
Japanese art of sashiko embroidery and satin (photo)
Content
- The main stages of work in the technique of Sashiko embroidery
- Little tricks and rules of Sashiko's embroidery
- Technique of Japanese smooth surface
- Video: art of Japanese Sashiko embroidery
The land of the rising sun is mysterious andattractive. Japanese masters have always delighted and excited the imagination with their unusual fakes and attitude to life. Japanese art in embroidery is unique in its diversity and originality. Such art as temari, sashiko, satin satin stitch in the technique of drawing stitch is known to few. But modern needlewomen never stop, mastering more and more new technical methods, creating their own unique masterpieces.
Sashiko – an unusual and exquisite art of embroidery
Quite simple and original Japanesehandcraft - sashiko. Delicate, exquisite embroidery, which, if translated literally, means a small puncture, which fully reflects the essence of the entire technology.
The main stages of work in the technique of Sashiko embroidery
Before proceeding directly to the process of embroidery in Japanese style, it is necessary to understand its main principles:
- Contrast of thread and matter. Japanese embroidery prefers traditional saturated blue with all its shades. Threads are white or black, but this is not a strict rule, the main thing is to achieve contrast;
- Stitches go vertically, horizontally or parallel to each other. They can not cross into sashiko. Between them there should always be a small distance;
- Each seam is exactly the same. The distance between the stitches is uniform.
The most important before starting to create any Japanese embroidery in Sashiko technique is to come up with or find your own pattern, pick up fabric, thread.
The first stage is creating a sketch.Having chosen the pattern you like, make its diagram. Making a diagram of the pattern is not difficult, since the basic principle of embroidery is quite simple. The main thing is to follow the style of Japanese embroidery sashiko.
The second stage is transferring the design onto the fabric. Any design can be applied to the material in several ways:
The third stage is fixing the thread. When the inside of the finished product is hidden, you can make a knot to fix the thread. But, if the created Sashiko patterns are visible from both sides, then the first side stitches the first few stitches, leaving the tail so that you can return and fix it with these repeated stitches. There is another option - the quintus. The thread is wrapped twice around the tip of the needle and stretched, creating the first stitch.
The fourth stage is creating stitches using the techniquesashiko. The stitches are made in the simplest way - with a forward stitch with a needle. But it is only simple at first glance. Each stitch is laid absolutely identically, maintaining an even distance. To prevent the fabric from tightening during sashiko embroidery, a quintuple knot should be made every five to ten stitches. It should be done carefully so that the knots are not visible on the front side. The stitches on the front side should be almost several times longer than on the back. The alternation of quintuple knots depends on the chosen pattern. If these are geometric patterns, then such a knot can be made at each corner transition. In general, each craftswoman calculates for herself when and where it is best to make them.
The fifth stage of sashiko is transitions in patterns.When the line of the pattern shows a sharp turn, the needle performing the stitch is stuck into the top of the created corner, brought out from it again to the front side, heading where the pattern provides. If several patterns intersect, then there should be a small distance between the seams, overlapping one on top of another is not allowed.
Japanese sashiko embroidery mainly consists ofgeometric shapes, patterns of horizontal and vertical lines. It is not famous for the smoothness of lines and their intersections. The main task of a beginner is to develop his own pattern of movement in the process of embroidery. The convenience of the sashiko technique is that you can always finish a certain section and move on to another, correctly securing the thread.
The sixth stage is the final one.During sashiko embroidery, according to the chosen pattern, they move along a certain diagonal trajectory. When the internal drawings of geometric and other figures are embroidered, then the pattern is completed with small broken lines from corner to corner. You can move along the perimeter during Japanese embroidery, but the main thing is that the thread ends exactly in the corner. This will facilitate the process of its fastening.
Little tricks and rules of Sashiko's embroidery
Sashiko Japanese art of embroidery hasBeautiful exquisite and refined appearance. Its main advantage is simplicity. But, despite the simple technique, like the Japanese culture, it has its own characteristics:

First of all, you should choose the fabric wisely.for embroidery using the sashiko technique. Fabrics that are not dense or too thin are not suitable for sashiko. But fabrics that are too dense, such as a mixture of polyester and cotton, wool will not be easily pierced with a needle. Japanese sashiko embroidery will look best on natural cotton fabric, as it has the right density, does not fray too much at the edges, does not shrink when washed, and does not fade;

