Today I am posting about 2 new sewing projects I made from Misako Aoki’s sewing book volume 1 (reviewed here), a pair of hairbows and a beret! I actually made a ruffle heart purse from Daiso fabric already from this book but I can’t find the post, not sure what happened, maybe I only posted on social media. Anyway, let’s review these two patterns!
First off, two simple hairbows (page 32). I chose a purple Japanese traditional print cotton fabric from the Daiso craft sections, which I also had used to make a scrunchie and a mini-lanyard earlier, so I just had small scraps left, perfectly sized for small hairbows. Misako often wears pigtails or two braids, so these would clip at the base of the pigtails or tucked at the end of the braids, but I suppose you can clip them on your hair if you have a symmetrical hairstyle like a bob. What’s unique about these hairbows that are otherwise very easy is the little obi twist to the center and also the lace overlay you can add.
The purple print fabric already features flower motifs, so the white mesh lace with scattered daisy flower patterns was a flawless complementary touch, maybe almost too flawless, it looks like part of the fabric from a distance lol. Because the fabric has a small print, it’s kind of hard to see the twist on the center of the bow, but basically you fold a piece of fabric and then twist it diagonally as you wrap it around the center of the bow fabrics. The raw edge/back of the band does become visible, so a bit of fray check or clear nail polish would help with fraying. Again, super easy but looks amazing with a geometric print or any kimono Japanese print, or solid colors paired with a modern lace overlay. I just slid random flat hairclips through the center band since I didn’t have the preferred kind of small clips on hand and I don’t like using the wire combs (which were used in the book).
Next is a fabric beret to match a dress (on page 20)! I chose leftover Ikea curtain scraps from my Ikea curtain dress, I believe it’s (very wrinkly) cotton. Then I decided to challenge myself and use a mesh dot black fabric to add a polka dot pattern overlay to match the dots on the dress. I used beige poly-cotton blend fabric as the lining, and a brown satin ribbon from Daiso as the inner band and interfacing from Joann’s. This is another very easy pattern to follow, probably don’t even need a translator if you don’t know Japanese. But now you can make berets to match all of your outfits especially if berets are your preferred hair accessory (you have short hair, or don’t like to spend time curling your hair, or your hair doesn’t go into braids easily.)
Look how adorable this beret is, I love it! Be aware, I added a half inch seam allowance to all pieces of the hat itself and the beret is almost too loose on my big skull, although it would fit perfectly over a wavy or curly wig. I did not add seam allowance to the bow and it’s like a half centimeter shorter than I expected but still very cute. What was challenging was the mesh overlay, I ended up basting the overlay onto the two pieces on all edges and trimmed the overhang after ironing interfacing on and sewing the pieces together. Also I’m not sure how I feel about the one inch satin ribbon inner band, I tacked a few points onto the lining to keep it from flipping out, but it looks a little awkward. If I had used a 3/4 inch grosgrain ribbon it would have helped the beret stay on my straight hair better and feel less awkward maybe, but I didn’t have any in my stash. The bow was made from the curtain scraps and just safety-pinned on for now. I will post a coord with the beret and dress together this weekend!
I’m very glad I gave these accessories a try, they were super easy, probably just 10 minutes for the bows and an hour for the beret most of which was basting and piecing together the lining and interfacing from scraps, but unique enough to put in the effort. What shall I make next?