Nani Iro Short Sleeve Work Dress

Hi all! I’ve been back from my trip to the west coast (of North America) for a couple weeks and finally got to have the sewing marathon I’d been craving! I’ve been doing so much travelling this summer (Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland) that I haven’t been able to dig into a project as much as I’d like to. I’ve been plugging away on my Kelly anorak but I really just needed the satisfaction of a finished project. Cue this Nani Iro dress!

I bought the Nani Iro Sewing Studio pattern book when I was in Seattle at Drygoods Design and was itching to get home and make something from it. There are 18 garments in the book, and I was particularly drawn to the Cocoon Dress and the Work Dress, but I’m headed to Montreal later today and was thinking it would have to wait until I got back in about a week. But then I went to Patch yesterday while running another errand and remembered that I really wanted to make something from the book IN Nani Iro fabric to get the full effect. And then Chris (the owner of Patch) sensibly pointed out that I couldn’t possibly finish my Kelly anorak before I left, that it would be seasonally not that useful for my trip, and that what would be much more satisfying and practical (and for the greater good, obviously) would be a dress from the book. And she was completely right!

I’ve never been someone who sews clothes specifically for trips, and especially not down to the wire the night before. I can’t say that this dress was made FOR my trip, but I was really determined to finish it before I went. I got this double gauze (print is Nani Iro’s iconic Fuccra rakuen) but there was only 3.4m left and the pattern calls for 4.4m so I was worried I wouldn’t have enough. While it was pre-washing and drying, I traced off the pattern pieces from the sheets at the back of the book and I managed to fit everything on the amount of fabric I had! I had to piece the waist tie from two width-of-fabric strips (crossgrain to what the pattern indicates) but it’s not noticeable at all. I didn’t even have to cut the pockets from a different fabric!

I’ve never used a Japanese pattern book before, and I think the Nani Iro book is a pretty low commitment as far as that goes since it’s already translated into English. I will say that for me it was totally fine, but if you’re not very experienced, you might need a little more guidance than what the instructions/diagrams give you. This is pattern N from the book, known as the “short sleeve work dress”. The pattern pieces for the front and back of the dress are basically rectangles aside from the shoulders/neck, and I was worried that there was going to be way too much volume for me. The book says that you should size down if you’re worried about it being giant, so I made the smallest size of the three (S) and it fits perfectly in the neck which is basically the only place you’d really have to worry about fit. The other thing is that the phrase “short sleeve” is a bit misleading, because this version of the pattern (there’s also one with sleeves and a tunic version) actually has no sleeves at all! Not even cut-on sleeves! Since the pieces are basically rectangles, the instructions have you finish the side edges ahead of time and then leave an opening in the side seam for your arm to go through. The “sleeve hem” is created by turning in the edge along the seam allowance and top-stitching it down. I was pleasantly surprised by the shape this gave at the armhole when the dress was all finished.

In the Nani Iro book, their sample of this dress (and the markings on the instructions) includes one button on the collar and then only one along the placket. I was worried about gaping so I used my buttonhole gauge to add a third one and changed the spacing a bit. Speaking of buttonholes, the instructions also tell you to put a buttonhole on the tab at the bottom of the placket which doesn’t actually get used for anything, and I opted not to do that. I figured if I changed my mind later I could always just do it then. The tab is pretty clever, because it hides the fact that there are teeny gathers at the bottom of the placket where it joins up with the body of the dress. I think it also makes the finishing at that area a little bit more foolproof because you don’t have to worry about the neatness as much.

I think if/when I make this pattern again, I would make the waist tie a bit wider. I don’t mind it at this width, but I’m definitely a sucker for a wide waist tie. Speaking of the waist tie. In order for the pattern pieces to fit on the sheets at the back of the book, this pattern piece was indicated to cut on two different folds – along the long edge and the short edge. I get why Nani Iro/the publisher would indicate the short edge along the fold, because it’s a long piece, but the other fold just makes it half as wide, which really didn’t make a huge difference that I could see in terms of the real estate it took up. When I traced the piece, I just traced the whole thing four times so that I ended up with a paper piece that was the actual size of the full belt. This made it easier to visualize when I was trying to fit it onto my limited amount of fabric.

I was in such a sewing zone that I didn’t try this dress on whatsoever while I was making it, and I didn’t do any fit tests ahead of time before cutting into my “real” fabric. I had vague worries while I was making it that it was going to completely swamp me and was not convinced that the waist tie was going to be some magic solution, but it really is! I think this silhouette is really flattering and this pattern is great for featuring a big bold print, since it has no seam details at all besides the gathering at the collar. I’m also really into the collar shape and height. The Nani Iro book is full of really beautiful designs and all of the samples are made up in their fabrics, so it’s worth flipping through for the eye candy alone! And now I’m off to Montreal to visit friends! 23 hour train ride, wahoooo! (Only a little sarcastic, I actually enjoy the train.) Does anyone else enjoy a long train ride? More relevantly, has anyone else made anything from the Nani Iro book or other Japanese pattern books?