Natural Dye Sashiko Thread List

Natural Dye Sashiko Thread List for 2017_S Collection

I am grateful that I received some active reactions to the article I wrote about “why does Keiko create the Natural Dye Sashiko Thread.” After working hard on studying the Natural Dye Thread, we have a Natural Dye Sashiko Thread List for the Summer of 2017. All available for sale. This is the list of natural dye thread we can re-create. In other words, even after they get sold out, we can restock the very similar color (almost identical) Sashiko thread.

They are all available on our online store. The coupon for Sashiko threads (free shipping for a purchase with 5+ threads) is still active.

 

Summer 2017 | Natural Dye Sashiko Thread List

Gray Color Collection

Natural Dye Sashiko Thread List 2

Each of the beautiful gray colored threads has its uniqueness by adding a hint of other colors such as purple, green, beige, and indigo blue. Although the gray color collection is not as fancy as the pink color collection, the gray color matches to the vintage fabric very well. In fact, these gray colored threads are most often used thread in Sashi.Co & Keiko Futatsuya collection.

Natural Dye Sashiko Thread List 002
#002 Japanese Nutgall
Natural Dye Sashiko Thread List 004
#004 Tangala
Natural Dye Sashiko Thread List 006
#006_Myrobalan
Natural Dye Sashiko Thread List 022
#022_Mountain Peach

 

 

Pink Color Collection

Natural Dye Sashiko Thread List 3

 

Pink Color Collection is our all time favorite. It looks beautiful on any color of fabric, and it adds the colorfulness to Sashiko.

It was challenging to stabilize the pink colors as the re-stackable thread. As you can see, one dye material, such as Lac Dye and Madder, can create several colors based on the condition and dye catalysts. Enjoy the beauty of purple to pink. They are even beautiful to just look at.

Natural Dye Sashiko Thread List 008
#008_LacDye
Natural Dye Sashiko Thread List 010
#010_LacDye
Natural Dye Sashiko Thread List 013
#013_Madder
Natural Dye Sashiko Thread List 014
#014_Madder
Natural Dye Sashiko Thread List 015
#015_Madder

Yellow Color Collection

We learned that our valued customer finds it difficult to use the yellow color in Sashiko. The yellow colors from Natural Dye could be a good substitute (or even upgrade) for the white thread. For example, the indigo blue fabric and yellow natural dye get the result of white looking. Both colors from Mountain Peach and Myrobalan will open up another possibility to your Sashiko project!

 

 

Natural Dye Sashiko Thread List yellow

 

Natural Dye Sashiko Thread List 024
#024_Mountain Peach
Natural Dye Sashiko Thread List 025
#025_Myrobalan

 

Enjoy Sashiko!

 

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Sashiko Expensive

Is Sashiko Expensive Art for wealthy people?

Is Sashiko Expensive in the contemporary textile market?

The answer is, unfortunately, “Yes.” Sashiko artisans spend a huge amount of time into a project, and therefore, the Sashiko art/craft can be expensive in comparison to the other textile products. For example, Sashiko Bags produced by Sashi.Co & Keiko Futatsuya costs in a range of $100 to $500. Although the price isn’t crazy compared to the high-end product, for the small handbag made from cotton fabric, the price is relatively expensive.

 Sashiko Expensive 1  Sashiko Expensive 2

Is Sashiko supposed to be Expensive? Was Sashiko expensive?

In my understanding of Sashiko history and its origin, the answer is “No”: Sashiko shouldn’t be expensive. I believe that Sashiko was found as the “art (craft)” in the movement of defining Japanese Folk Art, Mingei. (About Mingei Movement in Japan.) Sashiko was everywhere in Japan a few hundred years ago. It was the technique to appreciate the fabric for the ordinal people by the ordinal people. In fact, Sashiko was developed because people didn’t have enough money to purchase the new clean fabric. The culture arose in the completely opposite side of “expensive”.

 

Why is Sashiko Expensive now?

It is simply because the people who engage their life into Sashiko is very few in the 21st century. The demand for Sashiko drastically shrank, and the Sashiko craftsman/artists needed to find other jobs to survive. The economic growth based on the capitalism introduced the mass-production and mass-consumption (replace rather than repair), and the culture of repairing fabric with Sashiko became the inefficient, unproductive, and non-logical solution for the society.