Beginners are better off spending extra time oncreating a pattern diagram, and only then transferring it to the fabric. Once you have the necessary experience, you can transfer the pattern directly to the fabric. There is no need to rush, since the quality of the pattern determines the quality of the sashiko embroidery. Patterns with straight and long lines are much easier and faster to embroider, but gross errors may occur. In patterns with small and curved lines, various defects that appear can be hidden better and more inconspicuously. If sashiko embroidery does not provide for geometric patterns and similar constructions of flowers, birds, insects, and so on, then it is much easier to observe all the necessary compositions and proportions in the pattern blank. Patterns in a geometric style are more complex. But in both cases, it is better to use graph paper when creating a schematic image. In each cell, you can make a stitch, recreating any pattern. Various patterns in the form of bends and arcs can be created using ready-made patterns and a compass. Various coins, bottle caps and anything else your imagination suggests can be used as templates;

To create even and uniform stitches in sashiko embroidery, you can lay the seams following the cross threads or strictly on the bias;
Japanese Sashiko embroidery is a beautiful decor for pillows, towels, cards, clothes, tablecloths and other items.
Technique of Japanese smooth surface
Japanese embroidery art has already attracted many peoplecenturies. Modern craftswomen, thanks to the materials that have appeared on the market and various master classes, descriptions of the technique, can create masterpieces no worse than Japanese women. The basis of the Japanese satin stitch technique is such a concept as a drawing stitch, which is made with silk thread on satin or silk fabric. Silk thread and fabric were an indicator of wealth in Japan, so only noble persons embroidered in this style, unlike the sashiko technique.
Embroidery with silk thread in the Japanese style is no different from the usual one
.The Japanese embroidery technique is very similar to the well-known shadow satin stitch, which has long been used by Russian craftswomen. Satin stitch in this style is embroidered according to the same principle, but in a more skillful manner, since it is believed that such embroidery is similar to a picture painted by a professional artist.
Japanese satin stitch can be embroidered using several techniques:
- Three-stitch drawing;
- Shadow.
How to embroider in a three-stitch drawing techniqueSomething between the Poltava technique and the semi-smoothness is a three-stitch drawing surface. It is carried out by three stitches from here and this name.
Technique of execution
After the design has been applied, its contours are pre-stitched using any type of stitch: stem, back or forward with a needle.
start from the outer edge of the pattern, making stitchesplacing them tightly next to each other, making them different lengths and delimiting the edges of the pattern. The technique of three-stitch satin stitch involves making it from three stitches: the first is the longest, then a little shorter, and the third is the shortest. The direction and slope of all the stitches is the same. Each stitch made captures a little of the edge of the lining. The needle passes as if under the lining, creating an edge of a more voluminous shape.
When the outer row of seams is finished, the second one begins.It is done in the same way as the previous one, but a different tone of thread is used. The second row covers the gaps of the first, making stitches in such a way that they flow in color. Then comes the third row of stitches with a new color or shade, and so on until the pattern is filled. All the thread tones should match each other, transition smoothly and not roughly.
Three-stitch drawing satin stitchIf necessaryto embroider flower petals with such a satin stitch, then all the stitches are made in the form of a fan, and in such a way as to repeat the contour of the curved petal, and in the center it becomes straight. With a stitch with a needle forward, lay the contour of the petal to its middle, and also move to the next edge of the petal.
If you embroider a leaf of a flower, then its contours andthe core is stitched with a regular stem stitch. Then, using the three-stitch technique, stitches are laid, starting from one half of the leaf. It is better to embroider from the bottom of the leaf stalk, moving towards the outer edge of the embroidered outline, slightly capturing it.
The tips and teeth of the leaf are embroidered verycarefully. All the veins are made in different tones. Those that are larger and drawn in dark shades, and those that are smaller in lighter shades. When one half of the leaf is finished, the other is embroidered in the same way. In the center of the leaf, a clear border and small gaps are formed, which can be filled by placing new veins on top of them with a stem stitch.
Shadow satin stitch Shadow satin stitch is performed inin a free style along a drawn outline with threads of different shades without any particular border between the different colors. The shadow effect is achieved by transitions from one color to another using stitches of different lengths. In general, this satin stitch technique is very similar to the three-stitch technique, but here the stem stitch is not used, leaving the borders blurred.
Japanese embroidery style in some detailsresembles a technique familiar to many craftswomen. Therefore, for beginners who want to try their hand at creating paintings in the Japanese manner, there will be no particular difficulties. The main thing is desire, a good mood and a little time.
Video: art of Japanese Sashiko embroidery