Today’s nani IRO feast for your eyes is brought to you by one of my favourite people and dear friend, Angela!

Angela and I got to know each other while she was living in Tokyo. Our paths crossed a few times at Etsy events and before long we were great friends with a shared love of cafes, coffee, parfait, making stuff, parfait, fabric, and parfait. We also bonded over our tendency to cry in public, something you don’t often see in Japan but something we did a lot! When you’re in the presence of a kindred spirit sometimes you relax and exhale and the tears just come, don’t they. We wrote Tokyo Craft Guide together too which was a lot of fun.

If you follow Angela’s blog or her Miss Matatabi Makers posts you’ll know that she makes gorgeous clothes for herself but that’s not all, friends. She also does beautiful sashiko needlework and sells sashiko embroidery PDF patterns in her shop. She knits, bakes pies, and rumour has it she is currently sewing a kimono for a cat She is wonderful and I miss her.

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This was written by Angela from Sake Puppets for nani IRO month and the Miss Matatabi Makers series.

Hello friends!

For nani IRO month my mission was clear: use that beautiful double gauze for a new summer wardrobe! Sometimes I call Japanese double gauze my sweat sponge fabric, because in all honesty, that is its true purpose for me.

Seriously! The great thing about Japanese double gauze is its breathability, and while living in Japan it quickly became my fabric of choice for dealing with summer’s humidity. This photo was taken after a morning of riding around Brooklyn on my bicycle, and because of this dear double gauze, I still look presentable for brunch. Thank you nani IRO for understanding my sweaty-girl needs.

The fabric is Pierre Pocho double gauze from the 2014 Spring nani IRO collection and I love the print so much. I used the Sewaholic Belcarra blouse pattern, omitting the cuffs on the sleeves and instead finishing them with a rolled hem. I also altered the neckline facing a bit because I wanted more of a border. I made the entire garment using French seams, so after a steamy summer day it can go in the washing machine without worry.

This fabric is so easy to work with that I made this shirt in just two evenings, while my husband did the dishes. Talk about a good deal! My only problem now is trying to decide which nani IRO to cut into next.

I can’t wait to see what everyone else is making! Hip hip hooray for nani IRO month. Thanks Frances!

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 Thank you Angela! Connect with Angela on her blog, instagram, facebook, pinterest.