Japanese Country Quilting: Sashiko Patterns and Projects for Beginners [Paperback]

Karen Kim Matsunaga (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 1990

The perfect introduction to a Japanese sewing craft. Step-by-step instructions for stitching patterns inspired by natural motifs, including 60 traditional patterns, and suggestions for basic sewing projects.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Karen Matsunaga is a Kodansha International author.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha USA (July 15, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870119362
• ISBN-13: 978-0870119361
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #234,313 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for starting off in Sashiko Quilting, March 1, 2001

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Japanese Country Quilting: Sashiko Patterns and Projects for Beginners (Paperback)

Traditional Japanese country clothes were quilted for warmth. The quilting patterns on the natural indigo dyed hemp or cotton are called sashiko and often take the form of repeating, geometric patterns.

Karen Matsunaga gives a nice background into the daily life of her Japanese family, and also the history of some of the traditional patterns.

The book has five complete projects, plus sashiko stitching pattern. The patterns are printed on grids, with helpful directional lines to show the direction in which the stitching should take place. Recommended for anyone starting out in sashiko quilting

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a good reference, March 13, 2006

By 

elvenlights (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Japanese Country Quilting: Sashiko Patterns and Projects for Beginners (Paperback)

I found this book to be a useful introduction to sashiko. It begins with a history of the craft and shows examples of how sashiko has been used in the past. It goes on to introduce a good variety of stitches, with reasonably easy-to-follow directions and diagrams, and finishes up with some sample projects. The book doesn't get five stars, though, because for a book that's supposed to be for beginners, it was rather a dry read, didn't have enough step-by-step illustrations to really show how things were supposed to come together, and could've used more interior color photos to show readers more examples of finished sashiko. So, it's a good, useful book, and I do recommend it, but I expect I'll wind up using it more for a stitch reference than an idea source.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good basics to get started, history, and designs, December 29, 2010

By 

Aquarium Friend (California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Japanese Country Quilting: Sashiko Patterns and Projects for Beginners (Paperback)

I ordered this book because I bought a piece of fabric pre-printed with a sashiko design. I needed some basics to get me started. This book gave me a very interesting history of how sashiko got started in Japan and how to get started on my project. The rest of the book included numerous designs. (I also found some additional tips at a few websites.)

I happened to meet two women who had done several sashiko projects on a jacket, purse, dish towels and on quilts. That gave me ideas of how and where sashiko designs can be used. So I may tackle some of the designs from the book in some future projects.