Fabric haul from Kyoto

Dave and I have *just* returned from 2 and  a half weeks in Japan, where we spent the bulk of our time in Kyoto. The beauty of staying put in one place for so long is the chance to revisit places you REALLY liked...such as my beloved Nomura Tailor. I went there about 5 times, making purchases three of those time and just perusing all the goodies the other times. It was...bliss!

There are two Nomura Tailors in Kyoto, one on Shijo Dori (the bigger store with ALL the fabric), and a second smaller store, around the corner in one of the arcades at the end of Nishiki Market (there are two arcades parallel to each other and I cannot remember which one it is in). The smaller stall sells some haberdashery and quilting items.

Needless to say I spent most of my time in the big fabric store...with most of that time up on Level 2 where the knit fabric lives.

I bought this lovely wool (?) for what I hope will become a lovely "coatigan" - B6244. The pattern has a shawl collar that shows the underside of the fabric (the lighter side) and I think (hope) this will work out really well). I hope not to hem the shawl part of the garment, rather use the selvage; or stitch it so I can fray the edges.

Next up is this cozy knit that I see as an Oslo Cardigan. I have no idea of any of the fabric content on my purchases...the tags being in Japanese...but they all feel nice

Nomura Tailor have a few different patterns made up, including the little cape in this photo. I tried it on and it fits (pretty much) so then I set about finding a fabric that I could use to make it. Nomura has HEAPS of wools, mostly in plaids, but I knew matching the plaids would make my head explode, so I went for this lovely blue fabric. I spent about 2 hours choosing this fabric - my head exploding at ALL the choices on offer. After some sign language I ascertain the pattern is from this Japanese pattern book so I purchases that too (hopefully I'll be able to decipher the pattern, otherwise this material might become something else, like a Seamwork Camden Cape).

Initially I had thought this fabric would work for the B6244 coatigan, but it has quite a bit of stretch so I walked out of the shop and left it behind after fondling it for about an hour. I then went back a few days later as I thought the fabric so was nice plus super soft and cosy that it deserved to come and live in Australia with. More agonising ensured about which colour - black, navy blue or grey. That decision took me hours also! I have no idea what this will become yet...hopefully a nice cardigan or coatigan if I can find a good pattern (suggestions welcome).

I bought a similar fabric to this back in February and it became a Linden Sweater which I think is a great way to show off the double sided fabric. This fabric will suffer the same fate...with the polka dots serving as the contrast fabric on the bands.

And last, but by no means least, is 1.5m of this lovely fabric that I found in their remnant bin - the colour combination is olive and mustard. Delish. The remnant bin at Nomura can be the source of hours of happy rummaging...trust me, I know. I see this becoming a Mandy Boat Tee - it has a bit of a "wool" feel to it, so it will be a nice winter top.

I love everything I bought and I'm glad I have visions for some of it straight away. I also loved that with JAL we had 50kg luggage allowance EACH so I could go as crazy at the bank balance would allow with my fabric shopping.

Misuyabari Needle Shop, Kyoto

I had read about the Misuyabari Needle Shop in Kyoto but like most things in Japan I didn't really make a plan to go there as it is often really difficult to track down places as the Japanese address system is tres confusing. Couple that with the fact that many places in Kyoto don't actually have an address...and English signage can be thin on the ground also. Really really!

On our last day in Kyoto we were wandering around the Shinkyogoku shopping arcade in the downtown area looking for a Taiyaki stall (one of Dave's favourite snacks) and stumbled up the needle shop just across the street from it! If I hadn't read about the store online I would've just walked straight past...but thankfully I knew better.

The Taiyaki store on Sanjo-dori

The only clue you'll have that Misuyabari Needle Shop is on Sanjo-dori (aka Sanjo Street) is this little sign out the front that will lead you down a narrow corridor and into a cute, garden courtyard. Above the sign is some signage showing a picture of the pins the store sells so I knew I'd stumbled upon Misuyabari. In Japan shops and restaurants are not only to be found on street levels of buildings - there is so much to discover by going up in to the buildings (they are like "vertical malls" if you will) or by wandering down little alleys that look interesting.

