Mending with Sashiko: The Japanese Art of Visible Repair

Learn Sashiko, the timeless Japanese form of decorative stitch repair, to mend your clothes, bedsheets, and more.

The Japanese art of Sashiko is a joyful and practical method of decorative repair. It is a hand sewing technique with a long and colorful history, based on simple stitches that anyone can pick up, regardless of skill level. This book contains both simple and advanced patterns to cater to those both new and well-versed in this timeless craft.

Sashiko is used to repair and decorate clothing, bed covers, tablecloths—nearly any textile you could think of. It is a functional, decorative way to give new life to tired or damaged clothing. In Mending with Sashiko, you will learn how to sew with different techniques, such as hitomezashi, moyozashi, and koginsashi, and learn which techniques are best for which materials. There are direct instructions on how to mend jeans, shirts, socks, and more, as well as how to utilize your new skills on larger projects, such as patchwork quilts.

Takao “Momi” Momiyama is a renowned artist and Sashiko practitioner, and in Mending with Sashiko you are invited into his workshop, where he shares his best tips and tricks for successful stitching. You can dive into Momi’s archive and take a closer look at garments that he has repeatedly repaired with Sashiko over the years (in some cases, up to forty years). You can observe how this continuous cycle of wear, tear, and repair affects the clothing in a way that is rarely seen in our throwaway culture, and see how mending your clothes with Sashiko, either simply with functionality in mind or with more intricate embroidery patterns, turns your clothes into unique and sustainable pieces for life.

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