Sashiko Hand Stitching Workshop
With Rachel Barclay
All Skill Levels Welcome!
Sashiko is a Japanese mending and embroidery handwork skill which uses a simple running stitch to create bold and geometric patterns on textiles. The stitching tradition has been used for centuries in Japan, and continues globally, as a contemporary needlework practice to mend, patch, strengthen, quilt, and embellish garments or home goods for longevity and beauty. With focus on exploration of the craft, workshop participants will learn how to handle thread, layout a grid, draw patterns, employ a Sashiko needle, and use “small stabs” to stitch designs onto their mini-patch samplers.
Sashiko patterns are inspired by nature, architecture, and culture. Students will choose from a variety of motifs that suit their design aesthetic and comfort level; tiny plus signs, woven tortoise, ocean waves, and seven treasures to name a few. The stitched squares can later be transformed into purposeful, small goods such as a pocket, pin cushion, patch, sachet, or coaster.
All skill levels are welcome whether a novice stitcher or experienced fiber artist! Everyone will work at their own pace. Bring your good reading glasses!
**********************Snow Date: March 29th************************
Workshop Fee: $80
Member Fee: $70/$60
Card to Culture Member Fee: $40
Youth (9th - 12th Grade) $25 *Please Note: High School students under 16 must be accompanied by an adult
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Rachel Barclay studied Textiles, Installation Sculpture, Printmaking, and Elementary Education in San Francisco and Long Beach, California. Throughout her journey as a creator, educator, and parent, she has focused on making functional sewn and embellished garments, home goods, and mixed media textile objects.
Since studying Sashiko with Jessica Marquez of Miniature Rhino and Kazue Yoshikawa of Sashiko Lab, Rachel embraced the hand-work practice as an act of mindfulness, empowerment, beauty, and sustainability. Building on her background as an artist and educator,
Rachel shares her joy of hand-stitching with all who are curious. Her teaching travels have taken her to studios, workshops, and retreats throughout the Northeast. Rachel stitches, mends, sews, reads teen fiction, forages for natural dye materials, and takes day trips to nearby cities for coffee and culture.
She works from her studio in Hartford, Connecticut with her woodworking spouse, Michael Pekovich with their two adult offspring nearby. Follow her creative process on Instagram
@rachelharrietteb or peruse her website www.rachelharriette.com
