Nani Iro Work Shirt Pattern Review

In this post, I’m sharing my Nani Iro Work Shirt / dress pattern review and my finished project, along with Nani Iro Sewing Studio book review.

Nani Iro Sewing Studio book review

If you are interested in Japanese fabric, you must have heard about Nani Iro. I, in fact, have purchased a few of her fabrics in double gauze. So when I saw Nani Iro has a couple sewing books, I knew I needed to check them out. 

I found a copy of the Nani Iro Sewing Studio book from my local library, the full name is “The Nani Iro Sewing Studio: 18 Timeless Patterns to Sew, Wear & Love”.

The book includes 18 garment sewing projects and instructions, as the book name indicated. You can make patterns of tops, dresses, pants, skirts, pretty comprehensive pieces to form a mini wardrobe from this book. 

The style of those garments are very “Japanese”. They are loose fitting, casual, boxy, and look extremely comfortable to wear. But don’t get scared the boxy silhouette, you can easily add a belt or style it with other more fitted pieces for a less casual look.

Each project is accompanied by step by step instructions, diagrams. All the projects in this book are made in Nani Iro fabrics, which I love because they make a perfect combo. 

This book contains a few pattern sheets that you can use to trace and make your own copy of their patterns. I traced it on my plain pattern paper roll. One thing to keep in mind, which is applicable to almost all Japanese sewing books, is that the patterns are overlapped with each other. So it takes some time and patience to trace the pattern pieces of your project. 

The pattern sheet includes 2 sizes, S and M. Because the garment is so loose-fitting, I just went with the small, plus I believe just the S size will work for a wide range of body shapes. 

My Nani Iro Work Shirt project

After poring through the book, I was inspired to create my own projects, and that is the Work Dress.

It is a long dress with sleeves, perfect for North California weather. 

However, this project requires 4 meters of fabric! I usually buy fabrics in 1.5 yards to 2 yards, so I quickly gave up this idea, and turned my head to the Work Shirt, the long sleeved version.

The Work Shirt use the same pattern as Work Dress, the only difference is Work dress is longer, and includes pockets and belt.

The instruction was pretty clear, although less detailed compared to patterns I purchased in the US. Given I have quite a few Japanese sewing books, I can say this is very common for Japanese sewing books. The text is minimal, but there are diagrams for each step to help you out. 

For beginner sewists, I wouldn’t recommend Japanese garment sewing books as a starter project. For intermediate sewists with garment sewing experience, the instruction and level of details is perfectly fine to create your favorite project from this book.

Here are a few work in progress photo of my Nani Iro Work Shirt project.

This is before attaching buttons and buttonholes, and before the sleeves as well.

There are two versions of Nani Iro’s Work shirt or dress. Both short and long sleeved versions use the same bodice pattern. For short sleeve version, instead of attaching the sleeve pieces, you would just finish the side seam until reaching the marked notch for arm holes.

I prefer the long sleeve version because it adds more fitting to this garment. I always love the combination of flowy and fitted details in one garment.

Nani Iro Work Shirt finished project

Fabric: 

Although I have a couple Nano Iro double gauze fabrics on hand and thought it would be cool to sew Nani Iro’s pattern with her fabrics, I just don’t think my fabric was particularly suitable for this project. 

Instead I chose another double gauze I purchased from Japan, with light pink stripes and large polka dots. All the patterns are yarn weaved, and the opposite side is in the same pattern, just with switched colors.

Modification:

For patterns I make for the first time, I usually follow the instructions to a T. This gives me a good opportunity to understand the designer’s thought process, and learn new methods of garment sewing that I wasn’t familiar with.

The only exception here is I omitted the tab that is on the bottom of the shirt placket. In fact, I already made the tab, and was going to sew the buttonhole on the tab. Then I started to wonder what the buttonhole was for. 

I flipped around the pages, and realized the tab was for decoration only without actual ways to use it. So I decided to skip it since I’m not crazy about the tab. I personally like how the button placket  turned out without the tab.

The finished top is practical, boxy, comfortable and oozes with timeless style. It can be dressed up or down, making it a versatile piece for my wardrobe. The fabric is soft and lightweight. I can wear it in the summer or layer it with other clothes in the fall or winter. 

Here’s what it looks like on myself:

Below is what the back looks like. I did the high/low hem so the back is longer than the front.

Because it is quite boxy, this Nani Iro work shirt can be quite flowy when you are on the move! I would imagine their work dress pattern to be more flowy due to the added length.

I absolutely love the finished garment, and would love to make it again. If I’m making it again, there are a few things I want to try: I might enlarge the neckline because I prefer a larger neckline than a crew neckline, and I will for sure make the dress version.

That’s a wrap for my Nani Iro Sewing Studio book review and Work Shirt/Dress pattern review. Hope you enjoy following it along!

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