Sashiko Stitch Patterns

Also known as Sashiko

Sashiko is Japanese running-stitch embroidery: white cotton thread sewn in regular rows on indigo cloth to strengthen worn farm clothing and, over time, to decorate it with named geometric patterns such as hemp leaf, seven treasures and ocean waves.

Play the preview About this tradition

Sashiko Stitch Patterns: photograph by Daderot — Photo: Daderot, CC0, source on Wikimedia Commons

Sashiko Stitch Patterns: the game in attract mode

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How to play

Choose a thread colour and a stitch shape from the strip under the cloth.
Tap a square to stitch it: the same shape appears on the matching squares across the cloth.
Copy the small chart above the cloth, then press Check.

Rules at a glance

The cloth is symmetric in four directions and across both diagonals, as stitched pattern charts are.
A square counts only when its shape and its thread colour both match the chart.
Three stars need a nearly perfect copy; you can undo or clear as often as you like.

About the tradition

Sashiko grew in the farming and fishing villages of northern Japan during the Edo period, where families mended and layered precious cloth by hand. It is still stitched, taught and exhibited today.

Origins

A living tradition passed from person to person; it is not tied to a single dated origin. It belongs to the cultural world of Japan and Korea.

Credits

Pattern design: World Heritage Games (original)
Photo: Daderot, CC0, source on Wikimedia Commons
Text: CC BY-SA 4.0, World Heritage Games.

Sources

commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sashiko_by_volunteers,_2012_-_Textile_

Get the app

Sashiko Stitch Patterns is one of 17 textile crafts in the Textile Crafts of the World app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Submitted to the App Store and Google Play; in review. Store links appear here the day it goes live. One app, many traditions, no account needed.

See all 17 textile crafts in the app

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