She wears the pants Easy sew-it-yourself fashion with an edgy urban style

Spare, angular lines define the designs in Takada's first how-to of ready-to-sew women's apparel. Her runway starts right away, with elegant color photographs of a striped top with epaulettes, sarouel trousers (a shorter version of harem pants), and unusual tippets (a combination of minivest and collar). What are most appealing are the directions. After the requisite list of materials, pattern pieces, and high-level step-by-steps, each step features illustrations showing exactly what to do. For example, create epaulettes and paste in place includes matching right sides, making buttonholes, sewing inside seam allowance all with pictures and a few well-chosen words. Although the title says easy and the instructions are unique and very well presented, the 20 pieces definitely require more than a novice's touch and know-how.--Jacobs, Barbara Copyright 2015 Booklist

This Japanese pattern book focuses on versatile, tomboy-ish silhouettes: baggy trousers, clean-lined dresses, and simple tops and jackets. The 20 patterns are fashion forward and likely to please anyone interested in unique, funky clothing. Recommended fabrics include cotton lawn, linen, stretch knits, corduroy, and tweed, and each pattern clearly spells out the required materials and notions. Though the size range is rather narrow-"35½" is the largest available bust size-many of the garments are baggy enough that they could fit a wider range of bodies. Instructions are minimal, and the pattern pieces, which must be traced from included sheets, do not include seam allowances, so the book is best suited to intermediate and advanced sewists. Verdict Recommended for collections where other Japanese sewing books circulate well.-Stephanie Klose, Library Journal © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.