Sashiko Embroidered Pillow

It only took me over a year but the darn thing is done!!! Don't be fooled, when I say this took me a year, it's just because I have a million and one projects I start that live unfinished forever in my studio. 

This is my first piece of sashiko embroidery. It's a traditional Japanese folk art. Back in the day, it was a method used to creatively darn and disguise worn areas on garments. Now it's just fun and pretty. Its also usually worked in a dark indigo blue on a white background or vice versa. That's nice, but I am way more colorful. 

Purl Bee has a great tutorial, so I won't waste my time explaining the how to...just go check it out. 

I am a cheap ass, so I went on to Etsy for the sashiko cloth. It was $8 with some minimal shipping. The needles and sashiko thread can be pricey so I went with DMC embroidery thread I already had and some long dollmaking needles that were hiding in my sewing box. It worked like a charm.

For the pillow part, I found some nice, thick, cheap purple fabric at Joann Fabrics (3/4 yard). Thank you 40% off coupon. Then I went to Michael's (thanks again 40% off coupon) and got a pillow form. I have never made a couch type pillow. I found this great tutorial for making an envelope style pillow case. I am a beginning seamstress, but this was a no brainer, even for me. I just made sure to sew the sashiko sampler to the front of the pillow before finishing the seams.

So there we go. Gotta say, it was fun and cheap and I love the results. I think I am on an embroidery kick. I dug up some old Sublime Stitching patterns from the recesses of the studio and I am working on a new pillow as we speak. Pictures to follow!