LifestyleRin's Life

Fabric Shopping in Japan – What I Bought

My parcel has finally arrived from Japan! I went pretty crazy at 100 yen stores in Japan, and had to send a box back via seafreight to Australia. In the box, I also stuffed in the fabric I had bought when I went fabric shopping in Tokyo.

The patchwork squares on on the upper left are from 100 yen stores.  The liberty prints on the top right are from Nippori, Tokyo.  They were all less than 500 yen ($6.50 AUD) per meter.  On the bottom row, the gingham check fabric was from a clearance basket in another store in Nippori. Yes, there is a yellow and blue thing happening here; I plan to make bunting out of these for my wedding in my theme colours.

The very cute lamb and baby panda print fabrics, I found at Tomato in Nippori.  I have no idea what I will do with them, but they were too sweet not to purchase.

In the mega craft mecca, Yuzawaya, I bought three Clover bias tape makers.  I’ve always wanted these, after I read reviews by other crafters online.  I also picked up a stitching awl, as I can’t seem to find them in Lincraft or Spotlight in Australia.

So soon, there will be posts on my bunting making adventure and my first attempt at using my new little Clover toys.  Ciao for now!

DIY FashionFree Sewing Patterns

Free Sewing Pattern – How to make sash belt

Top – Jacqui E
Skirt – Target
Belt – Handmade
Shoes – Kate Spade

Dave and I were attended a friend’s wedding last weekend, held at the University of Sydney quadrangle.  It was a bright and sunny afternoon, and I was able to proudly wear my sash belt which I had only just finished making the night before. It is made of black satin, with black ribbon for the tie and embellishments.  I bought some red gemstone hearts from a craft store to add some colour.  As seen in the picture, I wore this belt over my tulle skirt, to accentuate my waist.  I think it would also work well on flowy dresses, to jazz them up a bit, for more formal occasions.

Instructions

Download the free sash belt sewing pattern here.

  1. Cut two pieces out from satin fabric, with a 1cm seam allowance.
  2. Press the left and right edges of both pieces.  Right sides facing, stitch the top and bottom edges only, sewing over the folded edges (A).
  3. Snip along the curved edge (B).  Turn inside out to the right side and press.
  4. Cut two lengths of ribbon (22mm width) to 60cm.  Insert about 1cm into the open edges, pin in place (C) and stitch.  Go over this at least twice to ensure that the ribbon stays firmly in place.
  5. Decorate one side of the belt with ribbons, beads and diamante embellishments.  I made three bows out of the same 22mm wide ribbon and used fabric glue to stick on red hearts (D).  The bows were then glued to the belt.

DIY Fashion Sash Belt - Free sewing pattern & tutorial to make your own waist belt. Inspired by Alannah Hill <3 Full tutorial at http://www.sewinlove.com.au/2011/11/21/free-sewing-pattern-sash-belt/

 

 

DIY FashionFree Sewing Patterns

Free Sewing Pattern – High-Low Tank Top

Top – handmade
Jeans – Levi’s Jeggings
Shoes – Loeffler Randall

A loose tank top is really handy for the warmer months ahead. I like how this one is long enough to cover my bum, so I can wear it with skinny leg jeans or tights without being self conscious. The longer side panels fall down to cover the hips, so it’s a very flattering design.  You can also wear this tank top tucked into high waisted skirts and pants.  This very retro fabric is from eBay; I knew I had to make something that was a modern cut out of this material, to avoid looking like a grandma.

About the Pattern

This is a very simple pattern I drew based on a tank top I already own. I wanted the billowing sides, so I added two side panels which are cut at 90 degree angles.  The panels are extra long to create an asymmetrical hem.  The construction is very simple – I used my overlocker, so if you don’t own one, you might want to consider finishing off the armholes using bias binding instead of simply folding.

The size is an Australian 8 to 10. That’s US 6 to 8. It’s quite loose, so I think that it might fit slightly larger sizes also. I suggest adjusting the width of the front panel if you want to make it for a slightly larger size.

Download the Free tank top pattern here.

