Cucito Top for Adithi

First project after relocating to Malaysia. phew, such  a relief, YES i am back to sewing, where i Belong!

Cucito Pattern top . Refer to my post on figuring the Japanese terms in the pattern.

I thought the sewing part will be easy, but the Japanese term again played havoc , as the pattern had gatherings and i was not able to decipher how to reduce by gatherings. I had to to do trial and error and join front and back bodice to sleeves and then place the yoke part on top of them to figure out if it fits.

The only change i made from the pattern with regards sewing is the finishing of the sleeves, since i ran out of bias tape , i opted to add knicker elastic about 1 inch above sleeve hem and i have to say, i like this sleeves a lot than the original style suggestion in the pattern!

The normal time taken by me when sewing self drafted patterns was lot quicker. surprising , considering the fact that i used ready-made bias strips and thought it would less time as i would not have to prepare them. But these grosgrain satin bias strips were difficult to work with initially, may be with time i will get used to it.

Yoke Details

Did she like it? She said yes, in spite of her current state of mind (read below to know more about why she is upset) and added saying "it is kind of bit loose amma", for which i replied "it is the style of the top, loose fitting from the yoke as well as sleeves and showed her the finished outfit snap from the Cutico Magazine as proof.

Not sure how much time i will be able to dedicate to sewing , which is quite upsetting. As things at home is bit disturbing, as Adithi is depressed and has not taken to the relocation well.

Coming to why Adithi is on a low these days, here are the details which might seem as not so big ones to some, but trust me , it has been a big hardship for our entire family and affects our normal day to day life. what can i do to help the little one... any suggestions are most welcome.

She is having lots of problems in her new school and is finding it difficult to adjust. She has problems with non-subject classes, of art, dance and taekwondo and is saying she does not like them and hence does not want to go to those classes.

 She had studied in a Montessori school in Chennai and is used the freedom and independence given over there, wherein she can chose what work (each learning is called as work in their environment) she wants to do in  day and there was no timetable. Teachers did not change every hour . Separate table and chair concept is also new to her, she is used to sitting down in mat and on low rise chowkis in her earlier school. It is 180 degree change and she is finding it hard to digest.

She did not sleep peacefully all night and kept saying , i don't want to do art, dance and taekwando and if possible go back to chennai to the earlier school. She did not eat dinner and when vomited her milk in the morning , may be due to acidity because of long hours of gap between meals, and request to skip school ,saying she is not feeling well and wants to rest. After much persuasion she had late lunch today and is feeling at ease that school hours are gone and she did not have to attend school. one problem is leading to another and it is all overwhelming. have an appointment with doctor today , again that was a big deal finding a doc in the new place, everything seems an ardous process, morale is low and am feeling helpless to see my darling so depressed. please pray for her and hope things improve.

Will try to squeeze in as much sewing as time would permit , as it is my only solace during these troubled times. It's Adithi's b'day next monday and it will be the first time that i have not made her a ballgown for her b'day. Feeling bad about it, but can't help it. As i am typing this long post, i am struggling to come to terms with a headache which caught me since yesterday night, yes the migraine is back with a vengence. Please pray for our family.
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Japanese Pattern Books !

I have always self drafted the patterns for the outfits i have made so far, well actually apart from budrastyle book dress pattern, to which I had contributed a variation, I never got a chance to use ready made pattern.

Since I had no access to ready made patterns back in India, took up a pattern drafting course for 6 months, when my daughter was 2 yrs old. and from there on, there was no looking back.

Though i could draft any pattern that i wanted to knock off (mostly!) the lure of ready made patterns was always there, deep inside, unsatisfied ...

During a visit to the mall this weekend here in KL,  chanced upon ''Cucito'' a Japanese sewing magazine which specializes in Kids patterns, i was overwhelmed!

For the past 3 hours, i tried understanding the pattern and in the end have finished tracing the pattern for a top, hope the size that i chose is right. Though the pattern is simple and i can draft using the basic bodice i have for Adithi, wanted to try out this ready to use pattern because, i wanted to see if the sizing fits, hmm plan to launch kids clothing in full swing as ready to order ones, hence sizing is on the top of my mind, these days...

This link was quite useful in deciphering the symbols used in the pattern / book and is indeed a life safer for all those sewistas who are getting started on Japanese sewing books.

I need to make up mind regarding which fabric to use and get started on this top by tomorrow. Will keep you all posted soon ...

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Sewing supplies shopping in KL

After 40+ days i finally managed to make time to go out shopping for sewing supplies. Though i wanted to do this, ever since I landed in KL, i somehow couldn't manage as we were setting up our home, Adithi's shifting to new school , teething problems everywhere ! Atlast it was time for Sewing Shopping. I had brought in few fabrics from back home, but alas i forgot to get the lining fabrics and which surprisingly i am not able to find here, the pure cotton lining which i use for Adithi's dresses.

Hmm managed to find cotton blend lining (not quite happy with it, but something is better than nothing) and hope to finish her Pattu Paavadai on time before Deepavali which is just another fortnight away!

And and ..before that i need to sew up a pretty dress for my little princess on her b'day which is just a week away! So since i was short on time,  did some online shopping for fabric with pretty prints, hope they arrive in a day or two.


For the sewing supplies i first went to A. SingMuiHeng near Pudu Plaza but it was closed for Bakrid on Friday... and they are open only for half a day on Saturday, which meant the shopping at SingMuiHeng has to wait ...

So we tried Craft Word (Yee Button House) in SS2/55 PJ. Friendly staff, bit pricey but nice collection of fabrics, i bought these fabrics over there and also few notions like loop turner and elastic thread, along with some polyfill

Since they did not have 14 inches zipper, i decided to try out the Habdeshery shop in Jalan Masjid India, Syriakat Bunga Reben, in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. It was my happiest day in KL so far, my goodness so much of sewing goodness in one place, an evening's shopping wasn't enough, i will surely come back for more, friendly staff, though they couldn't speak English and i don't abc of Bahasa, we managed to converse and they helped me get right stuff. I really really love that place. Got so much in one go from just the first floor, i am yet to explore the laces / ribbon / decorative section in ground floor, value for money prices, only one thing was left out, rotary cutter, they had local brand called Senorita (made in taiwan) , but i did not want to take chances and wanted to get either Olfa / True grip , as of now i can make do with my normal tailor scissors.



I found colored velcro, which i can only dream of back home. All possible sewing foot , zippers (normal and concealed in various lengths), even the open ended ones in plastic , felt fabrics, fancy buttons, bias tapes (they are also a rarity back home, atleast i have never seen them) and the list goes on...

I have to explore the textile haven in Jalan Masjid India and will go back soon for sure , after finishing b'day and deepavali sewing. may be i need to go before deepavali to get some festive discounts, deepavali is so big here in KL, i am surprised at times feel like the festive fervour is more than what it is back home!

Talking about back home i do miss my days there especially with regards to Adithi's school, which is just too good and is hard to replace. You win some you lose some , i guess... she is getting a lifetime experience here with mixed culture, new places, new people and hopefully will enrich her enought to evolve as a person...fingers crossed.

Ooops i also got Cucito (Japanese Sewing magazine) from a mall yesterday and i am googling ways to figure out how to read the book and understand patterns...seems quite interesting and challenging...will keep you all posted.

Sorry for this short sabbatical, but now that i am back, i promise to post regularly atleast twice a week to start with and then hopefully pump up the intensity and get back to sewing with vengence for lost out time ! ;)

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