March 2022 - Day school - Kogin and Sashiko with Liz Almond

It was a bright and sunny Saturday with the sun shining through the windows making the room warm.
We set up tables with all covid restrictions in place.
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Liz Almond, our tutor for the day, arrived early with her husband ‘ roadie’ as she described him. It was soon clear why she needed a roadie as she had hundreds of samples of her work to display as well as kits and equipment.

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Lots of members attended and almost all took part in the class. Those who were not taking part brought their own work to do. There were also visitors who had attended to do the workshop but enjoyed the day so much they are now members.

Liz began the workshop by explaining how Kogin started in Japan in the 15th Century. It was used by the fishermen and their families as they were not allowed to buy cotton for clothing and used jute to make fabric. The Kogin embroidery was used as identification in the same way as Guernsey and Aran sweaters were used for fishermen in this country as identification. Each family had its own design. It was also used to secure worn out clothes together and to transfer into other garments to make new clothes.
​Liz explained that the Kogin we were doing today was described as ‘in the style of Kogin’ and how colour changes the dynamic of a design.
Before we started our work, she emphasised that counting the foundation row was the basis of a successful piece of work and to count at least three times before starting to stitch.

Liz then went on to describe Sashiko, which is another form of Japanese embroidery used on garments. The designs are used for status and family crests [ Kamon crests]. This is a running stitch worked along the design lines.

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​The third type of stitching is Boro, which was used to make padded clothes or to mend garments. This consisted of pieces of cloth of different sizes and design arranged randomly on a base cloth or a garment needing repair. Liz said this is now used for bags and decoration. Boro is also very relaxing and easy to do as all the layers are pinned and tacked and then sewn in straight lines across the fabric. Other designs stitched on top also look very effective.

​Liz had put together an extensive pack of Kogin and Sashiko designs with thread and fabric.
We then started work on our chosen designs. Some of us made more progress than others but Liz was very encouraging and helpful and we all ‘got it’ eventually.

Liz showed us a wide variety of samples. Some of these were stitched on ready-made bags she had picked up cheaply from supermarkets and decorated with Kogin, Sashiko and Boro.  
Throughout the day Liz gathered us round the table to explain more of her wonderful and exquisite work. She also gave advice on the best equipment to use and how stitching had helped her and many others from around the world who are part of her Facebook group, throughout lockdown.
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Take a look at Liz’s website: www.blackworkjourney.co.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/blackworkjourneydesigns/

There was also work going on at the back of the room by the people not taking part in the workshop, Sandie was working on an embroidered coral reef, Edwina made repairs on some very fine fabric, Carol was knitting and Pat and Janet were embroidering trees and landscapes.
The monthly challenge pieces showed a wide range of inspired pieces from the work of artists including Monet, Lowry, Hundertwasser, Klimt and Mackintosh

Some finished pieces from the Maria Livesey day school were also on display.
Everyone had an interesting and enjoyable day. Many thanks to Liz for inspiring us with the art of Japanese stitching techniques.
 
Thanks to Kath H. for writing the blog this month.

Follow us on Instagram:  #preston_embroidery

​Keep safe and keep stitching.
AR.

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