty clearly "Printed in Japan". Does anyone know for sure?

As Liberty goes, this wasn't hideously expensive -- I think it was about 2900 yen/meter, so about $29. Cheaper than Liberty in the U.S., that's for sure -- if you could even find it!

I accepted a business card but am unable to read it -- am posting it here for any scanlation help:



This store is the one closest to the top edge of the card, on this little map (you can get your orientation from the train station). Worst-case, you could always print this image and give it to the hotel concierge or cab driver -- that should get you to one of these stores!

Aside from Liberty, the store carried a lot of very high-end cottons -- including that red and yellow French-provincial stuff that handbags are made from, whose name I always forget -- and some wools and linens. I didn't spend a lot of time browsing other than among the Liberty, since I knew buying that piece of Liberty had already strained my fabric budget a bit ...

While I was paying for my fabric, the clerk even offered me a piece of chocolate. This is my kind of fabric store, I tell you.

Japanese Fabric Shopping: Tomato

So, yes, I bought a little fabric in Japan. (I know you're all surprised by that.) Last Tuesday morning I went to Nippori Textile Town.

Small digression: I know it seems scary, the idea of running around a strange city, by yourself, not knowing a word of the language (okay, I can say "sugoy" which I *think* means "awesome!") -- but, really: it's okay. It's exhilarating, even. When you're traveling somewhere familiar you don't notice even a tenth of what's going on, because you don't have to. But when everything's strange, everything is important, and you notice every detail. The colors matter, and the expressions on people's faces, and even the flow of the air around you -- they're all clues as to where you are and what you should do. If traveling somewhere so different doesn't make you feel incredibly awake and alive, you're doing it wrong.

But: back to the fabric:



When you walk into Tomato in Nippori, the first thing you see is the half-wall of 100-yen fabrics, presided over by the winking Tomato. It's pretty crowded around that wall, as you might imagine. When I was there on a Tuesday morning, the crowd was split pretty evenly between younger, student-y looking women, and sweet-tiny-grandma-type women. (I was the only non-Japanese in the store that morning, as far as I could tell.)

There's a lot of other stuff on the first floor which I neglected to take pictures of; mostly linen-y things.

The second or third floor (I forget which) has silk:



Hilariously, each floor plays different music. The ground/first floor plays upbeat J-pop; the knits floor (which I also neglected to photograph) was playing some Justin Timberlake; but the silks floor was playing classic big-band jazz. Talk about setting the atmosphere!

I spent most of my time (and money) on the cotton-prints floor:



You have to pay for your purchases on each floor separately. It seemed to me as if they did take credit cards, but I had brought a lot of cash with me, so I used that, instead. (I like to leave a country with less than $20 of that country's currency on me. My bureau drawer is not an effective foreign-currency hedge.)



One nice touch was the display of completed projects and patterns that lined the stairwells and landings at each floor:



The store staff were very friendly, and, even though (as I said) I don't speak any Japanese, I managed to get by just fine with hand gestures and lots of smiling -- even when I was trying to express tricky things like "I want all that's left on this bolt, please." (However, if you need more than ten fingers to express how many meters you want, I'm not sure I can help you -- although I'm really impressed!)

So enough of the travelogue: what did I buy?



I finally found the elusive orange bandanna print; I think this was 300 yen/meter:



And some brown/red/teal heavier cotton, which will almost certainly become a skirt:



Some black floral/dot fabric, which is probably going to be a Duro Jr.:



And this orange leaf-and-stripe fabric, which is also going to be a Duro Jr. (Sorry, I'm obsessed.):



Lastly, I picked up about 8 meters of this stripey fabric for my friend Jilli, aka the "Lady of the Manners" at Gothic Charm School. Wondering why anyone would need 8 meters of black and white striped fabric? Go check out that site and not only will you know, you'll want some for yourself ...




Tomorrow: directions and photographs of the store in Nippori that sells LIBERTY.

Okay, finally, fabric shopping in Japan

Thanks to multiple recommendations and quite explicit directions, I made it to the legendary Tomato fabric store in Nippori Textile Town. That's the cotton floor, above.

I had a great time in Tokyo. There's something exhilarating about being completely on your own in a strange city where you don't speak a word, not one single word, of the language. All it needed was for me to be pursued by shadowy underworld figures out to kill me for it to be a major motion picture. (Although having the plot be "shadowy underworld figures try to stop Erin from buying fabric" probably wouldn't make it past the first script meeting.)

Anyway, despite having to take the slow train back to Narita late Monday night (I missed the last express), I managed to go everywhere I wanted *and* get back to the airport in time to make my flight to Taipei.

Here's what I bought:



And some more:



Whoops, almost forgot one piece:




(Boy, am I glad I packed the spare duffel bag!)

So, from the top down -- probably the most "Japanese" of the fabric I bought, the little birds and trees on heavy cotton. Heavier than quilting cotton, anyway. I deliberately didn't buy anything self-consciously Japanese: no kanji prints, no geishas, no "Engrish" writing. I wanted cute, but not "kawaii!", if that makes any sense. Also, as hard as it was to resist, I didn't buy anything Hello Kitty.

The gray dot is probably has a good bit of polyester in it, and it has a small flaw, but it was 100 yen/yard and the dots are really nice, not the bad printing I usually see in the US.

The autumn-leaf print is very heavy, almost upholstery weight, so I think that will be a skirt. It think it would be cute with an orange corduroy jacket and green tights in the fall ... although in 90+ degree Taipei, it is *very* difficult to think about fall!

The black and gray leaf print just *spoke* to me, which black fabric hardly ever does. And who am I not to listen when Japanese fabric wants to emigrate? I had to buy it.

The browny-greige wallpaper print has a really interesting texture, almost matelassé. And since I'm never afraid to look like a combination wallpaper/bedspread, I figured I had to have it. I thought it would make a nice structured dress -- something with stiff tailored details. We'll see ...

The stripe is a shirting stripe and it's green/gray on one half and yellow-gray on the other. I thought I was hallucinating when I pulled it out; I pulled out the green side and, then, clutching the bolt, only saw the yellow; I enjoyed a brief moment of panic while I wondered where the green fabric went! Do I have any idea how to sew this? No, I do not. But for 100 yen/yard, I figured it would come to me. Someday. I'll wait.

The last bit is the orange/yellow sunburst cotton. I'm betting I'll make that up first; If I work it right it'll be a perfect Indian-summer dress, the yellow changing to orange towards the fall, just like the falling leaves ...

Despite the notorious expensiveness of everything in Japan, I think I spent less than $125. Although I probably spent at least half that on train tickets ....

Here's a street-scene photo, just to help you get your bearings the next time you're in Tokyo:



Thanks again to all the folks who sent me recommendations and directions for my all-too-brief time in Tokyo ... I can't wait to go back!