Sashiko utilitizes only one simple running stitch in an endless number of tessellating or repeat interlocking designs. Usually the stitching is made using white thick thread similar to crochet cotton. Traditionally the designs are stitched on indigo fabric.
The Hida form of Sashiko can be traced to around 1868. A farmer or his wife in Northern Japan needed warm clothing since Hida and similar regions sported a frigid winter climate with heavy snowfall. With fabric either hand made using time-consuming, labor-intensive methods or an expensive purchased commodity to be used as long as possible, reuse or prolonging the use of a fabric was the thrifty thing to do. Stories also associate Sashiko with fishermen who wore indigo blue jackets out on the boat for warmth when the winds turned cold. Some of the traditional designs look like fishnets. But regardless of farmers or fishermen, the stitchery apparently began at the peasant level of society because of necessity.
Decorative Stitchery Starts as Mending
Often by using Sashiko stitches, an even running repetitive basting stitch, other fabrics would be sewn over fraying areas or added to cover clothing that had worn thin. The stitches were used to hold the layers of fabric together. Enterprising homemakers realized that stuffing a layer of rags or even rusks or fibers between two solid fabrics could help retain warmth, thus the patterns became more intricate to hold the batting in place.
During long winters when working outside proved impossible, more time could be spent on sewing. Through every culture women, predominantly, have worked to cover up or beautify mended spots on clothing. Even today we sometimes cover a hole with a decorative appliqué. As seamstresses and talented needleworkers applied their expertise, the mending stitches became things of beauty. Before long new designs were invented. Designs reflected the world around them or to symbolize good health or happiness or whatever the stitchers wished for the wearer.
Popular Traditional Sashiko Designs
One popular design, Seven Treasures or Maru Shippo, looks like the orange peel quilting design or a daisy with four symmetrical petals that join a central circle. The pattern actually is described as double wavy lines with circles where they cross. The symbolism of the design focuses on the circle which represents the sun in Japan. It is of course a popular symbol, being featured on the Japanese flag. Amaterasu Oumikami, the sun goddess, is the primary deity of the Shinto religion. The name of the design ‘Maru’ means whole or complete.
Designs are limitless. All can easily be reproduced using a grid method for marking the fabric since they are based upon simple geometric shapes. Most of the traditional patterns follow straight lines as in the rice field pattern (tsumeta) which is a square within a square with perpendicular lines crossing in the center. The lightening pattern (inazuma) forms a diamond and is stitched from the bottom to the top in one continuous unbroken line that folds back on itself in a jagged stylized lightning strike reminiscent of the snail’s trail pieced quilt pattern. It would be perfect for machine stitching. The beauty of these simple designs appear when they are created in an all over repetitive pattern with perfectly even stitches.
Quiltmakers such as Sylvia Pippen combine Sashiko with appliqué designs, usually flowers and leaves, to create exquisite quilts. Her latest book Paradise Stitched: Sashiko and Appliqué Quilts offer several options for these combinations. For more information about tessellation and quilts using this interlocking design, see Begin Making Tessellating Quilts.
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