I had hoped to post my completed sashiko embroidery yesterday, but alas, even today all I have to share is my work-in-progress. I vastly underestimated the sheer number of hours this project would take! (Almost 7 so far!) I’m working from a nifty kit that contained a printed piece of linen, special sashiko thread, and a needle. I’ve never done anything like this before, but I’m teaching myself as I go.
The pattern is worked one line of color at a time, making the complicated design actually very simple to create. The main sewing technique is to just scrunch stitches up on the needle and then pull the thread through, but that belies the complexity of keeping good tension, avoiding puckering, and having good pacing. I learned the hard way that it’s no fun to get to the center of a flower, where all the threads converge, with a full needle. It’s much better to maneuver into a full flower middle with an empty needle.
I’m almost done with the sewing, and once I’m finished with that, I’ve got to figure out what to do with all my ends. I think tiny, tiny knots are in order. Then I’ll wash the fabric to remove the ink dashes, block it to dry, and finally press it flat. Look for the final results on Wednesday… fingers crossed!
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