In Hida area, our family took a quick move to make Sashiko into the local crafts and souvenirs for tourists who visited the old town in Takayama. They followed the concept of Mingei Folk Art movement and made a division of labor, such as Sashiko stitching, tailoring, pattern designing and drawing, and even the management in form of company. Until the end of 20th century, Sashiko (in Hida) was very reasonable crafts for many ordinal people.

 

After losing many Sashiko artists and craftsman in each division of labor because of their age, the management had to shift the organizations’ policy to produce more expensive “one-of-a-kind” products with respecting the remaining artisans, in order to keep Sashiko culture alive in next 10 years, and hopefully in next 100 years. In order to compensate to the works they do & to the value they create, the Sashiko became expensive.

 

Sashiko became unusual, therefore, sashiko became Expensive.

*There is only a few craftsmen/artists who make their living with only doing Sashiko. At least, I know some Sashiko artists in Japan, but they do have other jobs to make living, or they have another source of income besides the Sashiko. So do I, and so does Keiko. 

 

I would like to make Sashiko (Art) to everyone, again.

 

Personally, I favor the concept from Mingei Japanese folk art movement. I believe Sashiko shouldn’t be crazy expensive art only for the wealthy people. We would really appreciate the support from the wealthy people to sustain the culture. However, our goal is not to make a fortune and be successful in the definition of capitalism.  I even feel that the society where Sashiko expensive seems a bit unhealthy for the human being.

 

Our goal is to make Sashiko available to everyone, again, as ordinal people did a few hundred years ago in Japan.

Sashiko was popular in every (poor) place in Japan. Therefore, the ordinal people stitched to help the other ordinal people. Mingei Movement found the beauty in these ordinal work. I also believe the ordinal Sashiko work is so beautiful, and as the result, it can get the reputation as the art.

 

After the big wave of the age of mass-production and mass-consumption, in another word of fast-fashion, people start realizing the inside problems. Most of the fabric can be repaired before replacing them. The ultimate result of repairing without replacing by making stitches with Sashiko is the famous textile so called Boro.

 

Wouldn’t be nice if you can repair your cloth by yourself as you wish, or ask someone with reasonable price instead of replacing it every year? However, please do not misunderstand. I am not trying to change the fashion field by denying the mass-production culture. I appreciate the accomplishments of the industrial revolution. What I am trying to say here is, it would be nice to spread the “repair culture” so we can have the option to our fashion, the human nature of what we wear.

 

As I mentioned above, I am also one of these Sashiko artists who cannot make the own living by only doing Sashiko. Therefore, we sell Sashiko supplies and materials for profit and provide the Sashiko workshops with fees. I believe I am providing the value equivalent to the money I receive. At the same time, I would like to spread the technique and culture who cannot afford the money by uploading the video, articles, and tutorials.

(For example, Youtube Channel is free to watch from anywhere.)

 

 

 

 

 

Your understanding is always appreciated, and your voice is always encouraging.

Until the day I really have to take care of my family, I will continue the way I ideally (idiotically) dream of. “Sashiko Expensive” to “Sashiko Appreciative”.

 

Footnotes:

I cannot thank enough to my wife who provides the quality life to the family, and my daughter who understands what her daddy wants to share to the world. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to pursue the unrealistic goal.

Sashi.Co Original Color Sashiko Thread 1

Sashi.Co Original Color Sashiko Thread

As I repeatedly mention in the website, it is very important to have the good thread when you enjoy Sashiko. In fact, it is more difficult to “find” the best thread than choosing the one. As a group of Sashiko artists, we always choose the thread from Coron Manufacture. However, it isn’t easy to get the color we want all the time, although we have more than 15 variations available. Keiko Futatsuya started dyeing the thread by herself with Natural Botanical Dye after experiencing the challenge in finding the appropriate color thread. They are very beautiful. At the same time, she realized, it isn’t budget friendly to use the Botanical Dye Sashiko thread only on her project. Then, she talked to the manufacturer, came up with this unique colored Sashiko thread. The Sashi.Co Original Color Sashiko Thread, which has the similar color to some of the Natural Botanical Dye Sashiko Thread.

