Patterns
Sashiko (刺し子, "little stabs") began as a functional stitch in Edo-era northern Japan, where cold winters and expensive cloth made mending and reinforcing fabric a necessity. Farming and fishing families ran plain white thread through layers of indigo cotton to patch worn spots, strengthen work wear, and add warmth — turning a repair chore into a running decorative craft passed down through generations.
Two broad families of pattern grew from this practice. Hitomezashi ("one-stitch sashiko") builds designs from short, evenly spaced stitches placed by a simple on/off rule along a grid — deceptively simple to learn, endlessly variable to look at. Moyōzashi ("pattern sashiko") stitches longer continuous lines that trace a repeating motif — waves, hemp leaves, fish scales — and generally asks for a steadier, more practiced hand.
Each pattern card shows a difficulty of one to three filled dots. One dot (Beginner) means a single repeating grid rule and forgiving spacing. Two dots (Intermediate) add a second pass or a woven crossing. Three dots (Advanced) layer several passes or curved geometry that takes more planning to keep even. If you're new to sashiko, start with hitomezashi or yamagata — both are stitched as simple straight or zigzag rows with no jumps.
Sashiko has a characteristic beat: each stitch is roughly one and a half times the length of the gap that follows it, so the thread reads as slightly more line than space. What matters most is consistency — an even rhythm flatters any pattern, even one stitched imperfectly. Load several stitches onto the needle before pulling it through; this keeps tension uniform and speeds up long straight runs.
Switch this app to Guide view and print at real scale to get a clean transfer template — the printed sheet includes a 50 mm calibration square so you can confirm your printer scaled the page correctly. Trace the lines onto fabric with a chalk pencil and ruler for straight-line patterns, or use wash-away transfer paper for anything curved.
Don't pull stitches tight — leave a whisper of ease so the fabric can flex without puckering. Plan ahead for corners and direction changes so a pattern's turns land cleanly on a stitch rather than mid-gap. And press finished work from the back, over a towel, so the stitches stay raised instead of flattening into the cloth.
Grid drafting is how sashiko motifs have always been made: a repeating unit sketched on squared paper, then multiplied across the cloth. Start small — three to six strokes is plenty — and add a mirror or rotation to turn a handful of lines into a balanced design. Every line you draw becomes a straight stitching run, so keep them on the grid rather than freehand.
A motif rarely looks the same twice: try the same lines with a grid, brick, and half-drop repeat before settling on one — the offset alone can turn a stiff design into a flowing one.
Patchwork continues the sampler tradition — many motifs stitched onto one cloth, block by block or stripe by stripe, so a single panel shows off a whole vocabulary of stitches. Overlay is a more modern move: a second pattern, usually in a contrasting thread, layered on top of the first to build a woven, moiré-like composite.
Either way, finish one pattern or block completely before starting the next — it keeps tension even and stops half-finished passes from tangling with each other.
The stitch player draws a pattern the way it's actually sewn — pass by pass, stitch by stitch — so you can watch the true order before marking fabric. It mirrors the numbered pass list under "About this pattern"; watch it once, then follow along with a needle once the order feels familiar.
No saved patterns yet — adjust a design above and tap "Save current" to keep it here.