Book giveaway: Stylish Skirts & Basic Black

In each last post of the month this year I’ve been showcasing other people’s work, but this month maybe you’d like to see how I earn a crust (well, at one of my several jobs, that is).

Yes, that’s my name! One of the things I do as a freelancer is translate sewing books from Japanese to English.

 

This is what the books looked like in the original Japanese, by the way:

 

While I find it quite an interesting job, translating in itself is not particularly photogenic (unless you like photos of me staring at a computer screen trying to decipher Japanese instructions or huddled over a huge pattern sheet, pen in hand, writing SIDE SEAM, UNDERSIDE OF COLLAR and the like next to the original Japanese text!). So rather than show you how my work day goes as a translator for sewing books, here are some pages from the two books I am giving away. Yes! You can win stuff! More info at the end of this post – but first, a few outtakes from Basic Black: 26 Edgy Essentials for the Modern Wardrobe.I know, spring is on its way, but it’s never too early to start planning next winter’s wardrobe…
 There are summery things in the book too though! Of course you don’t have to make everything in black, but like the title suggests, black clothing is a wardrobe basic – it never hurts to have a few basic black items that go with just about every other piece you own…

…which brings me to Stylish Skirts: 23 Easy-to-Sew Skirts to Flatter Every Figure. More black!

I think this one would be good in a combination of white broderie anglaise and a plain fabric for summer.

And this one’s pretty versatile too – you could make it the length shown here or leave off the navy section for a shorter length (or make only the red section if you want a marine-inspired mini skirt!).

So, which book would you like? Thanks to Tuttle Publishing I have three copies of each book* to give away, so that’s six lucky readers (in Australia only:  sorry for those of you overseas) who can win! And as usual, I’m making it pretty easy (you don’t have to follow me on any extra social media sites or “like” anything … although of course if you do want to check out my Instagram, Twitter or Facebook page, that’s fine with me!).

Simply email me at fourthdaughter@gmail.com with the subject line “Basic Black” or “Stylish Skirts” (depending which book you want!) and write a little message in the email (whatever you want: something about sewing, cats, what you did yesterday, an op shop discovery… I’m really not fussed!) as well as your name, of course. You have until 11.59pm on September 1. Go!!

(To those of you who have already entered, thanks, I am loving all the interesting messages and only just managing to resist inviting you all around for a crafternoon!)

 

*If you miss out in this giveaway, I’m sure you’ll be able to find these at your nearest bookshop.