Sashiko

Sashiko embroidery originated in Northern Japan in the early 18th century as a means to make, repair or strengthen the clothing of men doing manual work like farming or fishing.  The garments were constructed by sewing together two layers of indigo dyed cloth with running stitches using sturdy white thread.  In the latter part of the 18th century decorative stitching developed and Sashiko was used for a wider variety of things.  It is often used nowadays as a type of quilting.


There are many traditional patterns.  My example is the simplest called Bamboo Fence.  It is drawn here in pencil on graph paper.

Experts in Sashiko will work some very complicated and unusual patterns but I imagine these require a lot of experience and are time consuming.. 

Some textile artists use Sashiko in an innovative way and it looks particularly attractive as a background for bright and colourful applique. We may find this idea useful for our Journal Quilts as the dark blue background fabric can become the water with decorative Sashiko stitches and appliqued features like waves or fish creating a design that is beautiful.  Lovely examples can be seen in a book by Sylvia Pippin called Paradise Stitched - Sashiko & Applique Quilts.  I will bring it to Quilting Arts next time.

Plain coloured cloth is normally used with a contrasting thread but the well-known and traditional look of Sashiko is still mainly indigo fabric and white thread. Sashiko thread is made of loosely twisted long staple cotton and comes in various weights.  Alternative threads to use are Perle cotton nos. 8 and 5 or crochet thread and some embroidery threads. Fabrics to use are cotton or linen and other plant fibres, but not batik as the thread count is fine and the Sashiko thread would not go through it easily. The thread should be pulled through the fabric with the grain of the thread.  This can be found by gently pulling the thread through finger and thumb to feel the texture in each direction, the smoothest is the way of the grain.

There are different ways of transferring the design to the fabric and one method is to use dressmaker's carbon paper and a sharp implement to copy the lines of the pattern on to the surface of the fabric.  However I decided to use a thin fusible interfacing and draw the design on this, working from the back instead of the front.

I copied the pattern from the paper to the interfacing and then ironed it to the back of the fabric using our favourite - baking parchment.  I marked the perimeter of the design on the back as well since this had to be stitched for my sample.

A long sharp needle with a large eye is needed and I used a Milliner's needle but a darner would also be suitable. The long needle helps as you get used to making regular length stitches since you can get a lot of stitches on the needle in one go.

The stitches on the back of the work are about half the length of the ones on the front and the recommended number is between 5 to 7 stitches per inch.  Neat and even is the most important thing and keeping to the same number of stitches for each pattern repeat.

Another important feature of Sashiko embroidery is to avoid crossing or overlapping the stitches.  leaving a space between is the recommended way.


This is the back of the finished sample. there is no wadding or backing on it at this stage.

These days Sashiko is likely to be worked on the top layer as a type of embroidery, perhaps with applique added.

When the other layers are added regular quilting can be stitched around the patterns or around the borders. 

Sashiko is quite difficult at first but the more you do the easier and more enjoyable it gets. However I was only brave enough to try a really simple pattern and can only imagine the level of experience needed to tackle some of the complicated and challenging ones that can be seen in textile books and on the internet.

Lets hope my simple attempt satisfies my tutor as I want to move on to more interesting things now.

As before .. watch this space!