Fluffbuff

    Have you noticed that the English versions of some Japanese craft books are starting to trickle in?

Aesthetically, I tend to prefer the originals — something about how kanji and kana look on the page vs. our functional but less poetic alphabets — but there's nothing like being able to actually READ a book.

I can't wait for Setsuko Torii's beautiful knitting book to come out in English in a few months. But today, I bring you "Sock and Glove", the English version of 手袋いぬと靴下ざる, ISBN 4579110617. In the spirit of full disclosure, I received this copy from the publisher specifically to review it. That said, there were no strings attached. Now that that's out the way…

Sock and Glove: Creating Charming Softy Friends from Cast-off Socks and Gloves
by Miyako Kanamori
Publisher: HP Trade
62 pages
ISBN-10: 1557885168
ISBN-13: 978-1557885166
in English

After a page of "Things you should know before getting started", we encounter a whole cast of characters made from discarded socks, mittens and gloves (pages 2-40). They include two dogs, a cat, a monkey, a rabbit, a bear, a mouse, a bird, a pig, a fish, a panda, an elephant, a zebra, a sheep, and a girl. All with a primitive, unpolished charm.

Pages 41-61 cover the instructions on how to make all the softies plus a few basic items of clothing for your new friends. All project instructions are clearly illustrated with line drawings and in some cases with photographs. I haven't tried anything yet, but the directions seem easy to follow and I get the impression that making these critters is a quick affair.

I am partial to the piggie and the fish. Part of the reason is that they are made from socks that have some color or texture of their own. I am pretty sure that if I decide to make something from this book, it will be with colored socks. Of course we have a bunch of old plain white socks lying around in the closet.

Wanna see more? On Flickr, you can see a selection of stuffed toys made from this book.

Sayonara!