Jo Traveler: Keeping the Age Old Art of Sashiko Alive

Marico Chigyo Japanese Sashiko Stitching

In January, kicking off the New Year, the Haute Couture Society hosted speaker Marico Chigyo who talked about Japanese Sashiko – sashiko is a form of decorative reinforcement stitching that originated in Japan.

Marico and her sister Toshie, her partner producing Sashiko works of art, were born in Osaka, Japan and came to the United States in 1979. They love creating textile designs on Indigo cotton fabrics using Sashiko stitching. Sashiko was created to stitch layers of scarce and precious fabrics together for warmth and durability.

I first saw her work at the American Craft Council Show at Fort Mason in August of 2012. Her pieces are exquisite and her peaceful open nature endearing.

Marico works with indigo dyes to create beautiful fabrics. Indigo is a potent and lasting dye which dates back to 300 AD. The reason indigo was used to make clothing for farmers in the fields were to keep insects and snakes away. These insects and reptiles do not like the scent of indigo. Many cultures use indigo dyed fabrics including Africa, China, Japan and other Asian countries. Marico is very knowledgeable about the craft and speaks with such sincerity as she described the process of making Indigo. To my surprise Indigo actually looks rather green when wet in the vat. As the air gets into the piece it oxidizes and turns blue. The more you work the fabric (beating it, slapping it, turning it) it becomes lighter. My favorite color was very dark navy, an almost black textile. I can see a lot of patience and perseverance is involved in every process of Sashiko.

During Marico's power point presentation she shared photos she had taken while on a visit to a studio in Japan. Using only roots, herbs, onion skins, dogwood bark and walnuts - all natural ingredients, they dye their fabric and threads blue, deep rust, green, and most beautiful of all, deep blue. She passed around sample pieces of indigo to smell, and feel.

Marico had brought her junior high daughter to help her with the presentation. She helped by modeling the jackets and vests and holding up beautiful quilts, fabrics and tapestries from their home.

Marico would like to someday go through the dying process on her fabrics at her home in Mill Valley, but the stitching takes a long time to do so for now she really dyes only threads herself and stays focused on her stitching. Harmony is important while stitching. In fact Marico worries if her stitches get larger and inconsistent. Each garment or quilt she makes takes focus and meditation to keep her stitches even.

In the beginning, sashiko was valued for its strength and durability, but today it has evolved into a highly prized decorative form of art. Many fisherman wear sashiko jackets, they are generally made by their wife to protect their husband. They meditate to infuse a positive spirit into each project to protect their husbands and keep them warm.

I love the “Green” factor, how they use the fabrics and stitching to increase warmth and to recycle whatever fabrics they possessed by patching together with a running stitch of heavy double cotton thread. The stitching itself helped to strengthen the fabric, multiple layers increased their warmth.

Marico loves handwork and follows fashion from all over the world. She gravitates towards natural buttons not plastic. She reminds us that sashiko is a good way of recycling. I liked the way she really connects with her ancestors and the tradition of stitching. I think she sees this craft as preserving an important part of the past and carrying on the handcraft tradition into the future.

Marico brought 30 or so hand stitched pieces to share with our group. Marico and her sister clearly have updated the traditional sashiko with their contemporary shapes, spirals, chevrons, and the way they use contrasting stitching on the cotton coats, vests, jackets, and accessories.

She is an original, taking influence from Japan and other countries, yet creating her own works.
Take a look at the blue pants she is wearing in the pictures. When one of our members asked about the patched stitching she shared that she used sashiko on her pants and the stitching on the knees was because of her long hours stitching on the fool mat on her knees (this had worn out.) She did some sashiko on the knees to continue to wear them. She often takes apart old kimonos to remake into new projects too.

If you order your own sashiko jacket from Marico she will stitch them while thinking of you or the person she is making it for to send a positive spirit into the jacket. She meditates on peace, energy and heart while working on the jacket. Customers feel more centered by wearing her jackets. (Well worth the six month wait for it to be made.)

In her quilts she uses cotton batting, but no batting goes into the jackets. She “lights up” as she talks about how she gets her inspiration and explains how she starts a project.

She showed small projects that the group can make at the workshop to follow, which made me sad I could not attend. L She also showed small projects in the books she brought that had examples of more modern ways of using Sashiko.

The sister duo was featured in the spring 1997 Vol. 20 No. 3 of Ornament Magazine. Toshie and Marico Chigyo shared their Sashiko Meditation Work that included a Sculptural Headdresses.

She has been exhibiting in arts and craft shows across the country, including the Smithsonian DC, Philadelphia, ACC Show in San Francisco, Boston and New York. She also teaches Sashiko workshops at needle groups throughout the US.

Her sister Toshie is in Japan right now building a Japanese cultural center in Kyoto. It will have workshops and exhibits of textiles and handwork. What commitment. obviously their feelings for preservation of culture run deep.

Toshie and Marico have a website with additional information: www.chigyo.org

To Learn More Why NotTravel to Japan

she has such a sweet spirit, a wonderful smile, sincerity and kind heart. And more than a craftsman she shares openly her background in a more personal way by arranging cultural trips to Japan. For more than 25 years she and her sister Toshie have arranged and led trips to Japan. The trips focus on Sashiko- and traditional crafts of Japan as seen through the eyes of Toshie and Marico Chigyo. They enjoy sharing their experiences and introducing attendees to learn more about “I. Shoku. Jyu” - fabrics, clothing, the Japanese cuisine, architecture, home life and other aspects of cultural importance. She goes twice a year She also gives workshops on Japanese culture, cooking classes and tea ceremonies.

In the afternoon Marico lead a workshop where students learned the traditional hand stitching method.

-how to draw patterns onto fabric using a "Hera" (tool)

-how to Stitch properly depending on your pattern

-how to construct the Sankaku bukuro, napkin or center piece.

I have seen a few projects that fellow members are working on and what beauty and grace goes into these projects.

I highly recommend Marico as a speaker. Her contact information: