Courtesy of the generosity of Laurence King Publishing, we are sponsoring a bonanza giveaway. Yay Laurence King! For your enjoyment, they will be giving away copies of all five Bunka College books that they have translated into English to one lucky winner. The titles are:
Drape Drape
Drape Drape 2
Pattern Magic
Pattern Magic 2
Pattern Magic: Stretch Fabrics
Laurence King has also generously offered to ship directly and being that they are international, this giveaway is not limited to residents of the U.S..
The publisher would also like you to know that Drape Drape 3, Stylish Dress Book, and Feminine Wardrobe will also become available in English in Spring 2013 —but I’ll tell you more about those as more information becomes available.
My question for you is, since this is such a grand giveaway, what sort of challenge should we ask of contestants who want to enter the contest?
Speaking of challenges, at right you’ll see a photo of a pant rendered from the “Apple Peel” pattern in Pattern Magic: Stretch Fabrics (pg. 56).
you can pre-order drape drape 3 on amazon! woot woot! I love all of these books! I’m trying to wrack my brain for a contest idea that matches this giveaway, and I’m kind of stumped as well… hmmm
The continuous piece of fabric challenge was one that had me sweating in college. It’s easy to make something that only has one piece much hard to not make it look like a**
Wow that is a humdinger of a giveaway!! How about contestants write a haiku with sewing as the theme? (I of course have no idea as to whether this is possible as I know nothing about poetry but at least it is in keeping with the Japanese theme!).
Synchronicity! I saw pants like those this afternoon with drapes at calf level and was wondering how to replicate the effect–although I’d swear that the pants I saw were done in a gauzy non-stretch fabric, I suppose the same principles apply.
If this were a giveaway for sewing enthusiasts, I’d raise the bar above my own head and ask for people to show how they modified one such pattern for a particular fitting issue. Posts like that, willing to teach the sisters of similar shape, ought to be enshrined. It does presuppose some familiarity with one of the books, but again, if this was an enthusiasts’ giveaway the used book could then become a giveaway in its own right.
Hey, do I recognize those legs?
A: don’t know but they aren’t mine.
I’m warming to the haiku idea, we do those at least once a year on FI.
Design a hospital gown that meets medical access, and still allows comfort, and modesty to the patient.
How about other book topics you’d like Laurence King Publishing to tackle?
Oh, this was great fun to figure out (yeah, I know it isn’t the challenge).
Ellen, I’ve suggested they translate the Japanese version of the Vionnet book so we’ll see.
Carol (and anyone interested): see the screen grab of the actual pattern.
Mary Allen, I like your idea. This is fun
re: actual pattern –
Yeah, I had a staircase thought about leaving the outseam and extending it, but didn’t consider going that far into an arc. Obviously taking advantage of a stretchy fabric with a lot of drape.
Cool!
It looks like an apple peel. Though I’m very type A when it comes to peeling my apple and like to have a complete spiral.
Are you giving all five books to the same person? You aren’t going to do a book a day?
I’m sorry, I should have made this clearer. The publisher requested that all books will go to one person.
Well, now I’m just puzzled, the pants I saw had no seam in the midst of the ripples and that seems necessary for the ‘apple peel’ cowls. Back to plan A and running a seam across the knees and tucking some excess fabric into the lower leg that way. If there wasn’t a seam back there (and I couldn’t see the backs of the knees, the tunics were too long), then either Carol Kimball’s sketch is correct or I just fell in love with the drag lines upon ill-cut pants. :/
You can see what I believe to be the seam better on the left leg. Start 3 tucks/scoops/peels up from the ankle then follow the line. I assume that to be the seam especially taking in consideration that the pattern indicates that their *should* be one. Who knows it could be pattern magic at work.
I made the pattern in the photo. I sewed it too. I linked to a screen cap of the pattern from my program above. There is no need for conjecture. Two front pieces, two backs, side seams, inseams, cf and cb, no tucks cowling or anything else sewn into place.
Elegant! Also avoids a lot of bulk at the inner leg.
I love these (even when I’m on the wrong track) – more, please!
I love the haiku idea too.. Are we going with the Englishized more-syllables version?
And see this http://www.fehrtrade.com/gallery/609/pattern-magic-apple-peel-leggings for a more sedate version of the pants..
It’s a pity it’s a stretch pattern I could imagine you could get a really nice fade pattern on a raw denim.
Ay… had I known this was coming, I would’ve waited before purchase!
I’m DYING to see the Bunka College’s Vionnet translated; I too emailed L.K. reception early last year if they’d translate Vionnet and couple other Bunka books I liked (can’t remember what), and they said they’ll look into it; with their continuous Bunka books projects, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were on it – just a matter of priority. If it happens, with the revival of Vionnet’s fame along the inspired brand after her name, I’m sure it’ll be a hit.
I love L.K. versions, as they showed decent translation qualities so far. (I seriously planned to get all THREE language versions – original, English, Korean – of these, before I looked at my bank account.) I sincerely appreciate their publishing efforts.
Off to Amazon now.
I like Quincunx’ approach. Such a great giveaway should go to someone very motivated.
How about a Tyler Cowen problem? “Pick your own question and answer it. More points for harder questions and better answers.”
I think that it should be a draping-related challenge. Maybe something you’ve draped in a difficult or unusual fabric.
Something that has a cool story that would relate to the use of the books would be neat!
There were two pairs of pants under discussion–these ‘apple peel’ pants with ripples (or cowls) (or whatever) all the way down the leg and a seam at the fullest point of the ripples, and the pair mentioned in comments that was only rippled on the lower leg and unseamed.
Supermarket fruit
Never shed a peel so thin,
so fluid as this.