White on Blue: Traditional Japanese Sashiko Embroidery

Initially, sashiko was used to stitch used clothes, but over the years it has turned into a sophisticated and sophisticated form of needlework.

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Westerners are often surprised by the ingenuity of the Japanese - they not only differ in scrupulous attentiveness to life’s little things, which we usually don’t even notice, but also have a real talent to create beautiful things out of these little things, as a rule, giving the result a separate ingenious name.

Sashiko technique just fits this description! It is based on a "trifle" - a seam "forward needle", the simplest of all possible manual seams. Yes, and sashiko was used, which, by the way, translates as a “small puncture”, for completely practical purposes that are not related to art - it was the sewing “forward needle” that clothes were quilted for warming or minimal decorative effect. This is evidenced by the very first sample of sashiko - a Buddhist silk mantle quilted with red stitches, dated to the 8th century A.D.

By the 17th century, sashiko gradually took shape in a separate type of embroidery, which spread among the poor. It is easy to notice that the vast majority of the work was done with white threads on navy blue fabrics, and there is an explanation for this tradition - in the Edo era (17-19 centuries), peasants were not allowed to wear bright colorful clothes, but indigo dyes were allowed, which means that in every house there were certainly fabrics in deep blue.And since clothes made from homespun materials were neither durable nor very warm, and, moreover, quickly deteriorated, people began to quilting several layers of fabric together.

This practical explanation has a more lyrical side - the supposedly blue fabric resembles the evening sky, and white stitches are like snowflakes flying from heaven. Perhaps this is precisely why sashiko is so widespread precisely in the north of Japan, where in winter heavy snowfalls really only leave classes that embroidery at the hearth.
Later, when the ban on wearing brightly patterned fabrics was lifted and colorful Japanese cotton became available to everyone, Japanese needlewomen finally turned sashiko from necessity into exquisite art.
For such a long history of existence, sashiko acquired its own "mythology" of patterns, which ordinary people followed with no less faith than faith in traditional deities. For example, a popular pattern in the form of fish scales - a "lesson" - will certainly bring luck to the fisherman, and the image of a crane or tortoise will grant longevity.
If sashiko embroidery has interested you so much that you are ready to try yourself in this unusual needlework, you can use our master class for beginners - Japanese sashiko embroidery: a master class.
Photo: pinterest.com, spoonflower.com