Melanie Uematsu

The 753 Festival – We did it!

As many of you know, the 753 festival has much importance in Japan. Girls have their celebration with 3 and 7 and boys have their celebration with 5. This November it was time for my son to dress up in his kimono and we all joined in, with the amazing help of my mum in…

The 60th Nation has Walked In!!

As many of you know: I keep a list of all the nations of my customers. Just for fun and to understand, how many people from all over the world come to my atelier to work with me. Until today, all sewing students & customers, who I’ve been working with came from 59 countries. It…

Kimono Re-Make Dress

I just finished a cute wrap dress, made from a vintage kimono. It hooks on one side and buttons on the other ‘s inside at the waist belt. The skirt is slightly gathered under the waist to allow more flair and movement around the hip. The sleeves are kept open on the top from shoulder…

The Wedding in Senegal

At the end of 2019 I had a wonderful order from Nora, a German bride, who got married to her boyfriend from Senegal. See her beautiful dress here.

The Grandmother’s Dress

A New Design Idea

I’ve worked on this skirt for the past days and found a new way to make the high waist/ hip area really precious, gorgeous and interesting. I really like the way, how the pleats and the piping technique worked together. The high waist band has a stiff interface ironed on the inside to secure the…

A First Milestone: The Cute Skirt

Look at this amazing Summer Skirt! Meryl started her sewing lessons with the Basic Course and had no idea to run the machine or understand all functions. We did the very first Beginner Lesson together to work on the machine smoothly. Then we adjusted the skirt pattern, cut the linen and she learned to sew…

The Legend of Jim Thompson

A few weeks ago I found this little bag in a second hand store that I really like and get lost in. The name tag made me buy it and it’s worth to tell the story about the man, who designed it: The ones of you who travelled to Thailand, Bangkok: do you know the…

From the Trousers to the Cushion

Once upon a time there was a pair of trousers. They were 15 years old, to worn out to still function as a garment, but too nice to be thrown out…. A brave tailor came along, cut them up and transformed them in a great cushion cover! Love upcycling!