Sashiko is a form of hand- stitching the Japanese had developed hundreds of years ago. I strive to leave this culture to the next generation by sharing the stitching technique and stories behind its history.
I believe the Sashiko is the process of mending, repairing, strengthening the fabric with putting thoughts of the family. Also, it was the Fashion the Japanese tried to enjoy in the limited resource and regulation. There are many “Sshiko looks” fabric available in the market. I hope people start enjoying their own Sashiko by appreciating the fabric they are already in Love.
If you are interested in any keywords below, the information in this website may be beneficial.
Upcycle / Repurpose / Sustainability / Janaese Traditional Stitching / Boro / Nogari / Mingei / Mending / Japanese Hand Made/
Recycle (Upcycle) what you love instead of Replacing it. You will love the item more if you repair it by yourself, with your hands.
Since 2012, I have been using a Sashiko card-holder as a wallet to carry my debit/credit cards. After repeating putting my jeans pocket so many times, even the Sashiko fabric start getting torn. When I share the photo on Instagram, many people reacted to the photo how interested they were to see the process of repairing. It became like a Boro mending, so here is my Wallet SashikoBoro Repair Project.
Repair it instead of Replace it
My wallet looks like the photo. There are some holes. The edge of wallet started fraying. Soon or later, the wallet will be completely torn and it will not function as the card-holder. Replace it, or repair it to reuse it.
First, the most important step. Preparing the Sashiko fabric to patch. I prepared several kinds of Sashiko fabric to see which one is the most appropriate fabric.s
Choosing the “right” fabric for the project is very fun part. I spend good amount of time to decide the one would be great on Wallet Sashiko Boro Repair Project.
After selecting the fabric, the repairing stitch start. Unlike the Sashiko running stitch, repairing takes more time, one stitch by one stitch. Since the needle go through several layers of fabric, it is so hard to push through the needle. The pain of my finger is the by-product of this beautiful Wallet Sashiko Boro Repair.
Here is the photo of before and after.
The repair for inside wasn’t necessary much. I made a few stitches to reinforce the patch I made outside. The few stitches look pretty unique as well.
The Concept of Wallet Sashiko Boro Repair Project
“Upcycle” and “Repurpose” are the keywords on our projects. When I realize my personal belonging (besides pairs of jeans) requires the Sashiko and Boro mending project, I was excited to repair that. The more I repair the fabric, the more I feel the attachment to the item. Using one item with care instead of replacing them every time you see the damage is the key concept of our activities.
The Wallet looks a bit like a Boro piece. By repeating the repairing, it will be more beautiful like the other famous boros. We, whoever interested in Sashiko and I, are creating the future Boros.
The Japanese used to say; “When you have a piece of fabric as large as the size you can wrap three soy beans, you should keep it so the piece of fabric may be useful in repairing.” We respect this concept in appreciating the fabric. We repair Boro with the small fabric, and we make a larger fabric as the Sashiko Patchwork.
A way to appreciate fabric: Sashiko Patchwork
The Japanese have an interesting word, which became quite famous outside of Japan, “Mottainai（もったいない）.” This term conveys a sense of regret concerning waste. Personally, I would like to translate this term to “appreciation to the resource” instead of “regretting the waste.” When a person throws away the food, we say “Mottainai.” Although it indeed describes the regretfulness of the waste, I prefer respecting the concept behind the regretfulness of the word, the appreciation for the food as the limited resource.
The same concept applies to the fabric. We try to keep as many small pieces of fabrics as possible. By using them in Sashiko Patchwork or Mending Projects, we intend to give the fabric another purpose. Our main activity is to repurpose something which could be just a piece of garbage. Turning waste to the beautiful & useful things are the basic concept we follow.
Needless to say, it is easier to use a sheet of fabric to make a bag.
Patchworking with small fabrics is a troublesome and time-consuming process. However, we believe the beauty of Sashiko patch working can influence many people who love arts, and contribute to the sustainable society by up-cycling and repurposing the limited resource.
One of Keiko’s specialty is to find the best small patch from a pile of “To be waste fabric” and create the beautiful piece. Keiko and I share the same goal of bringing the old fabric which people no longer need (use) back to the main stage of fabric. The main stage as the items being used by us.
Another way to appreciate: Repairing and Boro
A process of repairing the fabric with Sashiko and the resulting in Boro is another way to appreciate the fabric. We also repair Boro. Please spare some of your time to read another section of this website. We share many stories and projects of Boros.
