When people ask me where to start with Sashiko, I often suggest one of these fukin (foo-keen) and tell them to pick a design they will actually finish. If you go for the super complex designs on your first try, it’s more likely you’ll get frustrated and shove it in a drawer, never to be…
Category: tutorials
Homegrown, Home-dyed Indigo
We grew our first crop of indigo! Then we used it to turn things blue.
Sashiko Rainbow Waves
My approach to stitching the traditional Seigaiha Wave design with variegated sashiko thread
Little House Japanese Sewing Thimbles
We stock several types of sewing thimbles from the Japanese brand Little House, and I use many of them myself. Which one(s) do you need? That depends on the type of sewing you do, how large or small your hands are, the length of your fingers, your mobility issues (if any), preference for vegan or…
Broken and Mended – patching sashiko hitomezashi
Examples of two different mending techniques
Sashiko and Double Gauze – the Ripple Effect
Sashiko doesn’t have to involve a lot of fancy stitches. Sometimes you can achieve delightful visual and tactile effects with a simple straight stitch. One of the easiest ways to do this is by using double gauze cotton fabrics. What is double gauze? It’s exactly what the name implies: two layers of cotton gauze fabric,…
Quilting with Sashiko
My mom was a hand quilter, which makes it logical that after watching her enjoy it for so many years, I’d come to appreciate handwork, too. The slow pace, the gentle and rhythmic stitching, and the fabulous texture of it all. There are some aspects of hand quilting I do not enjoy so much, especially…
Sashiko Subscription Box Beta coming soon!
What is the Sashiko Subscription Box (beta), you ask? The beta part refers to the first box being a limited release which will also come with a feedback questionnaire so you can tell me what you think needs to be improved or what works well. The goal is to have a presentable subscription box that…
Pardon the long absence, it’s been a busy year
Hello, dear readers. It’s been a while. In January & February I traveled Japan. More about that coming soon In March we launched our wholesale import business and showed at the San Francisco Quilt Guild Show In April I wrote a bunch, then stopped because there was so much more work to do with the…
Quick Sashiko Tips and Quilt Show News for October, 2016
Summer has wrapped up and we are heading into autumn. For me this means a LOT of work, including sewing and getting ready for quilt shows. BIG quilt shows. I’ve been a vendor at the Houston International Quilt Festival in Texas for a few years now, but this year I finally made it off the…
市松人形 Antique doll kimono – My New Year Challenge – part 4
Watching this video is making me question my sanity in regards to making this little kimono. No wonder I’m feeling stuck. But hey! It’s really useful and if I watch it 15 more times I might have a better grasp of what I’m doing, right? I’m far enough behind right now that I don’t expect…
市松人形 Antique doll kimono – My New Year Challenge – part 3
A little background on what makes a doll an Ichimatsu ningyo… 人形 Ningyo = doll. That’s the easy part. 佐野川 市松 Sanogawa Ichimatsu (1722-1762) What have come to be called Ichimatsu dolls were first produced in the Kampô and Hôreki eras (1741 – 1764), the faces designed to resemble Sanogawa Ichimatsu, a Kabuki actor who was famous for…
A love for both the common fiber and the extraordinary textile @KimonoMomo 