Pattern Magic by Tomoko Nakamichi

If there was one word to describe this book it would be "interesting". This is not really a book for clothes that most would actually wear. In fact Ms. Nakamichi makes the garments to fit little scaled fashion dolls. But all of the designs are very thought provoking. Sculptural in form, with inspiration from nature and geometric shapes.

Love those sleeves

    This is evident even in the cover. This book would be a lot of fun for those that love puzzles and those who enjoyed the book The Art of Manipulating fabric. What I also loved this book, is that it really shows garments as 3 dimensional objects. When I realized this, it made my understanding of sewing really expand.
It is in soft cover, and the garments are either black or white as well as the instructions.  There are not a ton of instructions, it is mostly pictures. Its a 104 pages and you and the photo quality is great and you can see the textures of the fabric.
    Personally for me, the book is a little above my skill level. There are some that I could maybe do, but this is definitely for advanced pattern makers who have mastered slopers already. If you are in that category this book has projects that would be a fun challenge for you.
This is one of my favorite projects, I really want to make it.

I would say this book is a must have for advanced pattern makers, as well as those who enjoy fashion as art and would enjoy the thought provoking designs.

You can download this book Pattern Magic by Tomoko Nakamichi in pdf form online, but it is in Japanese. Here http://community.livejournal.com/jmagazinescans/530169.html Scroll down in the comments and you will see it.
So just use it for previewing purposes, and buy the version you can actually read lol.

 Bye!

My First Embroidery/Scandinavian Needlecraft Book Review

I just got a new book called Scandinavian Needlecraft by Clare Youngs, because recently it is a new hobby that I would like to pursue. The book has tons of projects I especially like it because I am new to embroidery and it has step by step instructions on how to do the stitches in the back. Embroidery from Scandinavian regions of Europe really intrigues me, so this book was perfect. The projects range from baby hats to egg cozies. There are also a lot of seasonal projects like these.

You will need a sewing machine for many of the projects, its not just embroidery patterns. For a couple of the projects you don't even have to know how to embroider by hand because they use a machine zigzag stitch.]
Like this one

There are so many cute gift ideas in here too! There are a pair of slippers in here that I really want to make, but I decided to do a little test on a scrap pieces of linen first because I have never done embroidery before. I wouldn't want the slippers to be messed up you know?

If you click on it it will come up big and you can gloat on all my mistakes! The bouillon knots were the most difficult, and some of mine are awful.
This is a picture from the book that shows what they look like finished:

When I look it the finished pair, I don't think I did to bad. In fact I think I did pretty good for my first try! The step by step diagrams are easy to follow. I wonder if there stitch lines are purposefully a little wobbly, to encourage beginners....

 The only thing I don't like about this book is that it doesn't have enough bright projects like these.

The book itself is not huge, and is a paper back of good quality. I would say that this book is a must have for those that love the beauty simplicity. On top of that it seems that the whole "alpine, Scandinavian look" is going to be quite popular this season.I bought it off Amazon , it is much cheaper there than at the bookstore. (but of course you don't get the instant gratification, or previewing that you would get at a bookstore). I will be sure to post the slippers when I finish them!