It's time for another edition of the Cover Designs series!
In this series, I try to match up the lovely dresses on the covers of books with sewing patterns so you can make your own version of your favourite cover design.
Here is a book that I've recommended more than once over the last few years. It's really two stories, "Kitchen" and "Moonlight Shadow", although Kitchen is both the longer and more memorable one.
They both feature young women who are dealing with love, sexuality, identity...and kitchens. They are quirky and thoughtful, and I've read Kitchen a number of times since I first encountered it. The melding of Japanese and Western sensibilities in these stories make them very accessible to English readers, and the numerous mentions of noodles and tea in Kitchen may make you hungry while reading -- fair warning!
I love this cover, and have always thought it was a great balance of colour and adorable outfit.
To replicate this casual summer dress, you could pick up a suitable-for-beginners easy pattern, the Staple Dress by April Rhodes. This is a downloadable pdf pattern by an Indie designer which has been really popular in the sewing world.
This dress has a short sleeve, a loose skirt, and the option to make an elastic waist. It also has options for a level or a high-lo hem. The example below is very like our Banana Yoshimoto cover dress; if it had the even hem it would look even more alike. This could be worn over a white slip, or the skirt could be accented with ribbon, if you wanted a result even more like the inspiration.
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| (Photo from April-Rhodes.com, Staple Dress pattern) |
If you look at the pattern page for the Staple Dress, you'll see that she's even styled it with boots, like our cover design. This is a super-adaptable dress that could be made Japanese style, easily!
To really reflect the cover of Kitchen, though, you might want to add some accessories.
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| Throw on this vegan satchel from Lulu & you're ready to go! |
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| Or perhaps you would prefer a colour matched shoe... |
Great post, Melwyck! I've read Kitchen and agree with your assessment of it. I must admit that I never spent much time looking at the dress on the cover--until now. The Staple dress, plus accessories, is sure to be a hit with many!
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