I have had a subscription to the Japanese pattern magazine Mrs Style Book for many years but have only made a handful of garments. The magazine features many skirt patterns both traditional and also some really bizarre styles that remind me of designers such as Issey Miyake and Rei Kawaakubo. When Stefanie of Sea of Teal announced the wardrobe basic for July as skirts, I set myself the goal of using a Mrs Style Book pattern for my skirt. I chose a more traditional skirt from the Spring 2020 issue.
The text translation is "A mermaid skirt with flare from the hip line
Hint! Large patterns and directional prints can be used by carefully matching the patterns.
The clean silhouette and flared hem that swings every time you walk make it an elegant accent. The mermaid skirt has a flared pattern from the hip line down. The hemline has a descent on the back for a fresher look. The material is linen with a light texture. After finishing, wash it and dress it roughly without ironing. ●Pattern / P.101
Here are the pattern drafting instructions.
I find the drafting drawings very easy to understand, but I also use the Google Translate app on my phone to translate the Japanese characters. I just aim my phone camera at the text, scan it, select all and it translates the whole paragraph. This gives me additional information that can't be shown in a drawing. Such as the amount and type of fabric needed for the skirt. - Usage amount cloth (description and ordering info P.230) = 144cm Width, 3m 10cm
The fabric is shown on another page and is available via mail order.
Elegance "Elegance Mrs. Stylebook Manager" 03-3891-8998 33-10, 5-3 Higashi-nippori, Arakawa-ku, Tokyo http://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/nippori-pakira/ P.52〜 55 "Pattern to show the wearer a clean look" B fabric ● Madras check (100% linen) 144cm width 1m 1,480 yen ( $14 USD) Black 6 Beige 2 Yellow 3 White Blue (used color)
The instructions for my skirt referred to detailed pocket sewing instructions on another skirt pattern/page.
My fabric is from Hobby Lobby, a blue and white cotton plaid with silver metallic threads. It worked great for this skirt.
I sewed this skirt and wore it on our annual beach vacation in Delaware. Delaware is open which meant that backing out of the beach house rental agreement would have cost us a lot of money. All the people that vacation with us have been socializing with us for the past several months and were known to be Corvid free.
There were less traffic and people on the boardwalk and beaches, which was actually very nice. One downsides for the young people in the group were that their favorite restaurant had eliminated happy hours and half priced drinks. Not enough customer volume. Bumper Cars was not as fun with only 6 cars on the floor at a time. A lot less bumping going on and isn't that the objective of this amusement ride?
Wearing a mask while walking on the boardwalk in sunny, hot, humid weather was absolutely miserable. It felt hard to breath. One solution was to buy an ice cream code or boardwalk french fries, as no mask was required while eating at a safe social distance. Vacation was fun, but it is good to be back home and making healthier snacking choices..
