This is a very yummy issue if you’re into historical and costume dramas in general and Downton Abbey in particular, which the editors at Stitch Magazine certainly are!

This very special issue includes instructions to make my tsumugi silk sashiko pillow. I do carry all the supplies needed, including the fabric, but not all supplies are currently listed because tsumugi is a pain to photograph and I need to get that dealt with. I did just find a stash of the Soie et silk thread #519 in the back of a cupboard (where I’d been hoarding it) and that is now back in the Kimonomomo Etsy shop.

They edited out some of my references to how Japanese silk works, assuming that most people don’t have access to tsumugi kimono silk anyway, which is sadly true. I chose to use tsumugi for this project because it behaves similar to cotton instead of the slippery (Chinese) silk most people are familiar with. Tsumugi fibers are untwisted and slubby, so it feels similar to dupioni or shantung. As it’s made for kimono, this fabric is typically 14″/36cm wide. I designed the pillow to use a 12″ pillow insert, easy to find at any major sewing or craft shop.

If you’re looking for tsumugi, I will have some listed later this week. In the meantime, here’s another project I did based on the same pattern, using indigo blue tsumugi and Soie et #501 silk thread. More photos later… the project is still evolving. But if you can’t wait to see how it went, check it out on Pinterest.