Literary Sewing Circle: Inspiration!

It's the first week of this round of the Literary Sewing Circle and time for some inspiration! Have you got your hands on a copy? Have you started reading yet? 

I thought I'd start us off with the most obvious inspiration -- the setting! This book has two primary settings, Tokyo and a small island on the BC coast. 

Let's start with Japan. If you take that as your source of inspiration, you can go in many directions. 

You might think about using Japanese fabrics to make your project. Nani Iro, Lecien fabrics, Kobayashi, Echino, NekoNeko -- there are many brands, lines, or shops that specialize in Japanese fabrics. Here are few lovely ones.

Probably the best known source for Japanese fabric is Miss Matabi. Lots of choice and great shipping rates too. There are a wide variety of designs to choose from, from cute to elegant to colourful.

 There are also some wonderful Japanese shops, like FabricTales. Gorgeous fabrics shipped from Japan from traditional to modern, florals to "japanesque" designs. She even sells fabric cords. I'm coveting some of that!

Then there is our own Canadian online shop FabricSpark, who sells a line of Japanese fabrics along with all the other wonderful things she stocks.

If you don't want to include Japanese themes just in your fabric choices, you could think about incorporating some Japanese inspired techniques into your project, like Shibori

photo by Agistadler via Flickr

or Sashiko

or even fabric origami! There is a whole book on this, and lots more out there online.

There are many Japanese patterns you could use also. Any of the very popular Japanese Pattern Books are a good start! There are also Japanese pattern magazines, though those will likely be easier to use if you can read Japanese.

Or of course you could take a look at the patterns by Japanese pattern designer, and our Literary Sewing Circle sponsor, Yuki from Waffle Patterns. Don't forget, anyone who posts a finished project by our due date of November 15 will be entered into a draw to win a 30 Euro voucher from Waffle!

There are lots of patterns at Waffle that match with this book, from fabulous outerwear to delicate daily tops and either slim or wide leg pant options too.

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There are also other areas to explore for your inspiration. If you are caught by the elements of the story that take place in B.C., you might want to use a pattern from a company based in BC as well. Of course there is Helen's Closet to inspire you. I can imagine her Suki Robe in a soft Japanese cotton lawn for summer!

You could explore In House Patterns from BC too -- her soft bow blouse would mix well with some luscious printed Japanese fabric.

You might want to make a jacket for hiking in the rainy outdoors, as the characters Ruth and Oliver find themselves doing often. A good choice might be the Minoru Jacket by Sewaholic, also a BC pattern company!

And of course, for lots of outdoor suitable clothing especially for men, check out BC based Thread Theory

If you just want to get your fabric from BC, you can always take a look at Blackbird Fabrics -- who, incidentally, has some nice Japanese non-stretch denim in right now!

Do you have any ideas yet? Are your plans jumping to mind or are you waiting until you've read the book to the end before you decide what to make? I hope lots of ideas are sparking for you already. If you have any favourite shops, fabrics or patterns that I've missed in this post, feel free to share them in the comments!