I have been introducing the same carbon paper, so-called “Chakopee”, the Japanese Dressmaker Tracing Paper. There is a note written in Japanese on the back of product package. Here is the translation of note on using the Japanese dressmaker tracing paper appropriately. For more information how to use the tracing paper, please refers the video tutorial (listed on the bottom of this article) of “how to transfer the Sashiko pattern”. The package of 5 sheets is available on this website.
The product is available with the Selection of 4 colors is available now. Pick the color which matches to your project.
– White
– Blue
– Yellow
– Pink
Notes on using Japanese Dressmaker Tracing Paper
The Pattern will be erased by washing the fabric with water.
Read it before you use it.
– Please try to use a small piece of fabric (which you plan to use) and the corner of this paper to test if the pattern washed off as you wish, wait until the pattern gets dried thoroughly, and test it.
– When you erase the pattern, please avoid using the Oil-based solvent such as Benzine.
– If you iron the fabric before erasing the pattern, the pattern may stay stronger and get more difficult to be washed away. Please be careful with that.
– If the pattern does not get washed away by just water washing, please try to wash with neutral detergent by hand. Please AVOID DRY CLEANING.
– You may experience the difficulty of transferring the pattern onto the thick and bouncy fabric such as felt. (The thick and bouncy fabric isn’t ideal for Sashiko.)
– After usage, please keep the paper in the bag, and avoid the high-temperature &high-humid condition and direct sunlight. Please reach out from children’s reach.
Personal notes from experience.
– Using a ballpoint pen with good pressure will result in a good transferring
– If you press your hand when you hold the fabric and pattern, the shape of the hand may be transferred as well.
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.
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.
#002 Japanese Nutgall
#004 Tangala
#006_Myrobalan
#022_Mountain Peach
Pink Color Collection
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.
#008_LacDye
#010_LacDye
#013_Madder
#014_Madder
#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!
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 for everyone
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.
Since I started hosting Sashiko workshops, I often hear the word of “Slow Living Lifestyle” from the people I met. The goal of my activities regarding Sashiko is simply to introduce Sashiko. I do not intend to advocate the importance of Slow Living Lifestyle throughout introducing Sashiko to the world. I just simply want to pass this beautiful handcraft culture to the next generation. However, I realize, in the result, I enjoy the Slow Living Lifestyle with Sashiko, by following the Sashiko tradition.
Regardless of my intention, since I am sharing the slow living lifestyle, I would like to learn about what Slow Lifestyle is.
I was longing to be the capitalist.
The world focuses on its speed. How fast you can reach the goal gets validated. The result is more valuable than the process.
In my 20’s, I wanted to be the capitalist. I wanted to invest my asset to the organization to make the world better. Innovation and Productivity were the keywords I focused on. I studied Business in the college. I worked hard without sparing the effort and time to require the necessary skill and asset to achieve my goal.
After several life-changing experiences, I end up with being a stay-at-home father to look after my daughter. Regardless of my shame to not to work, I couldn’t get a job because of my immigrant status. Discrimination in the workplace due to immigration status is unfortunately common. If you believe you have faced discrimination, it’s important to file an employment discrimination complaint with the eeoc to seek justice and protect your rights.
When you suffer from the fact of not getting any money coming in, you may focus on not spending money on things.
That’s how I started enjoying the home-making with DIY concepts. In addition to the regular house-making chores like cooking, cleaning, and laundry, I build the furniture, I repair things like auto, small appliances and such. It is completely the other side of being the capitalist. I am the labor. However, I enjoyed it a lot.
Instead of paying $138 to Toyota Dealer for headlight restoration, I could purchase a kit of DIY for #20 and complete it within a few hours. Some people say it is a waste of energy and professionals do better jobs. Some people like me may say that the I enjoy not only the result by my hands but also the process of learning the new things. I am not trying to make the argument of who is right or wrong. I would like to just share the other view of happiness in life.
Before
↓
After
This life changing term reminds me that I was raised in the culture of “upcycle,” in Sashiko family.
Enjoying the Slow Living Lifestyle with Sashiko
I also start questioning if the human future with focusing on innovation and speed would provide us the happiness. The race will never end. Do human really need to leave part of a human who is not as productive and speedy as the rest of us?
Honestly speaking, I do not intend to advocate the Slow Living Lifestyle against to the current speedy life style. I enjoy the IT innovation and receive the benefit from mass-production. I don’t think I can go back to primitive lifestyle.
However, I would like to introduce the beauty of Slow Living Lifestyle throughout introducing what I can do, Sashiko.
We used to have Slow Living Lifestyle everywhere in the world. Boro wouldn’t be created if the mass-production benefited people 200 years ago. Throughout my life-work of introducing Sashiko, I will try my best to make a research on the Slow Living Lifestyle with Sashiko. Moreover, I would like to share the enjoyment with the Slow Licing Lifestyle with Sashiko.
