Sashiko tutorial

Our next guest blogger is Jeri. Jeri lives in TX near Jess and is lucky enough to work with Jess and hang out at her house.

Jeri has given us a small tutorial on Sashiko.

Sashiko

“Bless you” as my friend Cathy said when I told her about my latest project. No, I didn’t really sneeze. Sashiko is a form of Japanese embroidery. Typically done on dark blue cloth with white thread, much of Sashiko’s beauty lies in the simplistic stitches that create intricate designs.

Here are the steps I follow to create sashiko designs.

1. First print out the design you like on card stock.



2. Cut out the parts you want to show up when you chalk your template.



Oops, I forgot to take a picture of the next few steps. So hear it is in word form.

3.Spray the wrong side of your template with temporary adhesive, and place it where you want it on your fabric.

4.Use some form of marking system to fill in the blank spaces. I use a Pounce, but tailors chalk works as well.



5. Now your piece should look like this.


6. I use white embroidery thread and go around the outline of the stencil. I can’t remember the name of the stitch, so here is a picture.

7. My final tip is to pay attention to stitch length and space length. You want these to be as even as possible. If you have several uneven stitches in a row, take a break.

I hope this has been a useful introduction to Sashiko. To see the finished product (someday), check out the forums.
Thank you Jeri! Looks like a fun project.

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Till next time...

Dorian