Tanya one of our own members arrived with samples of sashiko and kogin Japanese embroidery as insiration, complete with packs of instructions and charts for us to choose from.
Tanya gave a a short history of sashiko and our first job was to transfer our chosen pattern onto our material. A whole variety of transfer methods were used from pens, carbon, the window and a light box.
Once the pattern was transferred to the fabric the running stitches were started using sashiko thread or perle. Tanya reminded us the ratio of stitch to gap should be approx. 3:2.
Row upon row of neat running stitches began to appear and with it pictures and patterns.
By the end of the afternoon some members had managed to finish their patterns and were now thinking about what to do with their embroidery. Turn it into a bag, a book cover, a picture - all will be revealed at the next meeting!
The finished pieces are beautiful and the clean lines of stitching against the background can be fully appreciated.A big thank you to Tanya for organizing a fun day and inspiring us to have a go at a technique which at first can look a little daunting.
