I have done quite a bit of work with Sashiko, directly onto clothing, as well as Boro Sashiko. Below are a few examples of sashiko embroidery from Glen and I, that has been stitched directly onto thrifted shirts. This time, I had a vision of a sashiko shirt with more of a patched or Boro look, so I set about designing me creation.
I normally apply the sashiko pattern with a transfer or using a template. This time, I just happen to be in one of my favorite sewing shops and they had a printed sashiko panel, so I decided that to start with this. I also purchased another online.
After much stitching, I ended up with these patches and a few other indigo bits I picked up in Japan.
My first go at patch placement got very out of hand and it was not what I had envisioned.
My second ideation used a less is more approach. I did some research on abstract geometric art design, to inform my placement and found ideas like this:
I also did a quick search to see if there were any design principles that I could use for applique placement. I came up with this blog: https://www.muellerundsohn.com/en/allgemein/how-to-applique/ . They suggest that applique placement should be based on body shape, with:
- Shoulder accentuation, for a narrow X-shaped figure with falling shoulders
- Diagonal line for a Y-shaped figure with wide straight shoulder
- V-shape for a round X-shaped figure with a strong chest
- Bar shape for a narrow H-figure
Other placements that I have noticed are bottom bar, symmetrical and asymmetrical.
With these design placement ideas in mind, I played with a few ideas.
I eventually settled on these two:
I then stitched them down and added extra sashiko embroidery for embellishment.
