Table Of Content

SSaasshhiikkoo ffoorr MMaakkiinngg && MMeennddiinngg 0011--8800__FFiinnaall..iinndddd iivv 66//11//2211 99::4499 AAMM M M FOR AKING & ENDING Saki Iiduka TUTTLE Publishing Tokyo Rutland, Vermont Singapore SSaasshhiikkoo ffoorr MMaakkiinngg && MMeennddiinngg 0011--8800__FFiinnaall..iinndddd 11 1111//11//2211 33::5522 PPMM SSaasshhiikkoo ffoorr MMaakkiinngg && MMeennddiinngg 0011--8800__FFiinnaall..iinndddd 22 66//11//2211 99::4499 AAMM C O N T E N T S Enjoy Sashiko in Your Daily Life 4 PATTERNS Stitching Fast and Stitching Slow 19 Good-Luck Charm Bag 50 Sashiko Basics 22 Brooch 52 Life in Takayama Village 30 Persimmon Flower Stitch Pincushion 54 Mending Holes in Fabric 36 Woven True Cross Diamond Coaster 56 Create My Own Way of Life 38 Moth Stitch Coin Clasp Purse 58 Before You Start 49 Card Holder 60 Book Cover 62 PROJECTS Shoulder Strap Cloth Purse 64 Good-Luck Charm Bag 6 Lunch Wrapper 65 Brooch 7 Practical Pouch 66 Persimmon Flower Stitch Pincushion 8 Boro Kinchaku (Drawstring) Bag 67 Woven True Cross Diamond Coaster 9 Kinchaku (Drawstring) Bag 68 Moth Stitch Coin Clasp Purse 10 Pot Holder 70 Card Holder 10 Tenugui Cotton Towel Stole 71 Book Cover 11 Tote Bag 72 Pot Holder 12 Mending Example 73 Shoulder Strap Cloth Purse 13 Practical Pouch 14 Kinchaku (Drawstring) Bag 15 Tote Bag 16 Lunch Wrapper 18 Tenugui Cotton Towel Stole 20 Boro Kinchaku (Drawstring) Bag 21 MENDING PROJECTS Hat 32 Apron 32 Denim Shirt 33 Stole 34 Zabuton Floor Cushion 34 Woolen Socks 35 SSaasshhiikkoo ffoorr MMaakkiinngg && MMeennddiinngg 0011--8800__FFiinnaall..iinndddd 33 1111//11//2211 33::5533 PPMM Enjoy Sashiko in Your Daily Life I spent ten years in Yamagata Prefecture aft er going there initially for college. My major was painting, but as I came in contact with local lifestyles through my fi eldwork, I became more intrigued by the knowledge and wisdom unique to that particular natural environment. While working in the region, sights such as farmers in the neighborhood pulling handcarts to sell irregularly shaped vegetables at market taught me to fi nd pleasure in creating my own style of life. I stayed on in Yamagata aft er graduating to run a café with friends as part of a project to utilize empty schools. We used to hold various workshops on topics related to practical skills for daily life. Th at was when I fi rst encountered sashiko. I was no stranger to needlework, as I had always liked making things since I was small. 4 SSaasshhiikkoo ffoorr MMaakkiinngg && MMeennddiinngg 0011--8800__FFiinnaall..iinndddd 44 66//11//2211 99::4499 AAMM I learned naturally the pleasure of making things for myself when I needed them, and enjoyed the process of thinking it through then experimenting until I succeeded. A number of items featured in this book are things that I use in my own daily life. Some are worn from long years of use. I try not to buy new fabric, preferring to make the most of what I have at hand. For example, I dye gift s of tenugui cotton towels to repurpose them. Sashiko was born out of the accumulated wisdom of daily living. It does not require originality, in the sense that anybody can do it once they learn the basics of horizontal and vertical stitching. And yet the same pattern or piece stitched by a diff erent hand will naturally reveal the personality of the person who made it. I love this unconscious expression of individuality in sashiko. If this book helps share the pleasure of using your hands to create something in whatever way you like, I will be very happy. —Saki Iiduka 5 SSaasshhiikkoo ffoorr MMaakkiinngg && MMeennddiinngg 0011--8800__FFiinnaall..iinndddd 55 1111//11//2211 33::5533 PPMM a Komezashi (Rice stitch) b Rice fl ower stitch c Rice fl ower stitch Good-Luck Charm Bag I put my heart into every stitch of these bags meant for holding good luck charms. Th e rice and rice fl ower stitch patterns symbolize wishes for a good harvest. Fill them with incense or dried herbs to use as sachets. Instructions on page 50 Enjoy Sashiko in Your Daily Life It’s satisfying to make with your own hands the things you need or fi nd useful. And when you do it with sashiko, you’ll fi nd your aff ection for the item growing with every stitch. Needlework also has a sooth- ing eff ect on the mind and body rhythms. 6 SSaasshhiikkoo ffoorr MMaakkiinngg && MMeennddiinngg 0011--8800__FFiinnaall..iinndddd 66 66//11//2211 99::4499 AAMM Brooch Th ese brooches stitched in traditional patterns are done with a variety of colored threads. Each pattern is named aft er its resemblance to something; basket-weave stitch to the weave in bamboo baskets, linked kasuri to the splashed pattern of kasuri cloth, and hawk wing stitch to a hawk’s wings. Instructions on page 52 d Hawk wing stitch a Basket-weave stitch c Basket-weave stitch b Linked kasuri 7 SSaasshhiikkoo ffoorr MMaakkiinngg && MMeennddiinngg 0011--8800__FFiinnaall..iinndddd 77 1111//11//2211 33::5533 PPMM Persimmon Flower Stitch Pincushion Persimmon fl ower stitch is a popular traditional pattern formed from rows of small steps. A stitch length of ⅛” (3 mm) helps achieve a delicate fi nish and balanced arrangement within the confi nes of a 1⅝” (4 cm) diameter space. Instructions on page 54 a b 8 SSaasshhiikkoo ffoorr MMaakkiinngg && MMeennddiinngg 0011--8800__FFiinnaall..iinndddd 88 66//11//2211 99::4499 AAMM