Wadding (batting)
If your project requires wadding (batting), mark your sashiko design before tacking (basting) the top, wadding and backing together. Vintage sashiko used two or more layers of old cloth, with the best cloth on top. Today, sashiko is made with two or three layers of cloth or with modern wadding or as embroidery, through one layer only. Here are some points to bear in mind when using wadding or fabric layers:
If you use quilt wadding, you will also need backing fabric whereas an extra fabric layer does not need extra backing.
If you are using dark fabric, remember that white polyester wadding might ‘beard’ through and spoil your work.
The new black waddings, available in polyester or cotton and polyester mixtures, are excellent for sashiko (see Suppliers page 126).
Cotton wadding can be dyed dark blue in the washing machine. It absorbs a lot of dye so use the actual weight of the fabric as a guide.
Select thin cotton wadding (sold as ‘request’ weight) for a similar look to several layers of old cloth, or use layers of butter muslin.
Old linen blouses, tea towels and flannel sheets can be recycled as wadding/backing, dyed darker as necessary.
Test a small sample of your chosen wadding/backing combination by stitching a few rows of sashiko – if it is very hard to get the needle through, use thinner wadding or a more loosely woven backing fabric.
Tightly woven calico is not a good choice for backing sashiko!
Fabric markers
Before you tack (baste) your fabric layers together, you will need to mark your chosen sashiko pattern on the fabric – see page 22 for the various techniques. There are many marker options for the modern sashiko stitcher and some are shown below. Experiment to find your favourite.
Hera This is a traditional Japanese sewing marker made of bone or plastic which scores and polishes a line on the cloth. It shows up well on very dark fabrics and the line washes out. Put a cutting mat or card-board under your fabric when marking or you will score your table!
Quilter’s white pencil This soft pencil is good for dark fabrics, with marks that wash out or rub off. Soft pencils will last much longer if you sharpen them with a craft knife, cutting away on either side and trimming to make a flat point.
Air-erasable marking pen (white) This felt-tip pen marks white and fades on exposure to air. The marks should last for 48 hours but can fade sooner, so it is only useful for small projects. Washing the chemical residue out when work is complete is highly recommended.
White marking pen This pen, recently introduced, is a roller ball that makes a fine, clear white line which takes a few seconds to appear after drawing. The marks can be removed with water or heat (check brand information).
Chaco liner This is a Japanese chalk wheel that makes marks on fabric which brush off easily or wash out. A tiny wheel in the tip picks up the chalk and marks the fabric. Chalk refills are available in white, pink, yellow and blue. I find that white or yellow are best on dark fabrics.
Chaco pencil This is a compressed chalk pencil that makes marks which brush off easily or wash out. It is available in the same colours as the chaco liner, above. See quilter’s white pencil (far left) for sharpening advice.
Quilter’s silver pencil This is best for light fabrics, as the marks can be difficult to see on dark or medium colours. The marks wash out or rub off.
Soapstone marker Natural soapstone in a holder can be sharpened to a fine line. When the marks are no longer required, do not iron over them but wash them out with plain water.
Soap slivers Marking dark fabrics with the edge of a piece of soap is an old quilters’ trick which can be used when marking sashiko.
Tailor’s chalk This is an inexpensive marker which is available in various colours. Yellow or white are best for dark fabric.
BASIC TECHNIQUES
All the basic techniques you will need for sashiko embroidery are covered here – including drawing and marking patterns, tacking (basting) fabric layers together, starting and finishing work and the sashiko stitching technique.
Drawing patterns using grids
Learning how to draw the patterns is the key to making sashiko work for you. Stencils for some sashiko patterns can be bought in quilt shops but although they are easy to use, you have to fit your project to the size of the pattern on the stencil. Furthermore, only the more popular designs are available. Sheets of complete patterns to trace have similar limitations.
By starting to draw each design with a grid, the traditional moyōzashi (pattern sashiko) designs in the Pattern Library can be marked and stitched the size you want. If you make them on the same grid as my samples they will be a good average size, but you can easily change the dimensions for decorative effect by drawing larger or smaller starting grids. The basic grid size I used is given with each pattern sample.
Some designs can be stitched straight on to the grid, such as sayagata (page 90), while others need some extra marking, such as asanoha (page 72). Refer to the Pattern Library beginning on page 58 for full details on how to draw the patterns.
Most hitomezashi (one stitch sashiko) patterns are stitched back and forth on a grid without extra pattern lines, therefore little variation in the grid size is necessary. Fabric with 1⁄4in (6mm) or 3⁄16in (5mm) checks can be stitched without marking. A few of the more challenging patterns require extra marking, to help you line up your patterns rather than stitching along the lines (see individual hitomezashi patterns from page 96–109 for more information).
Whichever pattern you want to draw, you will need a ruler. Quilter’s rulers are transparent and have extra lines parallel to the edge, so you can easily draw a grid. Some brands have yellow as well as black markings which show up well on dark fabrics. See page 22 for pattern-marking methods using graph paper or a cutting mat marked with a grid. Using an ordinary clear plastic ruler is fine.
You will also need a selection of curved templates for marking patterns with curved lines.