 

Sashi.Co Original Color Sashiko Thread 2 Sashi.Co Original Color Sashiko Thread 3

Please Visit the page for the purchase of Sashi.Co Original Color Sashiko Thread.

Sashi.Co Original Color Sashiko Thread for everyone

Sashi.Co Original Color Sashiko Thread T1 Beige Sashi.Co Original Color Sashiko Thread T2 Moss Green

 

We have 2 colors of our Sashi.Co Original Color Sashiko Thread. One is Beige (#T1) and the other is Moss Green (#T2). Both of them have a unique color, which doesn’t look like the synthetic and machine dye. Since ordering the original color required a large amount of thread to dye in the big pot, we needed to spend a lot of our capital to make this happen. Therefore, we are providing the thread with the similar prices as the other synthetic dyed Sashiko thread such as Solid Color Sashiko Thread and Variegated Color Sashiko Thread.

 

Every kind of thread is the best for the Sashiko purpose. The difference is only the colors. I hope everyone can get an opportunity to try one of our great Sashiko thread.

 

Enjoy Sashiko!

Mingei Art Movement

Mingei Art Movement in Japan and Sashiko

For a long time, I never doubted myself that the Sashiko is the “handicrafts art” which was found in Japanese Mingei Art Movement. I’ve read some books about the theory by the founder, Yanagi Souetsu (or Muneyoshi),  of this Japanese folk movement. I’ve visited the folk art museum in Tokyo where Mr.Yanagi established. I still believe that Sashiko in a large category of fabric wouldn’t be famous if the Mingei movement didn’t occur in 1920s and 1930s. Sashiko wasn’t the main crafts Mr.Yanagi focused. He significantly worked on the pottery, especially those were used in the Japanese Tea ceremony.

 

None of my understandings changed. However, I come to realize that I had never tried to explain what Mingei Art Movement was in English. Although I had briefly introduced it throughout my Sashiko workshops or when I introduce Sashiko, it was merely a quick mention with a very shallow explanation. Introducing “how” to do Sashiko is important in the workshop. However, introducing Sashiko’s history by explaining how it came to the surface of art-culture is also a very important aspect of passing Sashiko down to next generation. We, as Upcycle Stitches LLC, will try our best to describe it in English.

 

*Most of the writing is based on my (Atsushi’s) interpretation. In other words, they are merely my opinion based on books from the past and talks from people. When I refer the definition or sentence from existing book, I, of course, will refer the origin. However, the reference may be only in Japanese.   

*As I mentioned above, Mr.Yanagi described Sashiko only a little bit. He mentioned the beauty of Sashiko in Tohoku (Northern part of the main island). I haven’t found any articles about our Sashiko in Hida region and Mingei Movement. However, I believe, there are many handicrafts that Mr. Yanagi didn’t find yet to follow the concept of Mingei Art Movement.

 

Terminology of Mingei

There are a few words I need to define first. These word-definitions are my personal understanding. If you think of the better definition, please kindly let me know. I am still in the process of learning Mingei Art Movement.

 

  • Mingei (民藝): Folk Art. Min (民)means (ordinally) people. Mingei is the art produced by (ordinally) people. In contrast, Kan (管)means (governmental) officers. 
  • Kougei(工芸): Industrial handicrafts. Explaining the difference between Mingei and Kougei is my challenge here, too.
  • Gei-Jyutsu (芸術): Art.

I will keep updating the terminology while I proceed in updating the website regarding this topic.

What is Mingei?

Mingei is the art produced by the ordinal people for the daily life of the ordinal people. The art produced for loyal family, noble people and government people are not in a category of Mingei. Therefore, Mingei often has different look comparing to the other well-known Japanese art. Mr.Yanagi defined Mingei with the 8 criteria.

  1. Practical: made for practical usage, not for the display.
  2. Nameless: made by unknown craftsman, and the craft is not made to be famous.
  3. Mass-produced: In order to meet the demand from the people, the item were made in mass quantity.
  4. Reasonable Price: Inexpensive price so the ordinal people could purchase and use.
  5. Locality: The art item has the local characteristic such as color, shape, and patterns.
  6. Division of Labor: For the mass production, the art item was made in division of labors by skilled craftsman
  7. Tradition: Following the tradition and wisdom the ancestors cultivated.
  8. Collectability: The creation depend on the local tradition and climate rather than the individual skill

 

The Wikipedia describes the definition like below. I plan to explain each criteria based on my understanding to Sashiko. This is not a research paper, more like an essay to introduce what Sashiko is more clearly.