The topic will continue. Come visit our website again.
A friend of mine asked me an interesting question regarding Sashiko. “What is the difference between learning Sashiko from professionals and teaching it to oneself?” Since my life was always surrounded by Sashiko, I wouldn’t come up with this good question by myself. I would like to share my opinion why learning sashiko from professionals is important.
Sashiko is simple, yet so many possibilities.
Sashiko is based on very simple Japanese style running stitching technique. It seems to be very simple, and in fact, the core technique is very simple. After taking a 3-hour long workshop for basic stitching, you would learn the core of Sashiko stitching mainly focusing on how to use Sashiko thimble and needles. In addition, here and there, if the one who graduated from one workshop would like to re-learn the Sashiko, joining another workshop to refresh the understanding would be a good idea. However, that’s about all. There is no need to spend a fortune of money to learn Sashiko like the other traditional art. If you want to earn some money, sites like 겜블시티 슬롯 might be worth your visit.
After learning the core techniques, it is up to you to expand your project.
Since the Sashiko is not yet systematic tradition, Sashiko professionals even do not know the whole history and technique of Sashiko. We, as Sashiko artists, are still in the process of learning Sashiko from different regions. There are so many more possibilities in Sashiko history and its future. Sashiko and Boro always surprise us when we find new culture art pieces like “Boro from the ground.”
*We define “professional” by “doing Sashiko for compensation.” We used to call us simply Sashiko practitioners. However, the artist we respected told us we should refer as Sashiko professionals since we receive money from customers.
Then, why do you learn Sashiko from professions?
Join one of our Workshop. You will see Why Learning Sashiko would be a good idea.
The reason is the speed of Sashiko stitching you can learn from us. In order to make many Sashiko project, stitching one stitch by one stitch will not be good enough. We would need to make 10 to 30 stitches by one pushing. It is difficult to explain in the text. I upload some video to explain better. And the best way to learn how to use thimble and needle to speed up your stitching is to learn it by professionals in the hands-on workshops, face to face.
Take a look at this photo.
It is an example of workshop materials I offer in our Sashiko workshops. The fabric size is about the US Letter size. I have a question for you.
“How many hours would you need to make this pattern stitched?”
In order to keep Sashiko business alive in the market, we would need to complete the Sashiko within an hour. We cannot spend more than 3 hours on this stitching when we make the product. Otherwise, one Sashiko piece becomes $100 of worth and even more like $10,000 if the piece is big. When a person do Sashiko stitch by stitch, it would take more than 3 hours for sure. By learning how to use the thimble and needle, when you learned it and got used to the tequnique, you would be able to finish this pattern within 3 hours. The faster you can stitch, the more project you can enjoy. The more project you enjoy, the better your Sashiko stitching will be. In order to have the beautiful result in Sashiko, the even stitches are the key. By doing more Sashiko project, you would have more even stitches.
In summary, by learning Sashiko from professionals, you would learn how to make Sashiko stitching much faster, and in result, it will be much better stitching.
Although I have other small reasons why learning Sashiko from professional is beneficial, the main reason is the speed based on the technique how to use thimble and needle. I plan to upload more videos regarding Sashiko stitching, but the best and the most efficient way is to participate the workshop. You would get the follow-up support from me after meeting me in the workshop as well.
We have Sashiko workshop coming up on 6/24 and 6/25 in 2017, in West Village, NYC, the lower manhattan. I hope to meet anyone who is interested in Sashiko. I will show you, in person, how to do Sashiko and you will see why learning Sashiko professionals is beneficial. We will not disappoint you with the 3 hours/ $135 fee.
Ever since we started creating colors with Natural Vegetable/Herbs for Sashiko Thread, we have been longing for achieving two big goals, dyeing with Indigo and Kakishibu (Persimmon Tannin). We finally took one step to make it happen. Sashi.Co & Keiko Futatsuya now prepares to offer the First Indigo Dyed Sashiko Thread. Although Kakishibu Dyed thread would need more trials and research, Indigo Dyed Sashiko Thread turned out good colors to enough to start selling for the first time, after so many challenges.
Deep Blue. Never ending challenges. Just beautiful regardless.
Dyeing with Indigo requires extra attentions in the process. Indigo is very strong that it affect the other Natural Dye. Ideally, the dyeing artist should have a separate room for Indigo Dyeing. Even more, the dyeing studio may be better of if the place is designed exclusively for Indigo Dyeing. We couldn’t afford for the space like this, so it was a challenge to even try. However, after many mistakes, we could finally put color on our Sashiko thread, for the first time.