Misuyabari has been owned by the same family for over 360 years (!!!) and back in the day used to supply handcrafted sewing needles to the Imperial Court. Seeing I've not hand-sewn anything in about 1000 years I was here for the super-kawaii (aka super cute) pins...each one is handcrafted and no two are alike. I think when we go back to Kyoto in December I'll go back for some sewing needles though (and I also believe they sell machine needles).

The store is very small. Whilst we were in there two young Japanese also came in and the store was very...cozy. They were enamored by the shop and when the owner pointed out a very cute pincushion to me the two girls gasped loudly, covered the mouths and in a hushed voice whispered "Pincushion! Pincushion! So kawaii! So kawaii!". We all burst out laughing...one of the most funny moments of the trip.

This is such a special store and such a unique experience. I'm so glad that we stumbled across it, but it's worth hunting for, trust me.

It was hard to narrow down my choice of pins, but in the end I bought just four (as they are about Y300 each, so not cheap, but also not expensive).  I'm not sure what I'll do with these yet, but they are just nice to have!

There are a few blogs/website giving directions on how to find Misuyabari...they are here, here and here.  Enjoy!

Tessuti Melbourne + a disasterous Mabel Skirt

Over the Christmas break I decided to take myself down to Melbourne for a few days. Now that I sew I ALWAYS stop into Tessuti located conveniently on Flinders Lane (my favourtie lane) in Melbourne's CBD.  I LOVE the Melbourne Tessuti store - so big, bright and open and it has that indescribable "Melbourne feel" that Sydney so tries to emulate but never really does.

I wasn't going to buy fabric this trip as I was traveling with carry-on luggage BUT I'd packed super light so definitely had room in my case for this "perfect for a Mabel skirt" fabric I found in the remnant bin.

Of course best laid plans are often laid to waste and whilst the construction of this Mabel is the same as my other two skirts my machine DID NOT like this fabric at all. It especially went berserk when I tried to top stitch the top of the waistband to ensure the elastic I'd overlocked between the waistband pieces didn't twist around. I spent about an hour re-threading the machine, cleaning out the bobin case, changing needles + bobbins but nothing worked. I hate this skirt SO much that I wore it once to the supermarket but it's going in the Vinnie's bag as it feels so uncomfortable to me (both physically and psychologically). The stitching is dodgy at the waist and every time I look at this skirt I feel RAGE! I cannot be bothered to get properly dressed to take photos of this monster so the photo below from my phone is all you'll get from me!

Ummm...not sure what else to say on this one. I hate you black Mabel skirt. So there!

Atma Alam Batik Village, Langkawi (Malyasia)

During the Easter/Anzac Day break this year Dave and I jetted off to spend six nights on Langkawi, a small island in Malaysia.

Unlike other places I've visited in South East Asia Langkawi was SO laid back. There's a notable absence of touts trying to sell you everything and anything as you headed out for a walk. This made window shopping for fabric (and other goodies) an absolute pleasure!. During an entire stay we only had "taxi" shouted at us twice (and one lot of taxi drivers told us they couldn't take us right now as they were eating...love it)!

With my recent obsession with buying fabric (I do more fabric accumulation than actual sewing so I think it's safe to say that my hobby really is fabric shopping) my main goal for our stay in Langkawi to was find out where to shop for fabric.

The Atma Alam Batik Art Village seemed to be the place (and possibly the only place) to go on a fabric binge in Langkawi and came very highly recommend by our taxi driver (taxi drivers know everything so I always value their opinions). All of the fabrics for sale are printed in-house and most of the dress-making fabrics seem to be block printed.

There are no photos allowed so excuse the blurry (illegally snapped) phone photos! As you can see there is quite a lot of beautiful batik fabric to choose from and most of it is REALLY lovely with tasteful, modern prints. Fabrics on offer range from cotton voile (what exactly is cotton voile), pure cotton, cotton/silk blend and pure silk.

