I Spent 18 Months Learning Sashiko Embroidery

Well, it's been a long journey, but a very peaceful one!

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[Worldbuilder]

I think I would use them as *really* cute handtowels. But I’ve spent years and years learning that using a thing you love is more important than preserving a thing you love. Because it’s in using it with joy you get joy out of it continually. :)

[EliotChildress]

I’m currently living in japan and just wanna say this is beautiful. Also in terms of materials, don’t worry about it. The ones recommended in the book are likely not “fully traditional” they are what is workable and available. Just like with kimono, they are normally seen as silk today but the local kimono maker in town told me that in the old days there were no rules. If it was a nice fabric and you wore it as a kimono, then it’s a kimono.

[raebla]

Make them into a folding screen. Frame each in light wooden frame, to create panels and then screw in some hinges to make a screen where you can see both sides of the piece and can section of a bit of a room, or use a backdrop

[nondisclosureable]

Sashiko is one of those things where getting a palm thimble and the correct needle type (they're a LOT longer than typical embroidery needles) really makes a huge difference in the learning curve.

[binglemarie]

My mom used to do Hardanger, a Norwegian embroidery style that doesn't use a frame. When I think about how her entire project, thread, and needle easily fit in a quart Ziploc bag, I think about taking it up myself! Sashiko looks like another great candidate for that.

[OleanderStarr]

You used sashiko to make hanafukin. I think they’re used as cleaning cloths way back when in Japan. The sashiko stitches were both decorative and functional since they made the fabric more durable.

[liav]

Yes! Embroidery is about the process not the destination. It’s like meditation but you have something physical at the end

[suzisaintjames]

28:55 your story about the guy who asked: what are you knitting... Made me remember when Quilted Northern bathroom tissue started an animated advertising campaign where two ladies were sitting at a quilting frame, each with a pair of knitting needles. It ran many times a day all across the nation on TV and in print ads for months before they release a revised version where the ladies ditched the knitting needles and were sewing (with the stab method) the quilt on the quilting frame. I bet someone got fired for not catching that mistake. 💖🌞🌵😷

[chrisgreek]

The way you feel about embroidery is exactly how I feel about cross-stitch. Even though I live in chronic pain, I tend to only do projects that are super intricate, especially when doing petit point. I get that patience line all the time, and my answer is always the same: by focusing on this, my mind stills and my pain diminishes. It doesn’t matter the hobby, but I think everyone should have something that gives them that sense of peace.

[BananaPantsChannel]

I like how you made a little gallery at the end! My YouTube-only knowledge on Sashiko came from learning about visible mending. My impression is that sashiko began as a way to mend clothes, so from that perspective, using what ever fabric you have is probably plenty authentic

[suzisaintjames]

What to do with the blocks? Here's a couple of suggestions: 1. Sew them together into a summer "quilt" or bed spread. (No batting, no backing... just sewn together.) See if you need the smaller ones to make the size to cover your bed, you might not need all of them. If you do, then sew a strip of fabric on all 4 sides (called sashing) to make them all the same size. 2. In Japan they hang very short curtains at the top of doorways (for privacy). Each western door would probably take 2-3 squares and you probably have enough squares to make these curtains for all the doorways of your home (including closets etc.). 3. If you stitched them all together instead of a bedspread, you could make curtains. They would be so pretty with the light showing through. 4. My home doesn't have big windows, so I might hang the "curtain" on a wall as a sort of tapestry or art piece. You often see quilts decorating walls of country cottages. Sending lots of love 💖 from sunny 🌞 Arizona 🌵. Take care of yourself and each other 😷.

[ebunni]

I would 100% make a skirt with this! You could add to the borders of the shrunk squares with more white fabric to make them all the same size. Maybe even make a pinafore skirt with your favorite square as the bib.

Also, you could make a lightweight quilt with no backing. It'd be nice for hot summer nights and still decorative tossed on top of other blankets.

Each one is so lovely!

[Cooky_]

They are used as cleaning towels or dish towels. Very sturdy. That’s one of the original uses other than mending farmer and fishermen clothes. I use mine as dresser toppers. Like old fashion doilies. Also bread basket liners is a good use.

[jsmxwll]

i found that a longer sashiko needle and palm thimble really made the process faster on larger patters with no curves or shallow curves. i use shashiko stitches for visible mending pretty often so i am usually going for a larger stabilizing pattern to reinforce the mend rather than a straight embroidery.

[zelliehtrue]

You can get picture frames that have glass front and back so you can see both sides of the artwork. It's also used for pressed flowers.

[AnnaMorimoto]

Sashiko is supposed to strengthen what is essentially used like a tea-towel. Don't worry too much about the kind of fabric or thread you're using. It's fine.

Sarashi momen is just undied woven cotton used for many things like underwear, steaming food or straining liquids, just like cheese cloth or gauze. Momen means cotton. Sarashi means to expose, referring to the traditional method of bleaching cloth white.

[auditoryeden]

So, re the idea of a quilt: the key would be to embroider the top cloth, a layer of batting, and the back cloth together. Sashiko is often thought of as a Japanese decorative quilting technique. I would probably get two pieces of fabric slightly larger than the desired size of the finished thing, the batting, and then literally just use that whole huge thing as my work piece. Then eventually when it's done you bind it and it's already quilted.

Speaking of which I just had an idea for another quilted Christmas stocking design 😁

[ProcraftinatorSharon]

You could use them as placemats or decorations on tables. You could use sashing (I think) or applique to make them into a quilt. You could use a frame where you can change them out and do a rotating display. I have a sheet hung as a curtain over a large picture window in my apartment, and I pin finished cross stitch or embroidery to it so I can see and enjoy my work. I can then just take a piece off to frame it or finish it out into a pillow or stand-up.

[moonbasket]

So fun! I used the persimmon flower stitch pattern to attach interfacing to the side of a bag I was mending and I love how it turned out.

[loriparker]

I like the Folding Screen idea (called Shoji Screen in Japan) because it would show off both sides of the fabric. You can also press a piece between two panes of glass and frame it. That way both sides are available for viewing. A gallery display of these on a sliding door, to a patio or balcony, for instance, would look nice because people could see one side going out and the other side coming back in. At the same time, it would help prevent birds from flying into the glass doors. Of course, you'd want to make certain the doors aren't in direct sunlight so the lovely threads won't fade. I really like this technique and I appreciate you explaining it as clearly as you did. Nice video. Kuddos. PEACE