Update: I’m still here!!

Hey everybody!

Thank you all so much for subscribing to my various social media things, like this blog and my YouTube channel! Seeing so much interest in what I do and what I want to teach is really encouraging, and I wanted to reach out and let you all know that I haven’t forgotten my mission or goals.

As of last year, things have been in flux a little bit. I teamed up with a local cosplay shop for a while before we decided to close the physical store. My entire studio was moved twice, and we had to learn how to pick up where we left off. Moving has made filming new tutorials difficult, but I do intend to continue to do this.

From October through February, I worked in a local sewing factory. I learned some amazing techniques regarding efficiency and speed, and using these tools, my business partner and I are developing limited edition items that we produce in bulk ourselves. We can now produce 20 units in our home studio, using the equipment and tools that we have at our disposal.

Currently, my scanning abilities have been limited, but I do still want to keep up with the requests I receive from all my wonderful subscribers. I ask for very little in return, however, as sharing the patterns I have in my library does take some time to provide. I have added a donation button to this blog, and you can give as little or as much as you see fit. Anything you can offer in exchange for the plethora of information and diagrams I provide here on this site would be absolutely appreciated, and I can be sure to continue sharing as much as I can.

New Stuff for Sale!

We have more Alice aprons in stock! As our first trial run of limited mass production, we went on to create 24 units of Alice aprons, 12 in white and 12 in black. They’re in black now, guys! ^^

We have a new brand called Alt Mode, tied to a new Storenvy page, and we will soon begin taking pre-orders for the aprons.

You can visit the new Storenvy page and pre-order now, actually!

New videos are planned to be out in late spring/summer. In the meantime, I’ll try to keep up with diagram requests as best as I can. The Mode a la Belle Etsy store is still open, and commission slots are available as well. So if you have something special in mind for your Lolita closet, let me know!

Mode a la Belle @Etsy

Thanks for your patience, everyone! ^^

Otome no Sewing–Book 12–Autumn/Winter

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otome no sewing

Here we have the latest edition of Otome no Sewing as of November 2017. They’re usually released twice a year, in May and November – which you may already be aware of. So let’s see what they have in this issue! We have a pretty obvious Alice in Wonderland theme going based on the cover. There have been many variants on an “Alice” dress, but this is the first we see paired with two other “character” Lolita dresses – Queen of Hearts, and the White Rabbit.

Alice in Wonderland

Queen of Hearts

The White Rabbit (Ouji/Dandy style)

Other Patterns Included

Tutorials for Accessories

As these books are sponsored by Clover in Japan, they often include highlights of Clover products like Yoyo Makers or flower makers. This time, they’ve included a tool or form to create luck knots.

In Japanese it’s called “mizuhiki” – 水引

In Chinese it’s called “Zhōngguó jié” – 中国结

There are plenty of tutorials online that can show you how to do this knotting technique without the Clover product. But I imagine the forms they sell make them easier to do for beginners.

Suggested Materials

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Also a common thing you see in these books are ads for various new collections or pieces from popular Lolita brands in Japan. This time they featured PhysicalDrop. They have numbers next to the models as if to indicate that there is a pattern in the book somewhere for something. I hunted through the book back and front and could not find any patterns numbered 25, 26, or 27. Not sure why they’re numbered.

A-Line Skirt Project–Help me choose fabric!

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pattern drafting, Skirt, video tutorial

What it says. Skip to 4:40 if you want to just get to the fabric part, instead of listen to me talk about more “useful tips”. 😛 ^.^

Eternita–Fall/Winter–Grown Up Alice in Wonderland Magazine

When I found this, it had already been out for half a year. After discovering that Gothic & Lolita Bible would no longer be printed, I went on a hunt to find new Lolita Fashion magazine. There are a handful; Alice a la Mode being one of them, which I think has only released four issues, the last being Spring 2010. I have Spring 2009, and will hopefully get around to scanning that one soon.

In addition to that, the newest released magazine (of which there is only one issue so far) is called Miel. Also from Japan. Unlike Alice and Eternita, however, Miel does not seem to come with patterns the way GLB did. It’s still a beautiful and high quality publication, however. I like to purchase such things anyway to keep an archive of styles and designs.

Eternita

So from my research, this magazine/book seems to be aimed at the more mature Lolita fashionista. The models inside are all in their late 20s, 30s, and sometimes 40s. The styles within are suggested for a mature lady. Frankly, I think this is a fabulous idea, being of an older generation myself (in relation to the Lolita community, anyway).

I scanned some of the first pages for you to peruse, as well as the included patterns (not the actual pattern sheet), so that I could add them to the archive here. I always loved the format of Japanese Lolita magazines. Deep in my heart, I wish such a thing might be started in the western world of Lolita as well.

For now, enjoy these scans of Eternita.

Patterns Included

Unlike some GLB issues, this book doesn’t come with an OP, JSK, or even a skirt. Instead, they included mostly accessories like totes, a pillow, notebook cover, sleep mask, detachable collar, hats, hair bows and wrist cuffs.

I did appreciate the jewelry tutorials, though. It’s nice to find tutorials for jewelry that are more than just stringing a bunch of beads together. This issue also includes advertisement and an article showcasing jewelry designer Michal Negrin (I have two of his pieces). I just love that aesthetic. You should definitely check it out if you’ve never heard of him before!

BJD Highlight

Street / Event Snaps

Video – Commission Journal #1

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Commissions

I’m trying to do more videos and get in the habit. Also, I figured I could share my sewing progress of projects I get to do for clients. Because why not?