Initially I walked away with three pieces of cotton/sSilk blend (for about $10-$13/meter from memory). The next day I jumped in a cab and headed back there as I was feeling VERY uneasy about all the fabric I'd left behind!I was anticipating massive anxiety if I landed back in Australia without MORE fabric! MORE!

Now that I have all of this lovely fabric I'm not really sure what to do with it. It's not yet pre-washed so it feels a little stiff and not very drapey. Hmmm.....

I had plans to make a pair of Suzy Pants with the fabric below...but my stunt pair didn't really work out fit wise so it's back to the drawing board on that one. I've also decided that I like pants with stretch...think jersey harem-style pants (if only I could find an easy pattern for them)! I have 3m of this fabric. Any ideas?

This fabric will probably be a dress. Probably a Peplum Party dress (I know I know) as I realize this is more my style than a fit and flare dress! I don't own any fit and flare dresses (that are woven) as I find them really uncomfortable and too tight on the tummy/arms/bodice. This fabric is really wide and I have about 2.5m of it (from memory). Not a great photo of the fabric but it really is very lovely and would make a nice dress for Frocktails which is on in September (let's hope it's WARM then)!

I have 1.5m of this super pretty fabric that I bought with the view of making a tank top from. I've since decided that I'm not really liking the Grainline Tiny Pocket Tank as the bust dates are tres strange on me and I don't have the skills (or desire) to make the top work for me.

I'm thinking I could give the Roxanne top a whirl (by Victory Patterns) for this fabric. I think this fabric would look GREAT in a sleeveless version of this top. Of course I've never made this top before so a toile would be in order which is turning me off taking the plunge. Yawn.

And...last but not least is this fairly traditional looking batik. I have enough for a dress...but what dress? I really like the Salme Button Shirt Dress that I saw recently on Alex's but. I wonder if this pattern would suit this fabric? I seem to have a bit of trouble matching fabric to patterns.

Atma Alam has a lot of ready made garments for sale also...if you're that way inclined. I bought this nifty little cape/vest/thingy with the idea that it's something I could replicate at home (though I'm not sure why as I have one now and that's probably enough). Dave bought himself two button up, short-sleeve shirts (one for work and one for the beach).

If you're in Langkawi I'd recommend a visit to Atma Alam...they have some beautiful things (and you can even do a batik workshop if time allows).

My Japanese Fabric "stash"

As promised, here is a little look at the fabulous fabrics I bought during our visit to Tokyo's "fabric town" area. All of the fabric came from a store called Tomato. The name of the store is so kawaii (cute) I can hardly handle it!

Of course, hindsight is twenty twenty and I'm kicking myself now that I didn't go wild and BUY EVERYTHING as I have so many things now I want to start sewing.  Meeting up with other sewists, plus a spate of classes has given me so much confidence and motivation!

First cab off the rank is a FANTASTIC cotton with an uber cute CAT print! I love cats (as evidenced from this post on Japan's cat cafes over on my other blog) so I couldn't walk away without 1m of this. I've earmarked this for another Grainline #tinyPocketTank...once I'm up to sewing another one. Or perhaps it will become some other sort of top (feel free to throw me ideas)...watch this space.



This is another lovely, lightweight cotton that I'm thinking will be nice in Tessuti's Gaby dress.  The Gaby might need a more...sturdy, crisp fabric...but I figure this will be a nice beach dress if all else fails. It feels as soft as a kitten and what could be better than that!

Another lovely cotton with palm trees! This fabric is slightly more heavy than the floral above and has a lovely feel....nice and soft almost like flannelette in a way. I'm thinking another April Rhodes Peplum Party Dress as I really like that sewing pattern and I think it suits my shape (though I may need to go down a size...still thinking about that).

I didn't want to buy anything I couldn't already sew with so I steered clear of ALL knits (which I'm now regretting since the release of the Coco Dress and my recent Mandy Boat Tee class at Tessuti). That said, I was quite taken with Tomato's huge selection of printed, lightweight corduroy. This will become a skirt...once I learn how to sew a skirt that is!
 

So there you have it. My very modest haul from Tokyo. What do you think of my plans for each fabric -- if you have some other/better suggestions I'd LOVE to hear them.

