Speed of Sashiko 1

Speed of Sashiko ~ How fast can we stitch

People may have an image of Sashiko as the careful slow hand-stitching work; carefully making one stitch by one stitch. It is very important to concentrate on every stitch. However, I believe the Speed of Sashiko stitching is also very important when you enjoy Sashiko. The faster the person can stitch, the more project he/she can work on. The more projects he/she can finish, the better the Sashiko technique will be.

 

Take a look at the video I took for Japanese Running Stitch. No tutorials or descriptions are available on the video, but it will show you the concept of “running” stitch. It isn’t as fast as the machine stitching, but stitching the pattern one stitch by one stitch will take too long to “enjoy” Sashiko.

(Other videos are available on Sashi.Co Youtube Channel)

 

Enjoy the rhythm with Speed of Sashiko stitching

Another reason I occasionally mention about the speed of Sashiko is the rhythm of running stitch. As you can see on the video, I make about 3~5 stitches in one pushing and make the total of 20~30 stitches before pulling the needle through. This rhythm is very calming. I feel like it has the similar efficacy to meditation. When I am in the rhythm, I lost the sense of time.

I would like to introduce the other side of Sashiko efficacies besides making the beautiful patterns and it makes fabric stronger/repair the fabric. In order to share the aspect of Sashiko I am enjoying, the speed of Sashiko stitching is quite important to explain first.

The Speed of Sashiko I can perform now

It took about 90 minutes to do Sashiko from the photo_1 to photo_2. Once you learn how to use thimble and needle appropriately, achieving the speed on the video is the matter of practice, absolutely NOT impossible. The faster people can stitch, the more they can enjoy Sashiko. The more they enjoy Sashiko, the better up-cycle and re-purpose culture would be. I hope you would have a chance to learn how to use thimble and needles to achieve the Speed of Sashiko.

 

The Speed of Sashiko 2
Photo_1 The Speed of Sashiko

 

The Speed of Sashiko 2
Photo_2 The Speed of Sashiko

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