Carefree Clothes for Girls

Boy talk first! We wanted to make sure you knew about the forthcoming book, Sewing for Boys: 24 Projects to create a Handmade Wardrobe by Shelly Figueroa and Karen LePage. As you know, Shelly is one of the fantastic teachers down at MD and (along with Karen) puts out great patterns under the name Patterns by Figgy's. Their book is being published by Wiley and will be out later this Summer! You can see their announcement along with some gorgeous photos from their book over at their blog.

Today we are all about the girls. Carefree Clothes for Girls by Junko Okawa was first published in Japan in 2007 and then republished in English by Trumpeter in 2009. It contains 20 patterns for girls sized 4-7, by season. The instructions and diagrams are thorough and easy to read and the patterns are easy to trace off of the full-sized pull out pattern sheet.

I have favorites, but honestly I love this whole book. Like so many Japanese Craft books, the beautiful photo styling makes it an equally lovely look book as it does a collection of useful patterns. Hannah put together this sample smock (pictured on the front cover of the book) using a linen blend and quilters cotton. She included some hand-stitching along the bottoms and through the pockets, and could have just as easily embellished it with ribbons, stencils or buttons. It would also be adorable in a mid weight novelty print and double as an apron for your aspiring artist or baker.

There are also patterns for pants, several more dresses/tops, a hat and instructions for a hand knit scarf.