For this commission, I was requested to make the same Wizard of Oz OP – with basically the same color scheme – except for a much taller client. She also ordered the Magical Heart Apron to go over it. When she got it in the mail, it fit her perfectly! I was so pleased.

Otome no Sewing–Book 12–Autumn/Winter

Tags

otome no sewing

Here we have the latest edition of Otome no Sewing as of November 2017. They’re usually released twice a year, in May and November – which you may already be aware of. So let’s see what they have in this issue! We have a pretty obvious Alice in Wonderland theme going based on the cover. There have been many variants on an “Alice” dress, but this is the first we see paired with two other “character” Lolita dresses – Queen of Hearts, and the White Rabbit.

Alice in Wonderland

Queen of Hearts

The White Rabbit (Ouji/Dandy style)

Other Patterns Included

Tutorials for Accessories

As these books are sponsored by Clover in Japan, they often include highlights of Clover products like Yoyo Makers or flower makers. This time, they’ve included a tool or form to create luck knots.

In Japanese it’s called “mizuhiki” – 水引

In Chinese it’s called “Zhōngguó jié” – 中国结

There are plenty of tutorials online that can show you how to do this knotting technique without the Clover product. But I imagine the forms they sell make them easier to do for beginners.

Suggested Materials

Advertisements

Also a common thing you see in these books are ads for various new collections or pieces from popular Lolita brands in Japan. This time they featured PhysicalDrop. They have numbers next to the models as if to indicate that there is a pattern in the book somewhere for something. I hunted through the book back and front and could not find any patterns numbered 25, 26, or 27. Not sure why they’re numbered.

Let’s Lolita Sewing #1–A-Line Skirt–Pattern Drafting

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video tutorial

Follow along with our first project from the Otome no Sewing pattern book 10. Print out the diagrams, get your paper ironed, and your tools ready. We’re drafting the A-Line skirt on Page 6.

Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions! Suggestions for how to make these videos better for all of you are also welcome!

Let’s Lolita Sewing–Tools

Tags

otome no sewing, tutorial, video

I made another thing! Just going over some of the tools and supplies you might need if you want to try pattern drafting from Otome no Sewing. Working on the first project video, and it might take some time. Always interested in requests for which projects you’d like to see being made.

Making of a Dress–Timelapse Video

I uploaded a short timelapse of my process from start to finish, using Otome no Sewing Book 9’s Dorothy of Oz design. If you would like to see more videos like these, please let me know. I would also be happy to answer any questions!

Otome no Sewing–Book 11

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otome no sewing

Catalog of patterns and tutorials

Thumbelina

A Little Princess

Blouse pattern

Soda Fountain Waitress Uniform

Another Akio Namiki Collaboration. These are actually perfect for maid cafe uniforms. Or maybe that’s what it is to begin with. But they initially reminded me of soda fountains from the 50s with those colors.

Lolita Wedding Dress

I have to admit, I’m pleased that they included what they think of as a wedding dress – but I’m not terribly impressed by it. Without having made it myself, all I can tell from the pictures is that it doesn’t look very flattering at all. And probably won’t be without serious modification. Then again, all these patterns are meant to be for girls who just sew the basics, and don’t necessarily have all the nifty tools and machines that allow for higher quality details or embellishments.

Additional Patterns

PhysicalDrop Collection ad

Tutorials

Round boxes

The list of materials (for #45, but you get the idea for #44 too) for the following tutorial are

• Kent Paper (1 piece, A1 size)
• Cardboard, gray (2 pieces, A1)3
• Fabric for A (110cm x 30cm)
• Fabric for B (110cm x 80cm)
• Eyelets (4 pairs, .5cm inner diameter)
• Ribbon (3.6cm wide, 2m40cm long)

Now, I have no idea what Kent paper is, and trying to find out online only yielded Japanese websites that sell it. It might be a safe bet that it’s similar weight to something like Bristol paper, or maybe even cardstock. As for Cardboard, I might recommend a lightweight chipboard for the body of the box itself.

Heart shape applique maker

Here’s Clover brand, trying once again to sell you something that you don’t really need. Like this template for making heart shaped . . . essentially yoyos. Oh, they ARE yoyos. Here’s a video using these exact templates. 

Personally, I don’t see why anyone would need to spend money on templates, when you could just use that same money to buy a half a yard of medium weight interfacing (if you wanted to make the yoyos stiffened) and just make them the old fashioned way. But that’s me, and I’m weird, I guess. Also, maybe because these are shaped like hearts, it would be easier to make the shape with a set template like this.

List of supplies

I haven’t usually included these pages with my scans, because they tend to be the same general thing every time, and I usually take them as very loose “suggestions”. I don’t make the exactly thing in any of these books, and always tweak my final designs by using different trims and sometimes different closures. Sometimes, I’ll even go the extra mile and make my dresses lined. But I thought this time it might be useful anyway. When I get around to making a video, I’ll go over the tools I use for my projects. Essentially, they are the same as these:

Overview of how to draft the patterns using the diagrams included with each garment to make. Again, this is something I’ll go over in a video soon.

Because I love you, that’s why . . .

Bonnet Pattern & Instructions

Thumbelina’s Blouse – Pattern & instructions

Petticoat Pattern & Instructions

Looking at this pattern myself, it seems to be one of the better versions I’ve seen out there. It’s a four layer petticoat, which I would make out of organza (NOT Tulle!). They’ve always included little quickie instructions on different length petticoats to make, but again – I like this one the best.

And there you have it! This is just a general overview of the Otome no Sewing Book 11, so if you have questions or need detailed instructions on certain projects, feel free to contact me. Here’s hoping they’re working on book 12!