Fiber Art

Visible Mending: Boro Patches and Sashiko Stitching I

Instead of hiding rips and tears on clothing or home decor, the visible mending movement turns them into art. Born from the Japanese art of sashiko, visible mending enables crafters to eschew fast fashion and make mistakes beautiful. During the nineteenth and early twentieth-century in rural Japan, cloth was so expensive that common folk mended their cotton kimonos again and again with small patches and simple embroidery. This embroidery, called sashiko, is enjoying a renaissance. The embroidery is based on simple running stitches which can be combined into elaborate designs. It is used for visible mending or small art pieces and is one of the primary techniques of the new trend – slow stitching – a relaxing, meditative needle arts process. In the first part of this 2-part workshop, students will learn the sashiko technique and how to use fabric scraps to construct a beautiful patch for stitching. They will then construct a 6 x 6 patch which can be used on clothing or framed to make a small fiber masterpiece to be displayed. For a $10 fee payable to the instructor, students will be provided with a kit including all the materials and tools to make a patch: embroidery needles, a packet of fabrics and embroidery floss. 

Students are encouraged to sign up for Visible Mending: Boro Patches and Sashiko Stitching II to learn how to use their patches to mend a piece of clothing they bring from home.