learning japanese for crafting with the nina-doll

Introducing Nina, my learning Japanese partner!

I fully believe in the contructivist learning theory that we learn best by doing, and making things. So, I’m going to attempt to ‘read’ a Japanese craft book, and learn the words in the book, as I make something.
When I first signed up to Japanese class, my sensei 先生 (teacher) asked me what my goals were. I listed:

• conversational japanese
• ability to read patterns in craft books

Since then, she has cleverly convinced me to go for the JLPT level 1 Japanese test. I still want to know how to read Japanese patterns. Now that i have some basics under my belt, I’ve asked her if we can bring in some crafts into my lessons.

I’ve chosen to make Nina-chan Ninaちゃん. Nina-chan will help me learn Japanese!

About the Nina Doll

Ninaちゃん (Nina-chan) is a cloth doll, and the book comes with patterns for different clothes. She is 35cm (Almost 14cm). The book and pattern is sold by the very chic-chic Hobbyra-Hobbyre, which tends to be a bit expensive in the fabric department. The kit to make her is *gulp* 25,000円 which is €135 or $211USD. Needless to say, I won’t be using the kit.
Ninaちゃん has yarn hair, which I adore. Oh so lovely. I had a hadmade cloth doll when I was little, with brown yarn hair. She was very nice. She was big though, and Ninaちゃん is small.
She rather reminds me of the stuffed Madeliene dolls.

Warning: Looking for the “Nina doll” in English turns up some unsavoury results, but looking for Ninaちゃん brings up some blogs (ブログ is blog) of Japanese crafters who have used the pattern. ちゃん sounds like’ chan’, and is a diminutive to make a name cute. Like Kittyちゃん for Hello-Kitty.

Hapimama made her Ninaちゃん from a kit and is very pleased. She does say that the clothes are very small and thus, hard to make. ” お人形の服って、小さすぎてタイヘン！”

wonderBABY* made a few of them. So they have friends. A commenter on her site remarked on the nice color of the hair.

I’ll get some pics from the book when it’s light out tomorrow!