Lotta Jansdotter Everyday Style: Key Pieces to Sew + Accessories, Styling, and Inspiration

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When Yumiko, founder of a Japanese lifestyle brand, approached me at a trunk show, she saw a shared aesthetic and licensed my designs for a postcard collection in Tokyo. These cards launched a career-long relationship with Japan. Note that the book author is Lotta Jansdotter; the pattern designer is Felicity More. This dress is on the front cover.

I'm very surprised to be giving such a bad review for a Lotta Jansdotter book. I have two of her previous sewing books and I love them. This book, not so much. The styles are mostly shapeless, which is not to my taste but does work for many people so that's not a reason to give a bad review. An inspiring guide to creating a flexible, seven-piece wardrobe with modern Scandinavian elegance from style icon Lotta Jansdotter. Since I first saw an article about her in Sunset Magazine (in the mid 1990s) I have admired Lotta Jansdotter’s work. So no surprise that I really like her new book, Lotta Jansdotter Everyday Style; Key Pieces to Sew. Yes, it has patterns, and yes that’s the first thing I noticed and yes, those nine patterns, for basic tops, dresses, a skirt, a pair of pants, and bags, were what I based buying the book on – at first anyway.And when it comes to fabric measurements--each pattern states one yardage needed, which again furthers my guess the patterns were made for one specific model. Even some of the yardages given for what must be a small or extra small seem like they might not be quite enough. I ended up buying much more fabric than each piece called for, with amounts based on educated guessing.

The line art of the garments look hand drawn rather than the perfectly smooth line art when computer drawn. I would have really liked to have a not hand drawn line art illustration of each of the garments. They are accompanied by fabric swatch photos and brief comments about the design. I borrowed this book from the library twice, tracing out the pattern in late 2022 and started the sewing in May 2023 as I thought I had but actually hadn't copied the instructions. Lotta writes about how the various pieces will work in different fabrics and with different styling details. She features her friends and colleagues wearing the clothes so you get to see how they have interpreted the designs. It makes the book fun to read and inspiring, and she includes interesting details about her friends--I felt like I could relate to them and share their creative outlook. As I build towards marking 25 years since founding Lotta Jansdotter, I have reflected where this journey has taken me. I thought I would make a scarf (there are a few easy projects through out the book as well as the patterns) but I didn’t have the right fabric for a scarf and I can’t buy any fabric until November. The tunic in the book, (it’s also made into a dress and a top) was calling my name but summer just started and I live in the south which means it’s just going to get hotter. I traced off the sleeveless Kiomi top pattern instead. Simpler anyway; let’s start there.After the muslin try on I had to widen the shoulders, take in the sides a little at the bottom (too swingy there for my apple shape), add some more length below the waist, and move the shoulder seam forward by 3/8″. And thanks to a Craftsy class still fresh in my head I knew all that, and it was easy. The instructions for the Kiomi top. Not for the visual learning types, like me. Waitressing part time in a middle eastern restaurant in San Francisco didn’t simply help pay my rent, it fueled me.It was here I learned more about customer service and the everyday running of a small business. And I also met my accountant, many dear friends, andmy benefactor, a property manager who let me have a small studio space in his building. Opening a studio shop in downtown San Francisco allowed me to spend time with customers, a much-loved interaction that would eventually blossom into workshops. This style is mainly sober in shape, comfortable and casual. In addition, the style is as cheerful, colorful or sober as you want due to your choice of colors and designs of the fabrics. Lotta shows the same clothes in cheerful prints, for example, but also in solid gray colors. This gives the garment a completely different look.