If ever there was a case for convincing students to excel in arithmetic — which few expect to use much after high school or college — just tell them about Angelica “Aiko” Miyagi’s path from math wiz and accountant to fashion designer.

“I call myself a jack of all trades, master of accounting, because accounting is the only thing of which I have a degree to boast,” she said. “I really wanted to go to art school, but my Asian parents would never have let me do something so impractical.

“I actually got a job in accounting and was working with great people, but a couple of years in I realized I couldn’t stomach the feeling of doing that work my entire life.”

Miyagi, 30, decided she could put her creative energy to work on her HakuAi Designs custom T-shirts and fabric designs incorporating images of pets.

While other artists find it challenging to adapt their work to the demand of repeat textile patterns over varying widths of fabric, Miyagi had a natural affinity for the process. “It takes a lot of math skills to be able to calculate where the image fits,” she said.

She also taught herself how to sew garments based on her own patterns, which she figured out how to create by using basic arithmetic and measuring skills.

With confidence in her newfound abilities, her 2011 New Year’s resolution was to wear only apparel that she made herself. She’s kept that resolution to date, with the exception of such basics as undergarments and socks.

The stars of her garments are her dogs, Blossom, an Akita, and Breeze, a shiba inu, who are shown frolicking amid sakura and ilima blossoms. The animals are rendered in pumpkin orange and fall yellows for a Halloween print, as Christmas tree ornaments in a “Mele Kalikimaka” print and as chopstick handle decoration for a print titled “Only dorks need forks.” Blossom is given seal flippers and dubbed “Blosseal” for a print called “Mermaid’s best friend.”

Those with sewing skills can purchase her fabric, at about $17.50 per yard, online at Spoonflower.com. It is sold under the name HakuAi, which has a Hawaiian ring to it but translates from Japanese to English as “Love for Everyone.” The designs are also available as wallpaper and gift wrap.

More of her designs are available at DesignbyHumans.com for print-on-demand T-shirts, sweatshirts, tank tops, hoodies and cellphone cases ($24 to $44).

Because most of her sales have taken place at dog shows, most of her clientele comprises other Akita and shiba inu owners who have seen her wearing her apparel bearing images of her own dogs. “That’s why people don’t know I do other stuff,” she said.

Miyagi says she can work with photographs of any pet to create a custom T-shirt for $55. She’ll also work with pet lovers to get what they want, from tote bags to duvet covers. Prices are subject to change, but the recent cost for a duvet cover was $250 plus shipping.

And, naturally, Blossom and Breeze have their own wardrobes, from dresses to bow ties, so they can all go out looking like a cohesive family unit.

In one of her prints, Miyagi and Blossom are depicted walking in the rain with a red umbrella and matching red booties. The print was inspired by the Rembrandts’ song “Chase the Clouds Away.”

Last month she got a shout-out from the band (perhaps best known for performing the “Friends” theme song) when it posted to its Facebook page: “Did you know that you can get ‘Chase the Clouds Away’ inspired fabric, wallpaper, and gift wrap? Created by #TheRembrandts‬ superfan Aiko!”

She used the print to make a cropped fleece hoodie.

“I like comfortable stuff. I don’t believe in clothes where you can’t go to a buffet and stuff yourself and have your clothes fit you at the end.”

Miyagi was born and raised in Sacramento, Calif., but spent school breaks with her grandmother and cousins here.

“Every time I was on the mainland, I cried to come back here, but plotting my return was of no use until I grew up and had money,” she said.

Since moving here in 2012, Miyagi does all her art design in her Makiki home, and while building up her HakuAi business makes ends meet by relying on her earlier skill set, as a math tutor.

For more information, visit facebook.com/HakuAi.Designs. A portion of sales is donated to A Passion for Paws, a Southern California Akita rescue organization.