Book of Girls Otome no Sewing Vol. 6 ~ Handmade Gothic Lolita Fashion (Lady boutique series no.3896) [JAPANESE EDITION] Mook – January 1, 2014

This book is a helpful resource for anyone who wants to pursue lolita, but doesn't have enough money and can sew.It includes:Patterns For:-The cover dress (square bib and no waist but belt option)-An A line jsk-A hime-ish jacket-Small hat (on cover)-A skirt with alternating colored sections-A soft bonnet-Apron with lots of pintucks (on cover)-A blouse with different collar options-A low necked jsk (almost underbust but not quite more like mid bust)-Coat with capelet-Short cape- Jacket with heart pocketsAnd Basic Instructions For:-An overskirt-A flower headpiece-A petticoat-Bloomers-Purse-A ash-A long skirt-Boystyle-ish shorts-A Christmas Jsk with pleated skirt-A jsk with a three tiered skirt-Small bow hair accessories-Generic headbow on headbandYou have to trace the patterns yourself and they only come in Japanese Small Medium and Large. If you don't fit any of those there are tutorials to make the patterns fit different sizes. The instructions are not patterns but give measurements so you can draft your own (like the lengths and widths of different parts of a skirt or rectangle sizes for bows) or they use pieces from other patterns that are provided. This book is in Japanese which could cause some issues but the google translate app can take photos and translate them (It doesn't know sewing terminology so you can get some pretty funky definitions but with some guesswork they are helpful and usable). The pictures are also very comprehensive which is especially helpful when you are a visual person and rarely read the instructions when sewing american instructions, instead relying on the pictures. All in all this book is a great resource that can be used with minimal difficulty.

While the instructions are in Japanese the pictures and measurements for the patterns are very clear. I don't speak or read Japanese, but I can understand most of the instructions with a little help from Google translations. If you are knowledgeable about sewing this is a perfect intro to Japanese fashions. A beginning sewer might not be able to follow along unless they can read Japanese.

Even without speaking Japanese thanks to the pictures I was early able to understand each step :)

I am so excited about this book. I just like looking at it the pictures are so pretty, but when I finally made something, I was delighted to see that the pattern is cut very nicely and the instructions were extremely detailed and didn't seem to skip a single step. I made the dirndl dress, or the bodice that scoops beneath the bust attached to the skirt. These were not easy patterns, well, it was made more difficult by my choice of fabric and making tons of ruffles which were pretty horrible to sew. Not easy, but very professional looking. I am very pleased with this product!My daughter wants me to sew the entire Cinderella wardrobe for her. She's supposed to be two sizes smaller than their Small size, but it fit fine. So beware about sizing. Make certain you add plenty of seam allowance and probably do a muslin first.

I love the patterns they have in this mook. if you haven't worked with Japanese patterns before be forewarned; ALL of the pieces are on the SAME piece of paper! I was a little shocked at first considering I wanted to use as many pieces possible. so just know that if you want to use multiple patterns/sizes from this set you'll have to trace first. I would suggest actual tracing paper so you can see the pattern on the other side well enough not to get confused. and of course, this entire book is in Japanese, so if you're not familiar with the language OR you are new to sewing patterns this might not be for you, however there are worded instructions(in Japanese) with loads of pictures in the back of this book. and in true with Japanese books it reads Right to Left. Happy sewing and may your Lolita fashion dreams come true!