As we look towards creating a more sustainable, environmentally friendly future, industries like fast fashion prove to be large obstacles along the way. Fast fashion is the mass production of quickly and cheaply made clothing. Most clothing waste goes into landfills or is incinerated, and because much of the fabric is made with synthetic fibers, it does not break down on its own. One way to combat this needless pollution is mending old clothing instead of tossing or donating it after seeing a hole or a tear. Sashiko, a traditional Japanese method, is a mending technique that only requires a needle and thread. Your clothes will be mended, and your point of view on clothing might change, too.  

Sashiko dates back to the Edo period in Japan (1603-1867) when people in poor, rural communities needed to repair their clothing but did not have the money to buy new textiles, nor the time to intricately hand-stitch. They utilized what was available to them – a needle, thread, and any spare fabric – and used a running stitch called unshin, as opposed to using measured and organized hand stitches. The needlework that resulted was such that no two stitches were purposefully alike. Many years later, with the addition of the luxury of time, sashiko is now a form of expression where artisans can leave their mark on a piece of fabric.

Anyone can pick up a sashiko needle to try it out, as no prior sewing knowledge is needed. Finding the right needle, thread, and fabric is easy – a quick Google or YouTube search can provide lots of information. The world might know sashiko as a combination of solely indigo fabric and white thread, but this was due to a lack of options at the time of its origin. You can currently find sashiko fabrics and threads in many different colors, and the best part is, there is no “wrong” way to do it, as long as you are paying proper homage to the culture behind the practice. Some brands will say an item of clothing is sashiko simply for branding purposes, negating the foundation of sashiko itself.

Sashiko provides a journey to embrace your imperfect authenticity in a society that often prioritizes quantity, speed, and perfection. It takes time, and the requirement of using both hands forces you to be in the moment – no room for mindless scrolling here. The time spent in the process allows you to appreciate and care for your clothing, as opposed to viewing it as just something to use and then dispose of. While sashiko was born out of necessity at the time, it can now be used to flip the script written by the fast fashion industry, and empower you to take the future of your clothing, literally, into your own hands. 

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Japanese Sashiko Mending