Japanese Craft Book Library!

Thanks to the trailblazing posts of Maitreya and Hillary, I took some time today to create a gallery of my collection of Japanese craft books. The gallery is almost complete (I have a few yet to add, but this is most of them), and is located at the top right. I've included ISBN numbers for all of the books, in case you are interested in ordering any of them for yourself through Amazon Japan or YesAsia. There is a wide variety of topics, including amigurumi, felt softies, needle felting, sewing projects, and quilting - so hopefully there's something there for everyone (yes, my crafting interests are wide and varied, and yes, that can be a problem!).

As for searching for other books, I have a few ideas for the uninitiated. Many of the books include English words in the title that you can use; I've had success with patchwork, junk (for the junk style trend), bag, etc. I've also picked up a few Japanese words that I've used in searches: zakka, patsuchiwa (patchwork), and kawaii (of course!).

If you have more time on your hands, you'll notice that the same group of publishers are putting out these books, and you can use this to your advantage. Here's how: the ISBN number has some useful info contained within. The first digit indicates the language for the book (4=Japanese; 0 or 1=English). This is followed by a publisher's prefix, then a number for the individual title, then a "check digit". So, you can do an open-ended search on Google that might look something like this:

ISBN4-579-*

You'll get search results for books published by the company represented by the prefix 579. You may or may not get pictures with your results, so this method can be hit or miss. Also, not all of these publishers are exclusive to craft books, so you may very well get unrelated books in your search. But, it can be a fun way to see what else might be out there. In my collection, common publisher prefixes are: 579, 529, and 277.

I'd be happy to try to answer any questions you might have about a specific book regarding patterns, etc. All of them are in Japanese, but include relatively complete pictorial instructions and patterns (this varies somewhat from book to book), and I've been able to muddle through them with zero Japanese. The amigurumi books also include standard graphic crochet patterns, so those accustomed to reading those should be fine with these books. I hope to add my English language craft books as well, so keep an eye out for that.

I also have a growing collection of Patchwork Quilt Tsushin and Quilts Japan magazines, but I'm not sure how helpful a gallery of those would be, since back issues can't really be ordered from the US. But, I will point out that these are amazing magazines for anyone interested in quilting (chock full of tons of patterns - very hefty magazines), and you can get a subscription to both through Born to Quilt for a very reasonable price.

Comments

[Maitreya]

Holy cow do you have a lot! So jealous! Have you made anything from the felting one (6th on the top row)? After the bird bag, I want to try something from it.

[amy k.]

okay-thank you and you are awesome. That search material is really valuable and i didn't know any of it-

so I'm really interested in the quilting mags you mentioned (of course) maybe we can work out a swap where I could borrow some back ones? I'm not sure what I can let you borrow-you have so dang much! I'm gonna check out the mags now at born to quilt-

and the photo album is a great way to organize this-I'm going to do that for my craft books too. I could not figure out a good way to do it in typepad-so thanks all around!

[jenn]

thanks for the magazing link...I had seen an issue and wondered about them.

[Stephanie]

I can not believe you own all those! Fantastic tips on finding books.

[tania]

WOW!! you have so many! i am always amazed at how gorgeous the photography is in these books.
once i stop drooling, i think i want about 20 of those!
:)

[hannah]

"hey jealousy, hey jealousy..." was the song running through my head. so now that you have your book album, where is the album of items crafted from said books??? like you need more tasks...

[Jan]

Equilter also sells Quilts Japan and may have some recent back issues. Another source is International Fabrics in Erie, Pa. (www.intfab.com) I don't think they have the magazines featured on their site, but they have a lot in stock and I'm sure an inquiry would yield results. I have collected both Patchwork Tsushin & Quilts Japan for years and second your opinion...they are chock full of ideas and inspiration. More so, I think, than the craft books.
And thanks for the mention, Kelly!

[Snowbear]

ooohhhh Kelly, you know your stuff! Thanks for all the info. I want the Anano bears!

[Therese]

I have Homemade Felt Bag (ISBN4-277-43024-4) for sale ($10 plus $4 shipping), in case anyone's interested.