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Nov 11, 2014

I Splurged for the New Men's Military Jacket Pattern Book



I really enjoy sewing men's outerwear.


I own some pretty good commercial patterns -- they're out there if you're willing to dig: parkas, ski jackets, windbreakers, anoraks, overcoats, and more.  But sadly, most commercial men's sewing patterns lack advanced details.  I suspect the assumption is that too many details would overwhelm the home sewer, I don't know.

That's why today I picked up a copy of Ryuichiro Shimazaki's latest Japanese pattern book, which includes patterns for nine different military jackets.  A taste:















When it comes to meticulous presentation, the Japanese are unsurpassed.  And they have a tremendous appreciation for traditional 20th Century American clothing -- workwear in particular.  So what if they call a parka a "parker."  I forgive them.

These patterns don't skimp on details. 











Naturally, the instructions are all in Japanese, but the diagrams in the book are very detailed and the techniques self-explanatory.

I used Shimazaki's men's coat book to make the peacoat I talked about in yesterday's post.  (I actually made two versions.)  The patterns have to be traced, but I find that's no longer such a big deal.



I'm not sure which pattern I'll start on.  Many appeal to me.











Ryuichiro Shimazaki military jackets pattern book can also be purchased on Etsy here for about the same price (with shipping) I paid at Kinokinuya.

I'm looking forward to immersing myself in these coat patterns. 

Have a great day, everybody!

UPDATE: See the parka I made for myself using this book in 2021 HERE.

31 comments:

  1. Amazing Peter! I can see you in all of them, but i think the bomber jacket will look so so good on you! I have this book, its really good, i still have not made any coats though! *sigh*

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  2. Hmm, all those wonderful details could be useful for so many projects.

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  3. Snapped up the Etsy copy. Looking forward to exploring this find.

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  4. I do love looking through those Japanese pattern books, though most of the women's patterns don't appeal to me at this age. I suggest you make up that flight jacket, because the blog post I wrote about aviator/varsity jacket patterns (from last summer) proved to be extremely popular, and it gets visits every day. People seem to be very interested in making that kind of jacket.

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  5. I vote for the flight jacket in kelly green satin. Then it could always double as a Halloween costume in a pinch (Scooter from the Muppet Show - all you would need is a headset).

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  6. Until 5 minutes ago I had never had any interest in men's military coats. But now I long to create one! What a beautiful book! I agree with Jetset, Japanese women's patterns are too abstract for my liking, but these are approachable.

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    1. Same urge here, Taivahalla!

      Peter, you are an influential other.

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  7. These are equal to any high end rtw jackets out there and I have no doubt that some gorgeous coats will be in your future.

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  8. Nice book. The Japanese spelling of parka is pa-ka, so "parker" is probably the result of a transliteration from the Japanese pronunciation.

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  9. What a great book - I hope you eventually end up making one of each! :)

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  10. Looks like a high-quality book with attention to detail both in the patterns and the book itself. What's nice about including plenty of details for outerwear is that we have the option to include, substitute or omit as we please. Thanks for posting this.

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  11. I really enjoy reading your posts on men's shirts and outerwear. I always cringe when people say stuff like there's nothing one can sew for boys and men. The things I have sewn for the men in my family have been much appreciated and worn. I just tend to be all over the place in choosing sewing and embroidery projects and the older I get the slower at sewing I am. Your sewing skills are getting very excellent and the coat,jacket, parka sewing posts are wonderful. What a guilt trip to see the great garments you are making. On the flip side some of the men in my life should learn to sew if they want custom sewing or at least help out more with the never ending chores/cooking. I wish all of us could clone our sewing side as elfs.

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  12. Thanx for the book review. Now have the impetus to look into Japanese sewing books.
    Years ago sewed Mens and Womens outerwear with patterns from Stretch & Sew and Daisy Kingdom--good details. And also copied from RTW.

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  13. So inspiring! I think I'll be working my way to this book!
    Randy

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  14. I've had my eye on this book for ages! It's so, so cool! I've been put off by the fact that it's only in Japanese since I know that would make it difficult, plus my husband is on the tall side, so I'd have to do a lot of work to make things fit. But the patterns are so detailed and cool that it's probably worth it just to buy it. :) Excited to see what you make!

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    1. In my experience these Japanese patterns do tend to be sized for slighter builds. We'll see...

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  15. I find the lack of English and the quantity/quality of illustrations fit my build strategies perfectly. We have a local Kinokuniya in Seattle and I pour through the new titles a couple times a year if I'm feeling rich. Luckily, the library orders them and if I'm a careful searcher (kanji is not my search text but the ISBN -- stolen from Amazon -- works everytime....) I can put in an online hold and get them that way. And now that I have shared my secret...I will have to erase your interwebs.....

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  16. these are great! i'm in a jacket place right now as well...

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  17. These jackets are really great and you can add and take away what you want. I don't like the women's clothing fashions from these books, but you picked yourself a real winner with this book. Is it hard to find the fabrics that you need to make these jackets?

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  18. Wow, amazing details. You're lucky to live in a place where you have access to all the "bells and whistles" to make these designs a reality. Can't wait to see what you make.

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  19. I'll have to add this to my Amazon wishlist....

    I vote for MA-1 flight jacket!

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  20. Gorgeous details on these jackets and you happen to live in the one city where you can probably find all you need to re-create them without ordering online! How smart of you! Claudia W

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  21. As someone who wants to get into making sweatshirts and casual outerwear, that book looks awesome to me. I'd be very concerned about sizing with those patterns though... probably not a good choice for a guy that floats between XL and XXL for a tshirt size. Not being able to read the text to see if that's addressed would just be another nail in the coffin unfortunately.

    Mark in Buffalo

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  22. Thank you for bringing this book to my attention Peter. I just ordered this- I'm female but tall with wide shoulders who has had good luck with men's/military style wear so this hits all my buttons. Luckily I sneak in at the very top of the large size range! :) I also imagine that the shapes are quite boxy and could be scaled up relatively easily for larger sizes, so I may try experimenting to make something for my brother. I'm excited to learn all of the detailing in any case.

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  23. Oh I bought that at Kinokuniya too! I haven't made anything yet though because I'm afraid of messing it up!

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  24. Did you purchase this online? I am trying to find a copy but my google skills are lacking.

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    1. You can find it for sale on Etsy here:

      https://www.etsy.com/listing/176654752/mens-military-jacket-book-japanese-craft?ref=sr_gallery_3&ga_search_query=japanese+mens+jacket+book&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery

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  25. Wow, thanks for this post. I'll have to get that one, too. I use his other coat book and his shirt book all the time.

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  26. Hi, Peter! I'm 5 years late to this post but I'm glad to find a kindred sewing spirit in you. I've sewn some Ryuichiro Shimazaki shirts for my husband and they fit extremely well. I can hardly believe I made them. The line drawings in the book are very detailed and the measurements are so meticulous. I can tell this Military Jacket Book is also going to produce some great professional-looking jackets. Have you made any of the jackets already? Please share photos and sewing tips of them, if you already have!

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