The Road to Japanese Sewalong

裁縫テーマのインターネットの掲示板でやってる、日本の布や日本の洋裁本（実は海外で日本の洋裁本はとても人気）にインスピレーションされたものを作るという挑戦に参加しました。
最近、こういう目的をもってする裁縫が好きです。「いついつまでに、こういうテーマで」っていう囲いがあることで、意欲がわくんだな。

布は何年も前に日本に帰った時にトーカイで買った布。買ったはいいけど、どう使っていいか決められず、ずっと持ってて、今年こそは使うぞ、とわざわざイギリスまで持ってきた布です。

パターンは、茅木真知子さんのドレスアップ・ドレスダウンの本から、２ピースのトップとスカートを同じ布で縫ってワンピース風なセット。
本についている型紙はこんな風にいろんな型紙が一度にのっているので、別の紙に型紙を写すことから始めます。

すごい簡単な型紙なんだけど、首周りと肩幅が合わなくて、試し縫い３回した。
明日おでかけするのに着る予定。
姿見がないので、お風呂場で、お風呂の端に立っております。

I am participating in The Sewing Place's Japanese Sewalong, where you enter a sewing project inspired by Japanese fabric or pattern or whatever.

I find these sewalongs and sewing challenges and contest very inspiring. I like sewing with purpose, and the boundary of the challenge, time-wise and theme-wise, makes me a better sewer overall.

Anyway, I have had this cotton fabric that I bought in Japan for several years. As much as I liked the fabric, I didn't know how to use it and I was a bit scared to cut into it. When I was packing in January for my move to England, I packed this fabric, determined to use it while I was in England. So the sewalong was a perfect opportunity to use it.

It is a mid-weight cotton with horizontal raised ribs at somewhat random interval. It does not have a good drape but very soft to touch.

The pattern is from Simple Chic Dress Up Dress Down by Machiko Kayaki, the same book that I used for my bow collar blouse. It is a two-piece set: sleeveless top and pleated skirt.

Like I said, the challenge makes me a better sewer. Since I did not want to cut into the real fabric without assurance that fit would work, I made proper toile, three times.

I had enormous neck gaping, both front and back, and I had to do a lot of research to find out what's causing the gaping.

After the third toile, I moved on to the real deal.

I am going to Goodwood car show tomorrow and am planning to wear the set!

WTF UK: Deceiving Day Light

夏至が近い今日この頃。緯度が高いイギリスは本当に初夏の日が長いです。
この時期は東京の日没が７時ぐらいだけど、ロンドン近郊は９時半ぐらい。
日没の後も１０時過ぎぐらいまで全然明るい。花火するなら１１時以降だね。
まだ空が明るい間に布団に入るの、微妙。そして逆に１２月は一日中暗いんだな、と思うと尚微妙。
夜９時でも、こんなに明るい。

Summer solstice is just around the corner and the day is LONG here in the relatively southern part of U.K. Sunset time is around 9:30 in London and it just does not get dark until way past 10.
The 4th of July fireworks would have to be scheduled around 11 pm at the earliest.

It feels funny to go to bed when it's not that dark outside. And it worries me a bit to think that it would be dark most of the day in December...
I can totally take a picture of the dog in the yard at 9 o'clock.

Polo Shirt Dress: Jalie 2562

この前作ったポロシャツの残りの生地で、ポロシャツリベンジ。
丈を長くしてポロシャツワンピースを作ってみた。ようするに作り方は型紙もあわせて全く同じで、長くしただけ。
あ、でも袖は半そでにしてみた。夏だし。

でもちょっとよく見てよ、今回は特別イチゴ付き♡
ポロシャツにはワンポイント刺繍がないと寂しいな、ということで、ワッペン購入。

私的にはマトリョーシカがよかったんだけど、ポロシャツにつけるにはちょっと大きかったのよね。（ちなみに丸形のはロンドンの地下鉄のシンボルです）

Return of the polo shirt.
Since I had plenty of the fabric left over from my Zoe polo shirt, I made a polo shirt dress. Yes, with the same fabric with the same pattern. I have no creativity.

Fabric is cotton interlock.
The pattern is Jalie 2562, the polo shirt pattern, with my modification to make it into a dress.

I was too lazy to re-cut the pattern, even though from my previous version, I knew I needed to go up a size at the bust, so again, I cut the size R, and got the drag lines.
As my previous version, I did take in at the side seams below the underbust for a slightly more fitted look.
In order to make it a dress length, I lengthened it by 15".
I think it is 1" too long for my liking.

I used size Q for the cap sleeve and armscye.

For the front placket construction, I interfaced half of the placket (the side that faces the public) and that made a world of difference. Really clean placket this time.

I attempted a 1" sway back, but still lots of fabric there. (If I wear a slip underneath, it looks better)

I realized that a polo shirt had to have a small embroidery accent, so I went on Ebay and got 4.
I really wanted to use the matryoshka but it was, as expected, just a bit out of proportion for the polo shirt, so I went with the strawberry.

I did not like the white part of the patch showing on the side, so zig-zag stitched around it with black thread.
Love my strawberry.

London Comic Con

そんなわけで、ゾーイのコスプレでロンドンコミコンに行ってきました。コミコン初体験にして初コスプレ。
今年は４０という節目に人生経験の幅を広げていると思います（笑）
ストームトルーパーと写真撮ったり、同じくファイアーフライのコスプレ（ケイリーという宇宙船のメカニック）で来ていた見ず知らずの子を捕まえて一緒に写真撮ってもらったり、ケーブルカーでテムズ川を超えてみたり。
いろんなコスプレが見れて楽しかったです。
土曜のチケットは完売で、どこも渋谷のスクランブル交差点並みの人混みでした。
先日作ったリュックサックも大活躍。

I went to London Comic Con in my Zoe costume. Very first comic con in my very first cosplay (if you don't count my dirndl).

Obligatory photo request to Storm Troopers.

The reason why I chose to do Firefly cosplay was because River (Summer Glau) and Simon (Sean Maher) were coming to the Comic Con as guest stars. I did not go for the autograph or photo shoot with them, but instead, I grabbed a girl who was coming as Kaylee (Jewel Staite) and asked for a photo. She was very nice and she even looked a lot like Jewel Staite, too. (I did see a few more Kaylees and Jaynes, but did not see any Mal or any other Zoe)

We also took a cable car ride over River Thames. The mound shaped building on the left is O2, an arena. Iron Maiden was coming there for a concert that night.

It was very interesting to see all the cosplayers. Some costumes looked very cheap, but so many people come in full gear with all the make up and wigs and props, and costumes that look so uncomfortable to wear and walk around in the crowd all day.

I did not feel too weird walking through the convention area because people are just walking by, but once I was outside lawn area where all the cosplayers were having different meet-ups, I felt like I was in a different world.

Rainbow colors of hair; all sorts of clothing from men in unitard to armors, furs, and exoskeleton; people of all races from human to robots to Sith Lords to Hobbits, etc, etc, etc. It was definitely Imaginationland from South Park. I wished that would be our future in real life too, different people accepting their difference in their appearance and their culture and admire each group's creation.