Japanese Pattern Help

A couple of months back, Makewrite posted a Japanese craft word search table for help with finding Japanese craft and zakka sites. So, I thought it might be helpful to post some commonly found words on the pattern pieces found inside the books. Japanese craft books usually have enough photographs and illustrations that even if you don't read a word of Japanese you can often figure it out, but knowing which pattern piece is a head versus a body, etc., before you start might save some precious time and fabric.

This is off the top of my head and mostly applies to stuffed animals, but I did include common sewing terms and other words used in crafting. If people find it helpful, I'll post another list for commonly found words in bag making or sewing.

Download japanese_pattern_help_2007.pdf (revised)

Comments

[stephanie]

oohhh my! this is going to come in very handy seeing as i just purchased my first set of japanese crafting books! i have about 6 books on their way to me right now and i am a little nervous about being able to follow directions! I would definately like some help with the bag and sewing words if you have time! thanks soooo much for sharing this! i just love the crafty blogoshpere...eveyone is sooo sweet and giving!
loves!!

[stacey]

Hi! Thank you so much for this! I need all the help I can get with all the japanese books I have. Thank you so much for the lovely comments on my blog.

[Gina L]

Thanks,
My sisters, now ex-boyfriend is in college learning japanese. I was going to have him translate a few thing for me, but as you read, he is no longer her boyfriend. So thanks for the help on my new love of japanese craft books.

[jenn]

how wonderful! this is interesting on its own...even if it didn't help me figure out those patterns! thank you for sharing this!!

[Marie]

Oh yay! This is helpful! I can read most of the Kanji characters but when it comes to the Japanese characters, I'm completely at a loss. Thanks so much! A bag making/sewing one would be great! I'm eagerly awaiting new books on both right now.

[Rose]

Thanks, Myra! Heather: http://making.nearlythere.com/ is living in Japan and learning Japanese, and she's started a Flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/ just for things like this.

[abbyjane]

Thank you! What a treat. I will tape it inside my favorite book. How fun to learn some characters while crafting!

[susanne]

ohhhh, this is good, i need all the help i can get! so sorry i'm not much help--i goofed off in japanese school/high school so i learned almost nothing. a bag/sewing translation would be super!

[Amanda]

Thanks Myra! This is so helpful! And so much easier than my usual method, which is a somewhat random process of elimination.

[DinDin]

Thank you so much for sharing these helpful info!! >:)

[Em]

Thank you for this. I look longingly at the Japanese crafting books at Kinokuniya (in SF)but can't read them. Maybe I'll finally buy one now :-)

[Luckybeans]

Wonderful. Thanks so much!

[yucaree]

myra, what a great idea! and that was so generous of you to do that for everyone.

i'm always incredibly amazed at how non-japanese-reading folk manage to make flawless projects from the japanese craft books. i read japanese and i still can't figure out what the instructions are trying to get me to do! i guess that's the difference between a real crafter and a dabbler. :)

let me know if you need help with a bag making translation sheet.

[Barb]

Aah, very handy! Thank you very much:)

[vanessa]

how wonderfully kind of you!

[carolyn]

how about helpful words for knitting. i have a couple patterns i might need your input on!!!

[chris]

Oh my goodness! This is wonderful!! I've downloaded it and saved it to my desktop- I know it'll come in handy. The DH can read Japanese, but he gets all weird and petulant when I ask him to translate crafty Japanese stuff. *sticking tongue* Now I don't need his "help" anymore, thankyouverymuch! ;-) Thank you for such a fantastic resource! I may be sending a few Japanese knitting patterns your way for translation, hehe! Take care and have a fantastic weekend, Myra! :-)

[Julie]

This is so great! Thanks so much for sharing with us!!

[Cassi]

Thank you so so much!! This will be a great help :D

[heather]

Excellent resource! Thanks for this. I'm learning all this at the moment too. It's funny because alot of *japanese* people don't know all these terms(!)

Crafty McGee mentioned the Flickr group- where you can post images from Japanese craft books, and ask questions about pattern problems.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/crafting-in-japanese/

I hope we can attract Japanese speaking crafters who might like to help out! Otherwise, I will relay questions to my language exchange partners.

Please post any Q's you might have.

[joyce]

this is great myra! thanks!

[Blair]

Thank you so much for this, wow!

[Jennifer Perkins]

You are so sweet and so smart for this! My friend Ginger just got a bunch of these books and they looked a wee bit tricky to figure out.

[laurie]

*gasp* you're an angel. :)

[lyn]

Thank you, how kind. This will be very useful : )
xxx