I’m so excited to share with you my latest Sashiko project – this adorable AsanoHa Sashiko pincushion! Last year I did an online Sashiko course with Atsushi of UpCycle Stitches and have really been enjoying practicing and learning more about this wonderful craft. The last stage of Atsushi’s course is an online zoom session.
The zoom session is really valuable as Atsushi uses it to watch you stitching to assess your technique and help you improve. I must admit I was incredibly nervous about the zoom session. As you’ve probably noticed i have extreme perfectionist tendencies and I kept putting off the session waiting until my technique was better. Which is obviously really silly and kind of misses the point of Sashiko.
One of the things that I really appreciate about Atsushi’s teaching style is that his focus is on the Unshin – the rythym of the needle – instead of the stitches themselves. He is always saying that Sashiko is not about one perfect stitch. I love this attitude and the focus on the experience of sewing, and the appreciation of the materials and the task. It’s beautiful.
I really enjoyed the final zoom session and was amazed how much my stitching improved and how much more I was able to relax during sewing. I hadn’t realised before this session how tense i was. I was concentrating so hard on “doing it right” that I was creating problems in my technique! The irony.
This little pincushion was the final project as part of the course, and i found it so incredibly satisfying. This is the project where i really relaxed more and let perfectionism go – and guess what – i love it! I’m so proud of this little pinchushion and am really enjoying using it when i sew at home. The AsanoHa pattern was already printed on the fabric we were supplied with, But Keiko (Atsushi’s mum) has a great tutorial on her blog for how to draw AsanoHa.
The only problem is that Birdie thinks this pincushion is the perfect size for a pillow her dollies! So if my pincushion goes missing at any point we all know where to look ;)
I am so happy with my AsanoHa Sashiko pincushion, and the whole experience of learning Sashiko from Atsushi. If you’re interested in taking a class i would highly recommend it!! If you’re interested in Sashiko supplies or one of a kind Sashiko pieces, Keiko’s website Sashi.co is the place to go.
