For instance, a “book” on jackets may actually consist of a couple of dozen spreads of color photographs of models wearing various jackets, with some assembly instructions. The the rest of the book is several fold-out pattern sheets for making the various jackets.

To minimize paper, the pattern pieces for different patterns may be overlaid on each other in different colors. Usually you need to retrace the pattern onto pattern paper (which is sold in sewing stores). Often you need to add seam margins (I used a roller cutter with an offset guide to deal with seam margins, rather than draw them).

As might be expected, the size range is on the small side (”small” being a euphemism for “non-obese” here).

This reminds me of my favorite Japanese sewing gadget: A well-made pattern tracing wheel that had needle sharp spikes instead of the normal dull spokes. This tool is excellent for copying existing garments, since you can lay a sheet of pattern paper and the garment on a cork board and trace by punching little needle holes in the pattern paper.

If anyone is planning a trip to Japan, the “Akihabara” of sewing in Tokyo is around the Nippori station on the Yamanote line. The police box at the station has maps showing the hundred or so fabric and notions shops (Tomato is the biggest, and my favorite, but there are many interesting hole-in-the-wall shops).

Here’s the home page for the “Nippori Textile Wholesale Cooperative Society”:

http://www.netlaputa.ne.jp/~nippori/

And a map of the member shops:

http://www.netlaputa.ne.jp/~nippori/map/map.html

Southwest of Akihabara there is also a tailoring district, but the shops are not geared towards the general public, so you need to wander around looking for them. Okadaya in Shinjuku is also an excellent fabric and sewing store, taking up a whole building, with lots of theatre costume designers hanging out there. Nagoya has a fabric district similar to Nippori. The Yuzawaya retail chain is also worth checking out.

New Pattern Magic by Ms. Tomoko Nakamichi will be out soon on November 11th and looks like you can pre-order it from Yes Asia.

May

I’ve had problems with YesAsia in the past. When I went to order Pattern Magic 4 weeks early as I was giving a copy as a gift, they kept informing me that my shipment would be delayed 2 weeks. They sent me several of those emails. So reading their policy I decided to cancel the order as I located the books at my local Japanese bookstore. They wouldn’t let me cancel and mysteriously my shipment arrived 2 days later even though it was supposedly delayed a couple of weeks. They were quite stubborn about refusing the cancellation even though I’ve bought other books from them (with delays) and they say they will permit cancellations. They offered free shipping which it already had so no satisfaction there.

I was put off from using them again but if you do order with them watch out for those delay shipment emails and don’t expect canceling will be accepted.

Mainly, if you can just put aside the nervous feeling of not recognizing the language you may realize that you can handle the project quite well. Sometimes, I take a scrap paper and go through the pictures and then write down in english what I understand the steps to be. That can help keep you on track.

Hope this is helpful.

There are two tabs you are interested in being sewists:
http://books.bunka.ac.jp/np/searchresult.do?lgen_id=1
and
http://books.bunka.ac.jp/np/searchresult.do?lgen_id=3

The latter seems to include textbooks the Bunka school uses among which the Vionnet book you mention can be seen. The former has sewing books you’ve listed as well as other needle craft books.

Bunka School has produced many prominent Japanese designers, including Kenzo, Yohji Yamamoto, and you can see their winning garment at the ling below:
http://www.bunka.ac.jp/soen/about/1960.html

I typed, copied and pasted too quickly….. I mistakenly sent the wrong link earlier and when I double-checked back tonight at the Etsy site that had carried the Mrs Stylemaker magazines, they were all sold out! My apologies for the mix-up.

Karmen