From casual to formal, the kimono shape has endured for centuries as an internationally recognized icon of Japanese life and culture. With 18 original designs, each a knitted interpretation of a traditional kimono style, this handbook makes knitting homemade kimonos deceptively easy. Projects are based on rectangular forms that require very little shaping, and are ideal first-garment projects for knitters wanting to venture beyond scarves. Clever details in stitch patterns and edgings, such as the use of silk, linen, and bamboo yarns, add sophistication and elegance to even the simplest designs. The flattering drape and luxurious style of the kimono will appeal to veteran and beginning knitters alike.

From the bestselling author of Knit Kimono comes a brand new collection of kimono and Asian-inspired tops with simple shapes and unique details. In more than 20 new designs, Vicki Square has created a pattern collection of kimonos and other Asian-inspired tops, tunics, and vests, blending traditional inspiration with projects that contemporary knitters can't resist. You'll love the stunning look of each kimono design and relish in the easy-to-follow instructions for shaping and construction. Knit Kimono Too focuses on lighter weight knits for layering, plus unique stitch patterns, colorwork, and openwork designs. Vicki also offers innovative shaping, interesting closures and edgings, and clever knitting techniques. Each project--from vests, coats, lightweight shells, and short-sleeve tops to a wide assortment of kimono jackets featuring various weights of yarn--is shown off in clear photography and step-by-step instructions. The special techniques and stitches that make these garments so elegantly wearable include two-color slip stitch, surface embroidery, two-hand stranded colorwork, garter-stitch shortrows, attaching knitted cord, making origami folds, double knitting, and more.

Inspired by the seasonal festivals and traditions of Japan, this blend of traditional Scandinavian knitting with distinctive Japanese influences explores the beautiful design elements steeped in folk customs. Created especially for women, these patterns are true to the Japanese ideals of high-quality design and materials. Twelve sweaters, oriented around the months of the year, are each knitted using nearly a dozen different techniques. With project names like "Sake and Soba," "Summer in Tokyo," "Rice Fields," "Flower Buds," and "Stone Garden," knitters will have plenty of inspiration. In addition to standard knit and purl combinations, the patterns feature double knitting, domino knitting, shadow knitting, lace, cables, entrelac, intarsia, and stranded two-color knitting. All techniques are described in detail with clear text and illustrations, and an illustrated glossary at the end of the book provides technical instruction needed for any project. Also included are Japanese ideographs that relate to themes that inspired the projects, a Japanese calendar, plus lush travel photography of Japan that will inspire any knitter.

Matthews Hamabata got off to an unpromising start when he first arrived in Japan to study influential business families. An unmarried, third-generation Japanese-American graduate student, he was there to learn about business executives in their roles as male principals and heads of households. Some Japanese were less than hospitable and often downright rude to him, and the souvenirs bearing the Harvard University emblem that he had brought along for gifts proved to be inappropriate within the highly ritualized system of Japanese gift-giving. In this engaging and personal narrative, we watch Hamabata in the first disappointing six months of his fieldwork as he attempts to map the boundaries of culture, class, and sexuality. "I became my own biggest fieldwork problem," he writes. "Was I inside or out? When I thought I was in, I was actually out, but when I acknowledged the fact that I was out, I was let in." He soon recognized the importance of marital and filial relations in transmitting power in the business world, and he began to direct his study to examining the social and emotional lives of all members of the Japanese ie (household) and the way they affect business activity and ownership. He takes us behind the scenes of the family enterprise to see how the multiple "layers of reality"--biological, social, religious, emotional, and symbolic--relate and cause dilemmas for ie members. (Names, locations, and other details have been altered for the sake of anonymity.) We meet the Moriuchis, the Itoos, the Okimotos--people who must constantly balance their own personal desires against the good of the ie. Many telling vignettes illustrate a central tension in their lives--their need for love, power, and emotional expression versus the constraints of traditional attitudes toward their ancestors, public honor, the economic enterprise, and the obligation to continue the ie over time. A grandfather stubbornly refuses to hand over the reins of succession to the next generation, creating an impossible situation that eventually tears apart an economic empire, as well as the fabric of various interrelated families. Economic, familial, and religious factors figure in a clash for succession between the person who possesses the ancestral tablets and the head of the enterprise. A daughter must reconcile personal love with arranged marriage. Ambitions for the son in line for succession war with the realization that this spoiled, incompetent young man may well ruin the ie. A fascinating portrait of everyday life told with vibrant sensitivity as well as humor, this book is full of the vitality of common concerns: life choices, love and commitment, confrontations with death. It is about very real people trying to make sense of their lives--trying to reconcile the roles and duties dictated by custom and tradition with rapidly changing expectations in the international milieu of contemporary Japan.

Create fluid, fashionable garments you'll wear over and over again! Best-selling author Vicki Square returns, this time creating beautiful garments made from comfortable fibers and light yarns. These are more than simply projects to make-they are truly knits to live in. The 19 patterns of Light & Layered Knits work in all climates, can be layered and removed at will, and are equally at home in a casual or workplace setting. Working with lightweight yarns in fibers such as silk, linen, cotton, and bamboo, Vicki creates pieces that will appeal to knitters of all ages. These versatile wardrobe staples-shells, fluid tops, draped tunics, light cardigans, wrap sweaters, and more-reflect the way that women dress today. What's more, most of them are conveniently sized for up to a "46" to "48" bust circumference.

This work includes textured sweaters to inspire the advanced beginner and some designs combining colour work and texture geared to the experienced knitter. It also features smaller projects like shawls and bags.

A collection of twenty unique hand-knit designs from Weardowney features detailed patterns, full-color photographs, and step-by-step instructions for an array of one-of-a-kind cardigans, skirts, tunic dresses, sweaters, and tops.