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. You can make your own circle templates with a protractor and some card or template plastic (available from quilting shops). Old thread spools and even coins are useful for smaller circle templates. Don’t forget all the large circle templates that are ‘free’ with food packaging! An oval template is necessary for only one pattern in this book, tatewaku (rising steam), and this is provided on page 70 for you to trace. You can buy oval template stencils at some art shops.
Imperial or metric?
Patterns can be drawn in imperial or metric measurements. I used imperial for my samples, as many quilters worldwide use this system. An imperial–metric conversion formula is given below, with some common conversions listed, right, (metric adjusted to nearest mm). Metric equivalents are given for the projects on pages 26–57.
To convert inches to centimetres:
multiply measurement in inches by 2.54, e.g. 2in x 2.54 = 5.08cm
To convert centimetres to inches:
multiply measurement in centimetres by 0.394, e.g. 5cm x 0.394 = 1.97in
Because a fraction of a patchwork seam is taken up by the thickness of the stitched line, it is adequate to round measurements up or down to the nearest millimetre when cutting out fabric pieces.
Neither measurement system is 100 per cent traditional in Japan – you would have to mark using the ancient sun and shaku (Japanese feet and inches). It would be difficult to mark in traditional proportions, as one sun is made up of ten bu and equals 1.193in (3.03cm) and ten sun make one shaku, 11.93in (30.3cm)! These measures were standardized in 1891 and Japan officially converted to metric in 1959. However, some traditional fabric shops and kimono makers still use them.
| 1⁄8in | (0.125in) | = 3mm |
| 1⁄4in | (0.25in) | = 6mm |
| 3⁄8in | (0.375in) | = 1cm |
| 1⁄2in | (0.5in) | = 1.3cm |
| 3⁄4in | (0.75in) | = 1.9cm |
| 7⁄8in | (0.875in) | = 2cm |
| 1in | = 2.5cm | |
| 11⁄4in | (1.25in) | = 3.2cm |
| 11⁄2in | (1.5in) | = 3.8cm |
| 13⁄4in | (1.75in) | = 4.4cm |
| 2in | = 5.1 cm | |
| 21⁄2in | (2.5in) | = 6.4cm |
| 3in | = 7.6cm | |
| 31⁄2in | (3.5in) | = 8.9cm |
| 4in | = 10.2cm | |
| 5in | = 12.7cm | |
| 6in |
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