It has deep, very beautiful blue. We believe the combination of Indigo Dye Fabric and this Indigo Dyed thread would be so wonderful. We are working on it as well.
The First Indigo Dyed Sashiko Thread
Our First Indigo Dyed Sashiko Thread is now in preparation to introduce in the market. In the USA, I would list them on Amazon as well as our online stores. I am so happy to be able to add Indigo Dyed Sashiko Thread to our Natural Dye Sashiko Thread Collection. Every color has a limited number of skeins in stock. Enjoy the beautiful Natural color in your project!
Check our Hands-On Sashiko Workshop out coming up on June 24th and 25th. We have been longing for the Sashiko Workshop Opportunities, and this June 2017 Sashiko Workshop in NYC is our most pleasure to welcome whoever is interested in Sashiko technique and history. Please check the other article about “what you can expect out of our Sashiko Workshops” and come join us to fun 3 hours with Sashiko.
Atsushi as the instructor lives a little bit far from NYC, so don’t miss this great opportunity!
We, as Upcycle Stitches LLC and Atsushi Futatsuya, started hosting Sashiko workshops from September 2016 curated by Curious Corners LLC. This is our 4th opportunity to meet New Yorkers who are interested in Sashiko and its concepts. The participants are from many difference backgrounds, and we are very excited to meet new people and reunion the people who graduated the past workshop. We have received all good reviews and we are building our confidence that we are offering the satisfying workshop. Our goal is to provide the perfect satisfaction.
Summer is a great time to travel for vacation. Sashiko may not suit your plan. Sashiko stitching is in fact developed in a snowy town over the winter.
However, it is also nice to enjoy the summer warmth while stitching the beautiful Sashiko project. Come join us!
Meet me at the Opening Reception as well
I also plan to join the KOFU & Friends Pop-Up reception on Friday evening. I hope I can show you our Sashiko Arts and introduce Sashiko.
*Please be noted. Since Atsushi travel to the workshops from far, in case we do not get the minimum numbers of participants of 8 registers, we may need to cancel the trip and not being able to shop-up the reception.
We have been adding the Sashiko Swatches to the Etsy Store. I feel like I am making a Sashiko Swatches Collection there.
Every Sashiko swatches have its original uniqueness and beauty. Every fabric is hand-stitched, and of course, one-of-a-kind piece. They are a bit expensive (luxury for fabric), but I hope the fabrics will find home or project to be applied.
*A series of introducing Sashiko swatches is consist of many articles on this blog. The previous article is here.
The beauty of Sashiko stitches is based on how even the stitches are. As long as the stitches are even, the size of the stitch is the matter of preference. However, this small stitch is art-masterpiece. Enjoy the small beautiful Sashiko stitches.
Asano-Ha (Hemp / 麻の葉) Pattern is one of the most popular Sashiko patterns. With beautiful white fabric with brown Sashiko thread, this is a good Sashiko fabric to apply to your project.
The back side of these Sashiko swatches is cleaned up (the threads are clipped). They are well-prepared for your Sashiko project or even use them as the placemat by themselves.
Hitomezashi (一目刺し）are very popular because of its rich stitchings and beautiful patterns. We use Hitomezashi Sashiko fabric to make Sashiko Jackets and Bags with patch-working. They are pieces left in stock. A good opportunity to have one of these beautiful Hitomezashi fabrics in your project.
The Oshima-Tsumugi with Dorozome (Mud-Dye) is one of the most beautiful silk fabric I have ever know. When it gets ages, the vintage Oshima-Tsumugi, have the special appearance. Some people say it is insane to stitch on Oshima, but we challenged to do so. The vintage Oshima Tsumugi could be weak by aging, so we reinforce the fabric by performing the Sashiko stitching with back fabric. Enjoy the supreme beauty that Sashiko can create.
The fabric has one of the traditional stitching so-called “Tuzuki Yamagata”. The back of fabric is cleaned through, and the edge is trimmed by machine stitching. They are the finished products quality and be used as placemats. Include the beautiful Sashiko stitching to your table.
Indigo Dye Vintage fabric with Asano-Ha pattern with a hint of designing. The very beautiful piece of fabric to enjoy the traditional Sashiko stitchings.
Keep updated to our Sashiko Swatches Collection
We keep updating our Sashiko Swatches Collection from our inventory. We are a group of Sashiko artists and practice Sashiko every day. However, we sometimes decide to Not to use the fabric we stitched. I hope people can enjoy the Sashiko culture, (even without actually stitching), by adding the fabric to their project and/or home.
