---
title: "Sashiko"
description: "Sashiko is a Japanese stitching technique of small running stitches, traditionally white cotton on indigo cloth, used to reinforce, layer and decorate fabric."
type: Glossary
url: https://teazle.art/glossary/sashiko
published: 2026-10-14
updated: 2026-10-14
author: "The Teazle editors"
---

# Sashiko

*Sashiko is a Japanese stitching technique of small running stitches, traditionally white cotton on indigo cloth, used to reinforce, layer and decorate fabric.*

Sashiko means “little stabs”. Rows of even running stitches quilt layers of cloth together for warmth and strength, and form geometric patterns such as waves, hemp leaves and interlocking circles. It developed as a practical craft of rural Japan, especially in the Edo period, and is now popular for visible mending.


## Sources

1. [Sashiko needlework reborn: from functional technology to decorative art](https://researchportalplus.anu.edu.au/en/publications/sashiko-needlework-reborn-from-functional-technology-to-decorativ/). Australian National University
2. [Textile Society of America symposium paper](https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tsaconf/584). Textile Society of America
3. [Sashiko (Q2225621)](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2225621). Wikidata

Canonical: https://teazle.art/glossary/sashiko