This month for TSNEM I tackled something I’ve been wanting to do for a year (almost exactly, I posted about it February 4 of last year!), sashiko.

My mother-in-law got me a few of the sashiko kits and a couple colors of thread. I bought some more colors from TaDaa Studio Stitch on Etsy and decided to make a bit of a rainbow. Sashiko thread is cotton but it’s thicker than DMC and it doesn’t split into smaller strands. I did another little sashiko project and used 6 strands of DMC and it worked just fine. So if you want to try out sashiko but are put off by the supplies, just go ahead and try it with what you’ve got!

The fabric in the kit is actually a large fabric panel that is intended to be made into a pillow. The front has the design printed and the back is a square of blank fabric so you can just stitch together the sides. I spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to fit a hoop around the fabric without any luck because the pattern is printed so close to the edge. But after a little Googling I discovered that traditionally sashiko is done without a hoop.

The stitching in sashiko is done by passing the needle through the fabric multiple times and then pulling all the stitches through at once. At first I found this slightly awkward and cumbersome and was tempted to just use a running stitch, but I felt like that defeated the purpose of trying the art of sashiko. I kept with it and started to really enjoy the repetitive motion and got into a flow. It was nice to have the fabric that was already marked with the lines, I knew for sure all my stitches were even.

I am absolutely in love with how this turned out. I haven’t gotten a pillow form for it yet, but I can’t wait to get it finished although, I’m going to have to fight Evie for it. She has already declared that it should be for her because she loves rainbow colors. I have a second kit, so maybe she’ll get that one!

I really enjoyed sashiko and I already have been thinking up some of my own designs, so this definitely won’t be the last you’ll see it here!

Have you been participating in Try Something New Every Month? I would love to hear about what you’ve tried out! Or have you ever done sashiko?

Check out past TSNEM posts –
January – Woodburning

See what other bloggers tried this month!

Kristy at Simply This Life – Knit Latvian Braid

Crystal at Stitched By Crystal – Wood Burning

Vicky at Vicky Myers Creations – Using a Serger/Overlocker

Kelly at Just Another Project – Sewing with Piping