Cloth Eye Patch Parade 4: Hokuriku Shinkansen Kagayaki and Mell-chan's Strawberry

Hello, I'm Roi Kondo.
I am raising a 4-year-old and a 1-year-old.

My older child was diagnosed with refractive amblyopia due to hyperopic anisometropia during their 3-and-a-half-year checkup.

They are currently using therapeutic glasses and eye patch therapy.

Continuing on, here is an introduction to cloth eye patches with decorations. (The list of works, the free base pattern is here, and the decoration creation steps are here).

Last time, I tried to get by with just the cuteness of the fabric without adding any motifs, but it was a miserable failure.
From here on out, I will quietly return to the method of making motifs out of felt.
Also, throughout this entire series, I have been struggling greatly because I have neither the skill nor the talent for this.

Well, I'd rather pick up a needle and thread than engage in a daily battle over whether or not to wear it... so, for my 10th creation,

10. Hokuriku Shinkansen Kagayaki

The Hokuriku Shinkansen Kagayaki, which extended its line in March 2024.
Although we live in the Kansai region, we were lucky enough to have the chance to ride it relatively early on.

"Will it be reported in the news? If so, wouldn't it be cool if I were wearing a Kagayaki eye patch?"

The idea came to me 12 hours before departure.

The night before, as they say.

"A cloth eye patch that even a sewing beginner can make in 1 hour"—will this be the moment I prove my worth!?

I made it with materials I had at home, so I skipped the fine details.
Even so, she liked it quite a bit.

Later, I also made a matching dress for her Mell-chan doll.

As it turns out, it was not reported in the news.

…Without losing heart, let's move on to the next one!

11. Mell-chan's Strawberry

My daughter, having gotten a taste for matching outfits with Mell-chan.
Her next request was "Mell-chan's strawberry is cute".

This baby food one!

Yeah...
Are we pandering to Mell-chan...?


But if it makes a child who hates eye patches willing to wear one, I have no choice but to make it.
My motivation is always consistently low.


The hardest part wasdeciding what to do about the strawberry seeds.

Should I embroider them? Should I glue on felt?
Or should I justdraw them with correction fluid?

My thinking is gradually getting rougher.

In the end, I chose what I thought would be the most precise method,embroidering them, but... it was painful... I did a lifetime's worth.

And there was one more painful task for this project.
I want a matching outfit for Mell-chan too...?

Huh!?
...

Fine!
I'll make it!!

I know she doesn't play with it much.
I have neither the skill nor the motivation, but I have a sense of duty; I have no choice but to do it.
I steeled myself, checked out some free pattern websites, and chose a dress that I could just barely manage to make.

Of course, the decoration is a 'felt strawberry'.

I don't want to embroider any more seeds!!
I already did a lifetime's worth!

Here is the finished product!

...!?

Even though Mell-chan was wearing it at first,
before I knew it, it was put on Anpanman,
and it has completely settled there.How pitiful...

Also, at this time, my daughter had just bought a dog stuffed animal (she insists on calling it a 'cat' even though she wanted a cat) at Daiso and was so excited that I also made a matching collar.

A siege by Mell-chan, Anpanman, and the cat!
Come on, put it on! Stop complaining and wear your eye patch!

However, despite all my hard work, she still doesn't really want to wear it (and so on...)

Next time: 'My daughter demands that I make an eye patch featuring her own portrait!'
I will share the story of the struggle of actually making it in three parts.

Lastly... here is a promotion.

I created a picture book depicting the process of discovering the condition during a 3-year-old health checkup and undergoing treatment (it is available for purchase),

and I also suggest patterns for easy-to-make cloth eye patches,

See you again!