Fabric Shopping in Nippori, Tokyo (Japan)

Last month I was lucky enough to celebrate my birthday in Tokyo. Wow, WHAT A PLACE! It's such a vibrant city - so fast-paced, busy, noisy and frantic, yet also so orderly and calm in a way. I've never seen people queue to get on a train before...I LOVE Tokyo!

Besides eating, one of the things I was really keen to experience in Tokyo was shopping for fabric in Nippori "Sen-I Gai" or Fabric Town.

This area has over 80 shops selling all manner of fabrics, buttons, trims, clothes, leathers (and furs - yuck), lace, ribbons and kimono fabrics. If you can't find what you're looking for in fabric town, then you're not looking!

 

As I'm only new to sewing I decided to only buy fabrics that I know how to sew with - so that pretty much means cottons. This also helped to expedite the shopping processes which my husband was thankful for as he was tagging along behind me.  

I'm now KICKING myself that I wasn't looking for knits as Tilly and the Buttons has just released her new pattern, Coco - a perfect beginners knit dress. D'oh, d'oh d'oh! There were some FANTASTIC printed knits in the stores I went into but I hardly gave them a second glance.

For a new sewist an experience like Nippori "Sen-I Gai" is totally fascinating, and totally overwhelming.  In order to minimize the chance of me having a total fabric flip-out on the streets of Tokyo I decided to just visit a few stores...and get in, look around and get out. You could literally spend DAYS in this area. DAYS I didn't have!

The main store I visited was called Tomato (oh, LOL Japan you are so funny)! Tomato has a few stores along the main "fabric town" strip - some selling notions, some selling fabrics and some selling outlet fabrics and clothes. One of the stores had about EIGHT FLOORS of fabric...holy moly. There was about two floors just of knits (again, kicking myself)!

After our stint of fabric shopping we headed back towards Nippori JR station.  It was about 3 degrees outside yet we saw this poor old guy set up outside his shop, sewing away on the street. He must have been freezing, it was SO cold!

You know what's good for fighting of cold weather? A steaming hot bowl of ramen. We found this totally dodgy looking place right near Nippori JR station and wandered in when the waiter came out to confirm they did indeed serve ramen. Boy, it was good - some of the best ramen I've never had!

How to get there:  take the JR Yamanote line to Nippori Station.  From the South Exit turn right, and head towards Nippori Chuo Dori (that's a street name). Hopefully this (badly scanned) map will help you out.

Oh, and stay tuned for my next blog post - a show and tell of my Japanese fabric purchases!

Sydney Sewing Meetup

On the weekend twenty lovely Sydney sewists met up for a lunch, gossip, fabric swapping and a little bit of fabric shopping. I've been to A LOT of food blogging meet-ups but this was my first foray into meeting "real life sewing Bloggers/Tweeters/Instagramers" and it was a blast.

A small group of us met up early and scooted out to The Remnant Warehouse in Alexandria for a look around. Massive thanks to both Catherine and Maria who really helped me out with fabric hunting for my upcoming attempt at Tilly's new Coco pattern. As I'm basically learning to sew on my own it's been so wonderful to have the help of the online sewing community when I do get stuck...which is fairly often actually.

I walked away from The Remnant Warehouse with this "mystery fabric" that I think will be good for my first test of Coco.

Because I'd organised this meetup, and cannot organise anything that does not involve food, I'd booked a table for lunch at Parma Cuccina in Surry Hills. Pizza and salads all round. We were a pretty big group so special thanks to the restaurant for letting us take over half of their downstairs area...including sequestering a table for our fabric/pattern swap...

I walked away from the fabric swap with a nice piece of cotton that I think I'll make into my third attempt of the April Rhodes Party Peplum Dress (wish me luck). I also picked up some cotton drill which will become a skirt once I work up the guts to go down that road...a road of zippers, waistbands, interfacing, darts...and tears. 

After lunch we mozied on down to Tessuti and then The Fabric Store. I was very restrained and managed to look but not buy...that must be a first for me!

Thanks to everyone who came along...I hope we get to meet at another sewing meet up soon.