Instructions

  1. Draw, trace and cut the pattern, adding on a 0.5cm seam allowance all round.
  2. Zig zag or overlock shoulders and side seams of each panel.
  3. Right sides facing, stitch front and back panel shoulders together.
  4. Right sides facing, attach side seams together.
  5. Finish off the armholes. You can either fold, iron and then stitch or use the rolled hem stitch if you have an overlocker.
  6. Finish off the hem. You can either fold, iron and then stitch or use the rolled hem stitch if you have an overlocker.

 

LifestyleRin's Life

A Casual Beach Engagement Photo Session

Engagement photoshoots seem to be on the rise. I was inspired to do one myself, not only to have lasting images of this very exciting time for me and Dave, but also because we didn’t have any decent photos of us together. The photos I have were mostly “selfies”, ie ones we took ourselves resulting in off-centre shots with unflattering double chins. We desperately needed nice photos to send to my relatives overseas, who have never met Dave.

Lucky for us, one of Dave’s friends likes to take photos as a hobby. We also happen to live two minutes from the beach, so this photo session cost us a grand total of zero. The shots were taken in July, which is winter in Sydney, but the weather was kind to us and we had a glorious day of sunshine. We had a lot of fun getting dressed up and posing for the camera. I think that the photos really capture us naturally, because our photographer was someone who knew us very well.

I styled the outfits in two sets. First set was a more formal one, with our outfits coordinated in a cream and gray palette. In the second set, we are both wearing clothes we could be seen in on any given day. We definitely felt (and look) more relaxed in this set!

We are so glad that we went ahead and had these photos done – we’ll cherish them forever. Our parents love the photos too!  Sorry the photos are a bit grainy, I only had massive raw files so I reduced their sizes dramatically to upload on the blog…

 

 

LifestyleRin's Life

Craft Shopping in Tokyo & Nippori Japan

I am back from Japan!  Dave and I had such an amazing three weeks, travelling around Tokyo, Yokohama, Hakone, Kamakura, Osaka, Shikoku and then back to Tokyo for the first two weeks.  We spent the last week up north in Yamagata, relaxing and spending time with my parents and Obaachan (grandma).  I wish I was still in Japan – we have already started planning our next visit.

In Tokyo, I was constantly on the look out for crafty stores.  Although there are many, these were my favourite ones.  You can spend hours trawling through these shops, so I really had to restrain myself from buying too many things.  I had to send a box home, so once that arrives, I can show you all things I bought.  Whether it’s sewing accessories, scrap booking, pom pom making or leather carving, you can find anything in Tokyo – if isn’t there, it probably doesn’t exist!

Yuzawaya

Yuzawaya is a large chain of fabric stores.  They also sell all sorts of sewing and quilting related accessories.  You can buy a craft kit to make almost anything at Yuzawaya.  Here’s some beading kits I found!

I went to the Shinjuku Store – 11F of Takashimaya building, 2 mins walk from JR Shinjuku station South Exit.

Nippori Textile Town

The inner Tokyo station of Nippori has a cluster of wholesale fabric stores lined up for your shopping pleasure.  The selection is overwhelming, it took me two hours to pick out four fabrics!  Unfortunately Typhoon No. 15 hit Tokyo that very day so I had to run back to my hotel before I could visit all the stores I wanted…

Tomato is one of the more famous and larger stores.  I had fun poking through remnants as well as trying to lift heavy rolls of fabric.

Here are directions to Nippori Textile Town by Suzy @ Floating World

Tokyu Hands

I guess you can describe Tokyu Hands as a DIY variety store.  There’s a huge stationery collection, as well as hardwares and tools.  Dave bought tiny screw drivers here, and I bought some funky Disney wedding cards.  It’s so much fun, just to look around.

I went to the Ginza store – Just a few minutes walk from JR Yurakucho station – here’s a map

Daiso 100 Yen Stores

100 yen shops are found all over Japan (everything in the store is 100 yen), but Daiso is the largest and has an impressive range of craft goods.  I bought decorative ribbons, buttons and random haberdashery items and managed to fill on shopping basket full with nick nacks.  Warning – 100 yen shopping is addictive.

You can find the closest Daiso store here

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