There seems to be a bit of a proliferation of pattern books coming out of Japan of late. They look great – always beautifully styled, with an emphasis on simplicity.

Yoshiko Tsukiori has written several of these pattern books, and when I saw this volume in the library recently, I decided it was worthy of further investigation. But on closer inspection, there were a few things that bothered me.

For the most part, the clothing is loose, easy-fit styles, which is always a bonus. Who doesn’t love comfortable clothes? But these styles rely on very soft, floaty, and/or well-draping fabrics, such as voiles, jerseys or linens. There goes my idea of just grabbing some random fabrics out of my stash (I know, that’s MY problem).

And further, these styles look completely fab on a petite Japanese woman, but many perhaps do not translate well onto the more voluptuously shaped woman, such as myself. They make me look like a fat and dowdy washer-woman. I kept on trying to think of more flattering variations – “I could shorten the sleeves a little”, “I could cut that dress down to a top”, “I could include a tie to pull that in at the waist a bit….” and so it went.

And my last beef is that the patterns, which need to be traced off the master pattern sheet do NOT include seam allowances. Why in heaven’s name not? Is there a shortage of paper in Japan? I have seen many patterns with no seam allowances before, and I could never understand why. What is the logic behind it? If you DO know the reason why, I would love it if you could tell me! I just find it incredibly inconvenient, adding in yet another step for the maker, who probably just wants to get on and wear their new, beautiful dress.

On the plus side, the instructions are clear and easy to follow, with excellent illustrations to accompany and explain each step.

So. Nothing straightforward, except for the instructions.

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Published in Australia by Penguin; ISBN 9780143203964