The philosophical pillar of mingei is “hand-crafted art of ordinary people” (民衆的な工芸 (minshū-teki-na kōgei)). Yanagi Sōetsu discovered beauty in everyday ordinary and utilitarian objects created by nameless and unknown craftsmen. According to Yanagi, utilitarian objects made by the common people are “beyond beauty and ugliness”. Below are a few criteria of mingei art and crafts:

  • made by anonymous crafts people
  • produced by hand in quantity
  • inexpensive
  • used by the masses
  • functional in daily life
  • the representative of the regions in which they were produced.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mingei)

What Mingei Art Movement brought to the world

 

Mingei Art Movement Sashiko

 

Mingei Art Movement influenced not only to the Japanese who didn’t focus on the beautiful art by ordinal people, but it also influences the western culture by introducing the Japanese, Korean and Chinese culture regarding handcrafts. In order to explain the whole picture of Mingei Art Movement thoroughly, I would need to start writing about the aspect of religion. For now, I am not ready to start the deep discussion of the whole picture of Mingei Art Movement.

I will keep writing about the Sashiko, and Mingei Art Movement regarding Sashiko.

 

Successful Sashiko Workshop

Successful Sashiko Workshop in NYC

Thanks to many people around me sharing the information, I had a great time in NYC with Successful Sashiko Workshop over the weekend of 6/24 and 6/25. It is always a good surprise that people like Sashiko way more than I imagine. I am happy, and mostly relieved, that all of the participants enjoyed the workshop. I hope I can see all the graduates who enjoyed my workshops and meet someone new who is interested in Sashiko workshop.

*For my Sashiko Workshop attendees. If you haven’t received a follow-up e-mail from me in last 6 days, please contact me in earliest convenience. You have some follow-up materials to maximize the workshop experience, and I would like to make sure you get everything.  

 

Boro | Sashiko | Beautiful time with fabric

We offered the basic (regular) Sashiko stitching workshops, Sashiko Mending Workshops, and advanced (Hitomezashi) Workshops. They are all Successful Sashiko Workshops. On top of the techniques and workshops materials, I am very happy that the people enjoyed the Boro and Sashiko pieces I brought to the workshop.

Thanks to one attendee, I now have this beautiful picture with Boro Jackets from Sashi.Co & Keiko Futatsuya. I knew the Boro jacket is stunning. However, the jacket with a tall person was something more than I was imagining. I would like to thank him a lot for the opportunity. (I wish I could be taller… lol )

 

 

Successful Sashiko Workshop 2

 

 

The time with fabric, either Sashiko stitching with Asano-ha pattern or mending their garment with Sashiko fabric, the time with 3 hours were very beautiful with enjoying, appreciating, and feeling the fabric. Although we do not have the specific date for the next Sashiko workshop in NYC, I hope we can offer the similar opportunity to enjoy Sashiko with me.

Successful Sashiko Workshop 2

 

 

To Another Successful Sashiko Workshop

 

*The detail of available Workshops

I am more than happy to offer the 3 hours long Sashiko workshop in Lewisburg, Pensylvania. If you are willing to make a trip to the city of Lewisburg, please contact me. I will give you the detail information where to gather, what is the necessary things to bring, and fees. Please be advised that the minimum size of the workshop is 2 attendees. The maximum size is 6 attendees. Please try to come with your friends, or I can advertise to match up the attendees on the website. The Sashiko workshop fee is $135.00+tax for 3 hours long.

Also, I can offer the workshop at your place (in your city) if you prefer that. I am happy to make a trip to your place over the weekend. I am available on weekdays as well, but the rate will be a bit higher. Also, I would ask you to prepare the place to gather as the group with a table and chairs for the workshop and attendees. Please contact me so I can send you the detailed proposal so everyone in the plan can be satisfied.

 

Meanwhile, I will keep updating the Youtube Channel. Your request is very much appreciated to have another Successful Sashiko Workshop online and off-line by meeting (seeing) you.

https://www.youtube.com/c/sashico