Carefree Clothes for Girls: 20 Patterns for Outdoor Frocks, Playdate Dresses, and More (Make Good: Crafts + Life) By Junko Okawa. Trumpeter; 1 edition (October 13, 2009).

Felting for Baby: 25 Warm and Woolly Projects for the Little Ones in Your Life (Make Good: Crafts + Life) By Saori Yamazaki. Trumpeter; 1 edition (October 13, 2009).

The latest additions in the make good series (Japanese craft books published in English by Trumpeter) are 2 books for parents or those who love to make things for children.

Felting for baby has instructions and patterns to make lovely tiny felted shoes, felted teddy bears, hand puppets and other cute accessories with lots of adorable little details. The best thing really about this book is the exquisite detailed photos of the felting process, and includes both wet and needle felting techniques. A treasure of a book.

Carefree clothes for girls is filled with adorable romantic and rustic clothing for active little girls. Some outfits are more practical than others – depends on how many trees your little girl likes to climb. However these outfits are so gorgeous with some beautiful detailing – such as raw edges, buttons and hand stitching, antique lace and found fabrics, layers of fabric, the use of natural raw unbleached linens and simple cottons. The designs are not difficult, a-line styles, ruffled skirts, square front bodices, and wrap-over tunics. This is such a sweet, sentimental, romantic book of designs for little girls – and mothers who love to dress up their little girls. [You can download full size patterns of the designs from Make Good Crafts Website + download a couple of sample projects.]

Continuing the series on how-to – Japanese crafting. Here’s the how-to sewing, link and the finished dress, link.

What a great idea!

First: Finding projects to make and buying Japanese craft books. Link.

2nd installment: Sizing and supplies. Link.

Then on to: Tracing patterns, finding pattern pieces. Link.

And finally: Showing a traced pattern. Link.