Sashiko quilting
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sashiko decorative reinforcement stitching (刺し子, pronounced: SA-SHEE-KO) is a kind of functional embroidery used for reinforcing cloth as well as for quilting from Japan.
A traditional way to reinforce points of wear, or to repair worn places or tears with patches, is by sashiko, which may be thought of as a form of functional embroidery. Although it is still in use by farmers and other workmen to reinforce or repair clothing and other cloth items, this running-stitch technique called "little stabs" is often used for purely decorative purposes. The white cotton thread on the traditional indigo blue cloth gives sashiko its distinctive appearance, though decorative items somtimess.
The oldest surviving item of sashiko-stitched clothing is from the Asuka period and is a Buddhist priest's robe. It was donated to a temple in 756.
Many Sashiko patterns were derived from Chinese designs, but just as many were developed by the Japanese themselves. The artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) published the book New Forms for Design in 1824, and these designs have inspired many Sashiko patterns.
[edit] Patterns
- Tate-Jima — Vertical stripes
- Yoko-Jima — Horizontal stripes
- Koshi — Checks
- Nakamura Kosi — Plaid of Nakamura family
- Hishi-moyo — Diamonds
- Yarai — Bamboo Fence
- Hishi-Igeta / Tasuki — Parallel diamonds / crossed cords
- Kagome — Woven Bamboo
- Uroko — Fish Scales
- Tate-Waku — Rising steam
- Fundo — Counterweights
- Shippo — Seven Treasures of Buddha
- Amime — Fishing nets
- Toridasuki — Interlaced circle of two birds
- Chidori — Plover
- Kasumi — Mist
- Asanoha — Hemp leaf
- Mitsuba — Trefoil
- Hirayama-Michi — Passes in the mountains
- Kaki No Hana — Persimmon flower
- Kaminari — Thunderbolts
- Inazuma — Lightning
- Sayagata — Key pattern
- Matsukawa-Bishi — Pine Bark
- Yabane — Arrow-feathers
- and many, many more
