I love Japanese sewing books! Their styles are effortlessly chic and casually cool. A few months ago, I got my hands on this awesome Japanese pattern book all about straight stitch sewing (by Yoshiko Tsukiori) at a local Japanese store. The book contains various projects including blouses, pants, skirts, and dresses.

Yoshiko Tsukiori's Straight Stitch Sewing Book full off simple patterns for casual elegant clothing.

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While it doesn’t include full-scale pattern sheets, it provides all the measurements you need to draft your own. The instructions are in Japanese, but hey, thank goodness for Google Lens—rough translations to the rescue! You can buy the book on Etsy right here. Feel free to explore other Japanese sewing books that I recommend here.

I was drawn to the waist ribbon dress because the pattern is essentially a folded rectangle with a cutout in the middle for the neckline! It doesn’t get any simpler than this.

The waist ribbon dress, as shown on the Japanese sewing pattern book.
The waist ribbon dress
The pattern piece for this dress is basically a rectangle with a cutout in the middle.
A simple pattern piece!

Sewing the simple dress

For this dress, I used a navy cotton corduroy adorned with delicate white polka dots throughout. Sewing this was a breeze! I finished the neckline with a bias tape. And then I sewed the elastic casing, attached the ties to the elastics, and threaded it all through. I then sewed the sides and hemmed the sleeves. Finally, I hemmed the skirt to my desired length.

A close up view of the neckline.
A close up view of the waist ties.

I opted for French seams on the sides to achieve a cleaner look, which required a bit of adjustment around the elastic channel so the elastic could still be threaded through smoothly.

A peek inside the dress shows tidy French seam finishes.
French seam finish!

The final verdict

This dress has a simple yet elegant minimalist design. The elasticated waist and neckline make this dress forgiving and perfect for eating out —hide that food belly haha! Although the dress has a loose fit, the drawstring allows you to define your waist for a flattering silhouette.

A full view of the polka dot blue waist ribbon dress.

I found it so effortless to create this dress that I decided to sew a second one using beige linen fabric. For the second dress, I also embellished the bodice with small floral embroidery. I’ve been told that the beige dress embodies a peasantcore style, which I take as a compliment haha! I’ve worn these dresses during my adventures in Japan and on leisurely strolls through gardens.

A close-up view of the delicate mini floral embroidery on the dress bodice.
A full view of the beige linen waist ribbon dress.