(Above: The back and front covers of Girlystyle Wardrobe. Note the ISBN and cover price of about $12)
I have had this post in my mind for quite awhile. I know that there are a lot of people out there who love the Japanese craft and sewing books, but are not so excited about the high prices. Personally, I cringe when I see a book for sale for $25 or $30+ that I can buy for $11-13 retail in Japan. Of course shipping is a cost, but these days the dollar is fairly strong against the yen, which makes purchasing Japanese books affordable, if you know how to do it. (NOTE: I wrote this post before I investigated the shipping rates and learned that, unfortunately, Amazon Japan does not offer Economy shipping for international orders, as of March 2007. The flat rate per order is about $25 to North America, with a fee per item of less than $3. If you are buying a lot of books at once, or are buying with a friend, this could be economical).
I have to give three cheers for Amazon Japan. The company ships internationally, and if you are buying a lot of books at once, it is even better. I read somewhere how someone kept a Amazon.com browser window open at the same time as the Amazon.co.jp browser, because the interfaces are the same and it is all intuitive. You can view many details in English, including all of your account information, payment details, etc.
There is a lot of help available in English, and when I have an occasion to write to Amazon.co.jp by e-mail for assistance, I have always received prompt, fluent English responses.
Recently, I have been sewing more for my daughters, and these are some of my favorite books of the past few months. I will keep posting links directly to Amazon.co.jp from time to time, so that people can save that specific link to the book in a wish list, and not just have an ISBN that they don’t know what to do with.
Without further ado, here are some recent gems, and approximate prices in U.S. dollars. Amazon.co.jp charges 5% sales tax that is included in the listed price.
Favorite One Piece Dresses and Jumper Skirts: Sized for 100-130 cm. This book has many cute, simple dresses, many in pretty Liberty prints and wool. Nice photography and instruction. About $10.
Girls’ Clothes, Handmade Clothes: Co-created by the Hobbyra Hobbyre chain of stores, this book is cute, original, and lovely to look at. About $12.
Girlystyle Wardrobe: In my top three for girl clothes sewing. Pretty tie tops, pants, summer dresses, tiered skirt, and slit-front tops for fall. About $11.
Koharu no Fuku: This book is currently sold out on Amazon.co.jp, which shows how popular this book is. It is not new, but has become somewhat of a cult classic for little girls’ clothes. The author, Masako Ito, has a design background, and works as a food stylist. According to the book, after her daughter turned one year old, she wanted to sew clothes for her, and designed some very simple styles to be sewn in pretty fabrics. Her philosophy is “muri shinai de”, which translates to “Don’t trouble/stress yourself out”. I LOVE THIS BOOK, and I love the cover price even more: $12. If you click on the author’s name, you will see many other books she has written, including a sequel to this one, for older girls. (The model in this book, Koharu, is the author’s daughter).
Basics for Girls: A new release from Mayumi Maeda. No photo yet on Amazon of the cover, but it is Good. I will post some photos later. Sized for 90-140 cm, with a lot of very versatile patterns: Apron dress (cute!), one-piece, sleeveless one-piece, Blouse, Skirt, Pajamas, Petticoat, etc. Very sweet, in a lot of cottons, linens and corduroys. I will be using this book a lot. It is right up there with Girlystyle Wardrobe as far as the beauty-to-look-at-for-inspiration to practicality ratio. About $12.
I will be posting some photos from inside the books to Flickr soon…all of these books come with full-sized patterns enclosed, BUT you must trace them out yourself onto paper, then cut them out. The instructions are very visual, and although it helps that I can read Japanese, someone with sewing experience could figure them out.
So what other books are out there that interest you? My finger is on the pulse of sewing and quilting books more than other craft genres.
19 responses so far ↓
alobsiger // May 17, 2007 at 11:43 pm
This subject has been on my mind lately. I have been shopping a lot with YesAsia.com. It is amazing the price difference between, say, Japanese books on eBay, etc., and YesAsia. And they offer free shipping to the US with qualifying purchases above $25 (I recently heard this had changed to $39 but haven’t experienced that yet). I often cross-reference Amazon Japan so I can see book covers (sometimes not available on YesAsia) and also to get Amazon Japan’s related recommendations.
Amy // May 18, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Thanks for the tip, I have been searching the net for books and now you have answered some of my questions!
hillary // May 18, 2007 at 1:45 pm
oh dear! I need all of these! making girls clothes is going to be so much fun. I think I’ll check out yesasia and see what their prices are like.
thanks for the info!!
Heather // May 18, 2007 at 6:11 pm
Oh thank you so much! I have been trying to figure out this Japanese book thing for a while. I feel silly asking, but do these books include patterns or are you just supposed to look at pictures and figure it out?
emma // May 19, 2007 at 1:41 am
Thanks for this info. I’m heading to Tokyo this December. I’m afraid I’m going to miss the quilt show but I’ll be doing some crafty shopping. Can you buy sewing and craft books in any book store or should I head to a particular store?
