NIPPORI, TOKYO'S FABRIC TOWN MAPS

I get quite a lot of interest in the Nippori, Tokyo's fabric town post and when rummaging through the drawer the other day I came across the maps I picked up whilst I was there last. The portrait one is in English and the landscape in Japanese. If you click on the images they should load as a larger image in a new window for you to see closer and to take a copy too if you like! They are free in Nippori and can be picked up at pretty much all of the fabric shops there.

JUST A QUICK PUFF!

I bought this little contraption from Nippori (Tokyo's fabric town) last year and have only made one small, shall we call it fabric blob?! It's really quick and easy and you can buy more of the yellow clips so you can prep loads of the blobs and fill them all in one go. I haven't decided what I'm going to make once I have a few blobs on the go but it's always nice to give something different a try! All of the instructions are in Japanese but the illustrations are pretty easy to follow. You cut a square piece of fabric using the stencils as your guide and then clip each edge of the square with the yellow clips. You sew all around the edge leaving a gap where you can pop the long tube in and stuff your stuffing down it!. Hey presto, the birth of the fabric blob! You can also make some pretty nifty folds and pinches in the fabric too to give a different effect. AH! I have just, by the amazing power of google discovered that this is called puff quilting! You can buy these sets with english instructions from clovers website here!

BREAD HEAD BUTTONS!

After posting about the Barca buttons I thought I have of course got buttons from Nippori too! I can't remember the exact shop I bought these ones above from but there's always loads of choice in every store as with everything in Tokyo! I had to get in amongst the kids for a few though! One of my favourite characters from Japan is Shokupanman. He has a head made from sliced white bread! It always makes me giggle when I see him! Here's his theme tune translated. He is one of the characters from the Anpanman anime cartoon series in Japan which in 2009 was verified to hold the Guinness World Record for the highest number of characters in an animated franchise. I have purchased a fair few badges from Nippori with the lovely Mr Shokupanman on and last time I was there was lucky enough to get a few buttons of some of the main characters. Also after looking through my sketchbook from Tokyo the other day I saw I had a photo from another button store which always seems to amaze me every time I look at it. I don't remember buying anything from here (pictured above) as I think we were in a bit of a rush but for future reference it's in Shinjuku, I can't remember exactly where but there's a picture of the shop front here and it's just across the way from the train station exit (Sorry, again not sure which one, maybe the west exit). GO SHOKUPANMAN!

NIPPORI, TOKYO'S FABRIC TOWN

Ahh! Nippori : ) I was uploading some books to the library yesterday and thought I'd post about Nippori! (Mum, Sarah and Grandma have heard it plenty of times though!) When in Tokyo my boyfriend likes to spend a bit of his time in Ochanomizu (aka music town) looking at guitar after guitar, so I needed to find something that I would enjoy doing that didn't involve guitar after guitar with the odd effects pedal thrown in of course. Well what a discovery I made! I usually get the JR line to Nippori station (I love traveling on my own in Tokyo) and just around the corner is a whole street with either side full of fabric and haberdashery shops. You go inside and most have floors and floors of things to look through, my favourite last time I went was a shop called Tomato because I found the massive sale section they had which had really nice fabric selling for less than £2 a metre. I couldn't believe my luck, my bag was so heavy returning from this holiday!! I also found a beautiful button shop tucked in just off the main street. It has a big button as it's sign, it's a bit expensive but if you're looking for that special button to treat your cardi with, this is the place to be! You can usually find your way around using one of the maps that they have in most of the shops there.