If you’re a professional or an amateur pattern cutter fan, you probably already know Tomoko Nakamichi’s first two books.
Japanese pattern making volumes Pattern Magic 1 and Pattern Magic 2 quickly became cult books among many fashion fans (I’m still grateful to those friends who, perfectly interpreting my tastes and my obsessions, got me the first one a while back), as, moving from inspirations such as nature and geometry, they suggest ideas to create very interesting designs with an almost architectural edge.
One of the best things about these books is that the instructions and diagrams featured are easy to understand and follow also by amateurs with very little experience.
Nakamichi, who worked as professor at Bunka Fashion College and currently delivers lectures and holds courses on design making both in Japan and overseas, published last year a third volume, that has just been translated into English, Pattern Magic 3 - Stretch Fabrics (Laurence King).
The volume does exactly what it says on the cover, mainly working with stretch and jersey fabrics and showing how they can be twisted and turned to create unexpected effects.
If you think that stretch fabrics are not for you since you prefer more rigid and architectural shapes, well, you will probably change your mind after leafing through this book.
Indeed Nakamichi manages to employ these fabrics in innovative and original ways using their qualities and properties to create quite sculptural designs (check out for example the “Straight lines and curves” pattern for the design on the book cover or the variations of the “Sharp and Snappy” pattern).
The author also tried some avant-garde shapes with an asymmetrical tops called “Wear It Wrong”, though the easiest and most versatile design is the one described in the “Magic is in the wearing” chapter. This design looks like a long strip of fabric, but can be reconfigured into different shapes, offering the wearer the chance to create a series of useful and practical tops from just one convertible piece. The book is accompanied by a basic paper pattern block/sloper.
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
Mine is on order - I can't wait! I love the first two, with the exception of the creepy dolls ...
Posted by: Helen Carter | March 21, 2012 at 01:05 AM