Jane // May 20, 2007 at 6:00 pm
There is a wonderful book I have spotted on ebay (USA). Are you familiar with it? It is in Japanese but is given this as the title by the ebay seller: Grandmother’s Flower Garden Hexagon Quilts Pattern book. Sold by seller: sewcrafty32 and is #300107236095. The seller provides some great pics and has multiple copies. Do you know of other books using hexagons in this way? Is their buy-it-now price reasonable?
Amy Lu // May 22, 2007 at 2:50 pm
I’d like to get the books you mention (I already have Girlystyle wardrobe, I got it from Superbuzzy) especially the Koharu no Fuku book. I noticed that there are some used available. Do you recommend buying used from Amazon Japan?
I took Japanese in high school, but it was only a semester course with a visiting teacher. I’m afraid I can’t read a stitch of it. Although, there have been multiple times this month that I’ve thought it would be good to learn. I think I’ll call our University today to see if they are offering it….
Amy Lu // May 22, 2007 at 2:57 pm
alobsiger, YesAsia.com’s free shipping is available if you spend $25 U.S. dollars or $39 Canadian dollars. Maybe that’s what is sparking the rumors.
Willow // May 31, 2007 at 11:50 pm
The photo for “Basics for Girls” is now up!
Thanks for the suggestions; I have J. crafting books but was scared to buy a sewing book — these look charming.
How about the sizing? I have the Ondori Handcrafts for Babies book and the sizing seems to run TINY! And they had only one size. My kids are not Japanese sized, if you know what I mean.
kirsten // June 5, 2007 at 4:20 am
thanks for the helpful tips & also your recommendations for good books. fyi, i find yesasia cheaper than amazon jp.
coronita // June 22, 2007 at 4:47 pm
Thanks for posting this information. I learned some interesting things about two books I already have. Thank you so much for sharing this information. I am ordering ‘Girlstyle Wardrobe’…I can’t wait to get it. I order through YesAsia.com. They take PayPal and shipping is reasonable.
amanda // June 25, 2007 at 11:48 pm
YesAsia.com rules! I love their free shipping!!! If I must have a book *now*, I check my local Kinokuniya. Here in Seattle, they are located in Uwajimaya, a large Asian grocery store. Their prices are pretty reasonable - the selection of craft books has gotten a lot better over the past year or so. However when I went to Kinokuniya in Sydney, Australia, their prices were much more expensive than in the U.S. - I’ve heard that’s because of Australian import taxes on books. My Aussie friends order from either Amazon.co.jp or from YesAsia.
Willow // July 3, 2007 at 8:12 pm
I finally visited the bookstore attached to Mitsuwa Market outside of Chicago. If you want to flip through the books, visiting in person is great, but they didn’t have ANY of the girls books I wanted to find! Their conversion of yen to dollars to be on the fringes of acceptability (although I did buy them). I found some books I didn’t know about including a nice one from Ondori for boys (ISBN 4277722482) but the sewing clothes section was overwhelmed by beading/crochet/knit/lace books.
Donna // July 23, 2007 at 3:46 am
Thank you for the list! I have a number of those already, but have Favorite One-Piece Dresses and Basic for Girls on my Yesasia wishlist. Two books I own that you don’t have listed are ISBN 4579111362 fuuai o taisetsu ni kiru onnanoko no fuku –kind of antique looking dresses, hats, smocks and coats–and ISBN 4579107802 ho mu kuchiyu ru onnanoko no fuku, which has an assortment of dresses ranging from simple jumpers to party dresses.
Whitney // August 9, 2007 at 6:24 am
Thanks for the great list. I love these books. Now I know where to find them more reasonably!
alison // August 30, 2007 at 5:51 pm
so pleased I cam accross your blog. I’m in the uk and would like to get some of these books but could figure out how to. Thanks
karenlepage // September 3, 2007 at 4:26 am
I bought a bok and a magazine from chocolateswirl.com She has a nice selection of books and magazines, but the prices seem a little high compared to what you’re mentioning here. I paid just over $20 for a book called Koharu’s Clothes which I don’t see offered any longer, but it is *beautiful* for girls sizes 90-130. I will probably make everything in this book for net summer, since my little one is just 11 months old now. Thank you for the list of wonderful books and the link/advice to shop at yesasia and amazon.co.jp. My stepdaughter is in her 3rd year of Japanese in High School,a nd I speak sewing, so between us we can figure these patterns out :)
karenlepage // September 3, 2007 at 4:28 am
oops I see that the book is listed on your list and it’s koharu no fuku. I guess the $12 price would have been a much better deal for me! I stil think this gorgeous book is worth $20, though.
Girl About Asia // July 13, 2008 at 1:52 am
I just bought books too online and didn’t have any problems. They arrived just a couple of days later and are so beautiful and (famous last words) look so easy to use. I really recommend people ordering this way.
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