A couple of weeks ago I had a lovely day in Paris with my mum for my birthday.

We did the usual haunts, Bon Marché, the Marais and I managed to just catch one of the last days of the Chloé exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo.

Oh there were so many lovely things to buy…..including a few culinary delights:

The mushroom and veg displays at Bon Marché

Chandeliers, plate displays and cushions

The “I want to move in” furniture displays at Merci

But the one thing I found, which really caught my eye, was a collection of sewing books called “Mes Carnet de Couture“, in a little haberdashery shop, off the Francs Bourgeois in the Marais.

This is just a small selection, but there are many more.

I don’t know about you but I rarely find patterns that are edgy or preppy in style (think APC). The normal variety just seem a little dated. These, I assume are of Japanese/French origin so are quite simple but very effective.

Now I have to be honest, my french is pretty dismal and my sewing skills still a little basic, so I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t get too far translating these patterns. However, I have managed to track them down on Amazon and found a few English versions.

And all the patterns are included in the book, so no trips to John Lewis!

I think for the sake of the blog I really need to have a couple of these books in my stocking this Christmas, just to taste the goods, so to speak!