Anime and manga about making art can be incredibly comforting because of their characters’ dedication to representing themselves and the world around them. However, while series in this genre cover a variety of topics, sewing, knitting, and other fiber arts rarely receive the same attention as other art forms.
Of all the fiber arts, sewing is the most common in anime and manga because of its relevance to the fashion industry and modeling. Stories about fiber arts are by no means limited to fashion, but whether characters in these series sew, knit, or crochet, their passion for crafting is central to their identity.
10 Paradise Kiss
After meeting a group of ambitious fashion designers from the nearby art school who convince her of her potential, Yukari Hayasaka begins transitioning from an average high school student to a famous model. She doesn’t know much about fashion or sewing clothes when she joins the group, but she is determined not to hold them back, especially as their model for an important fashion show.
Like Ai Yazawa’s other masterpieces, Paradise Kiss features drama and romance, but behind the scenes, the designers are hard at work creating and maintaining their particular aesthetic. Toward the end of the series, there are more scenes relating to how the team puts together their design for the fashion show, but the group’s love of fashion and sewing is always present.
9 Buriki No Kanzume
In Buriki no Kanzume, Sakurakawa Nabiki joins a craftsmanship club that requires its members to pass a quality check every few months to earn the chance to sell their items in the school’s shop. However, when make-up classes take time away from her craft, Nabiki’s future as a professional toymaker seems to be at stake.
The manga by Sachi Minami is only one volume long, but it shows the importance of having a creative community and how other mediums can inspire each other. For fans of toymaking, silverwork, and other crafts, Buriki no Kanzume is a quick yet enjoyable read.
8 Knitter’s High
The career-ending injury is a sports anime and manga cliche, but it’s Kento Hamanaka’s reality after a track and field incident left him too hurt to compete. Unable to pursue his passion, Hamanaka enters high school uncertain about what to do for himself until he meets a kind, princely student who knits in the courtyard and agrees to teach him.
Knitter’s High by Yukari Nekota details Hamanaka’s progress and how creating items out of yarn gives him a sense of accomplishment. Learning may take time, but his crafter’s journey comes across as wholesome and natural.
7 Prince of Sewing
Prince of Sewing is a one-shot manga by Sayo Koito about a successful fashion magazine editor whose boyfriend breaks up with her because she can’t sew on a button. Stunned by his words, the editor takes up a sewing class run by a skilled young man. She helps him promote the stuffed animals and accessories he sews because she feels supported by him but realizes that she doesn’t need to change to be enough for a man.
The teacher may sew more often than the editor throughout the manga, but it is because she doesn’t sew that her experience comes across as authentic. Sewing should be enjoyable, the way it is for her teacher, and the one-shot makes this feeling clear.
6 Otomen
Asuka Masamune is considered the ideal man at school. He has won kendo and karate championships and defends others when they need help. What they don’t realize is that Asuka is hiding his true interests from the world. He doesn’t want people to recognize that he enjoys reading shojo manga, cooking, knitting, and sewing out of fear they will judge him for being too feminine. However, when Asuka falls in love with a new transfer student, he wants to show her his affection by being himself.
Otomen by Aya Kanno acknowledges that traditional gender roles influence how people perceive others for their hobbies. Asuka can’t help that he enjoys sewing and baking more than most sports, but he can learn to accept himself and find others who appreciate him.
5 Sekine’s Love
Sekine Keiichiro is a man in his thirties who realizes one day he has no hobbies or interests. To find himself, he starts learning card tricks, knitting, and crocheting because they come to him naturally and keep his hands busier than his mind.
Sekine’s Love by Haruka Kawachi has mature themes about eating disorders, trauma, and identity. However, its troubling topics become more manageable alongside Sekine’s impressive yarn creations and relationship with the local craft store. Sekine’s Love subverts the trend that art stories are comforting, making it a unique read for crafters and manga fans alike.
4 V.B. Rose
V.B Rose by Banri Hidaka follows Ahega Shiroi, a high schooler who makes bags for her sister and herself. However, her life as a bag designer is thrown off course when her sister announces she is planning her wedding and an accident at the bridal shop leaves the pattern designer unable to complete the dress. To give her sister the wedding she deserves, Ageha steps up to help at the shop, perfecting her bead embroidery and sewing skills along the way.
Compared to other fashion manga, V.B. Rose has a unique niche for its focus on wedding dresses. While many other designers want to make a name for themselves, Ageha and the shop owners prioritize their customers’ every wish.
3 My Dress-Up Darling
Originally based on a manga series by Shinichi Fukuda, My Dress-Up Darling focuses on an artisan doll maker named Wakana Gojo and his decision to help Marin Kitagawa, an inexperienced cosplayer, bring her favorite characters to life. Kitagawa and Gojo may have different experiences and passions, but together they learn about the world around them.
The series pays attention to how they make each of Kitagawa’s cosplays, even down to drawing the pattern and selecting the fabric. By combining the innovation required to cosplay with the tradition and skill needed for artisan dolls, My Dress-Up Darling shows the many ways sewing can lead to self-expression.
2 Smile Down The Runway
Chiyuki Fujito wants nothing more in life than to be a model for her father’s company at Paris Fashion Week, but unfortunately, she is too short to achieve her dream. Likewise, Ikuto Tsumura is passionate about fashion design but doesn’t have the resources to make a name for himself or receive a degree from a prestigious school. Luckily, when Tsumura’s impressive designs and Fujito’s confidence come together, their goals feel within reach.
Both the anime for Smile Down the Runway and the manga series by Kotoba Inoya use the pressure of the runway to accentuate the details of Fujito’s outfits and act as a reminder that sewing and fashion are for everyone.
1 Princess Jellyfish
Princess Jellyfish is one of Akiko Higashimura’s most well-known series for its ability to tackle heavy topics like grief and gentrification while focusing on the more light-hearted relationships between characters. The series follows Tsukimi Kurashita, an aspiring illustrator with a passion for jellyfish, and her peculiar friendship with a politician’s fashionable son, Kuranosuke Koibuchi.
Arts, passions, and hobbies are central to Princess Jellyfish, especially toward the end of the series, making it an excellent watch for fans of all kinds of artistic mediums, including fiber arts.