Sashiko/visible mending workshop Wrexham knits Tuesday 2nd July

Another successful workshop took place a few weeks back at a weekly knit group called Wrexham Knits. The group meet up every week to knit, drink tea, eat cake, chat and learn from one another and I asked if I could join them one week and teach them a little about mending using a running stitch and styles inspired by and similar to the Japanese stitch Sashiko. 

Emily organises this group and she has made a lovely write up post about my visit which you can read here on her personal/crafty blog 'I've got knits'. Also I would like to thank Emily for these photographs, some of the above photographs were taken by Emily and some by myself.

I enjoyed the evening thoroughly and it appeared that everyone involved had a great time and enjoyed learning the technique, some of which have since emailed me images of completed pieces that they have finished after the workshop which is great.

Similar to the last workshop everyone started off filling in a questionnaire for me, a little about what they understood about the term up cycling, about whether they had heard of Sashiko before and a little about the mood they were in. We then went on to talk about Sashiko and it's traditional use whilst working on  a sample/practice piece with the 'linked seven treasures' stitch on 'shippo tsunagi'. After a tea and cake break people either carried on with their sample piece of began mending or enhancing an item that they had bought with them. It was interesting for me to see how some people had felt that they would not be able to complete the stitch successfully or very easily at the beginning of the session but at the end when they had their sample piece and could see what they had achieved they felt pleased. Sashiko uses a running stitch, this is the only stitch that is used, it is used in many ways but essentially the core of any design is a running stitch. This makes Sashiko an incredibly accessible creative activity, even those with no knowledge of sewing and stitching can easily learn and enhance upon a basic running stitch and because of this individuals can experience a sense of achievement in learning something new.

I would love to go back and visit Wrexham knits if they will have me.