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Sashiko pocket

Tie-on pockets are lovely projects for exploring new techniques without it taking forever to finish. I have made several pockets through the years in different techniques and materials. Today I have finished a sashiko pocket.

Making pockets is also a perfect opportunity to use scraps and material you already have. I have used a butchered tweed jacket, a couple of eBayed linen towels and a vintage evening clutch for some of mine.

Fabrics

I have had a sashiko pocket on my crafting list for a couple of years now. I found Chen, an Etsy seller in France who imports vintage handwoven fabrics from eastern China and I realized her fabrics would be perfect for my pocket. I had some scraps of her fabrics at home, and also ordered a sample pack of Indigo resist dyed fabrics.

I drew a shape for the pocket and arranged the fabrics until I was happy with shapes and composition.

Once I got the fabrics (Chen is super fast!), I had a hard time deciding what fabrics to use and how to arrange them. I wanted solid colour fabrics for the sashiko stitching and resist dyed for contrast—some for the pocket front and some to peek out above the pocket opening. I played a bit with shapes and patterns and landed in a combination I liked.

Sashiko stitching

The sashiko stitching was of course the main event of the pocket. I drew the grids and started the first thread and put it reluctantly aside. I wanted to bring it to the writing retreat I had coming up. It was hard, but I perservered.

Front and back ready to baste .

Hand sewing is deeply calming, helps me clear my head and open it for new ideas. As such it’s the perfect companion for writing. With the needle in one hand and the sturdy fabric in the other I stitched away in straight lines and geometrical patterns of endless interpretations. Vertical lines, wide and shallow angled figure-eights and finally horizontal lines. I still pull a bit, making the fabric pucker, but I’m learning.

Assembling

When I had woven in the final end I made a border between the sashiko and the resist dyed fabrics. I had woven a band from scraps of handspun yarn dyed with fresh Indigo leaves, which was the perfect candidate for the job. I even had some of the yarn left for the stitching.

Front and back of the finished pocket. I added some indigo leaf pounding to the back just for fun.

The other pockets I have made have been tie-on ones, menaing that the band was part of the straight top of the pocket. For this one I had bought a pocket hook. Therefore I wanted the top rounded. To make the shape sturdy I made a bias tape from scraps from a pair of pants I sew a couple of months ago.

A bias tape for the opening and the outer edge of the pocket.

Making your own bias tape is a lot of fun if you have sharp scissors and the discipline to draw straight and orderly lines. I added the band to the pocket opening and around the five layers—the front with a lining, the back with two.

A silk band and a hook and the pocket is done!

I stitched the hook at the top and a tassel at the bottom. I made the tassel a couple of weeks ago from thrums I found in a bag of finished projects. It was the perfect fit for a Japanese-style pocket!

The finished sashiko pocket fits perfectly with my handsewn pants. The pant fabric is from Indigoloom and the pattern is a traditional Chinese model.

Flaunting

The other morning the mist had draped itself over the lake and the morning swim was magical. When I got home I changed quickly and came back to the dock before the mist had disappeared entirely. Of course I paired the pocket with pants that I sew from Chen’s fabrics in a Chinese style pattern she provided me with. The fit was perfect and I giggled of joy at my mixed heritage pocket.

I love wearing my pockets, especially in the summer when I don’t wear a jacket. Even if most of my pants and skirts have pockets of their own, no garment is sturdy enough to house a smart phone without weighing down the garment.

Materials I used:

  • Handwoven vintage (1930–1970) cotton fabrics from China for front, inside, mini pocket and bias tape, from Indigoloom.
  • Remnants from antique cotton sheet for (double) back lining.
  • Indigo leaves for pounding on lining.
  • Band made from my handspun silk yarn, dyed with fresh indigo leaves.
  • Tassel made from thrums in handspun silk yarn, same as the band.
  • Pocket hook made by Emma Frost.
  • Sashiko thread, needles, thimble and stencils from Indigoloom.

Pocket collection

Five pockets and a belt bag, lovely projects where I have played with material I have and new techniques.

Here are my previous pockets, together with the new addition:

Happy spinning!

You can find me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write weekly posts, mainly about spinning. Do subscribe!
  • I share essay-style writing on Substack. Come and have a look!
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden or to book me for a lecture.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons are an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • Read the book Knit (spin) Sweden! by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
  • I am writing a book! In the later half of 2025 Listen to the wool: A why-to guide for mindful spinning will be available. Read more about the book here.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
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Mending hems

The other day I got a pair of third hand jeans. They fit me perfectly, but parts of the hems had been worn out, so I wanted to mend them. I threw out a question on Instagram and asked for advice on how to mend the hems. I got lots of really useful replies, some of which I decided to use and some of which to save for later. This post is all about mending hems.

When I was teaching at Sätergläntan craft education center this summer I met a woman who had the most beautifully visually mended pair of jeans. There were colourful embroideries all over the legs and they were just a joy to see. She had had them for 20+ years and mended them as soon as she had seen a hole, wear or tear.

One of my worn-out jeans leg hems.

With the mended pair of jeans as an inspiration I decided to take care of my own pair and mend them visibly as soon as I needed to, starting with the sad hems.

Decisions, decisions

Among the replies to my Instagram question, some were leaning towards blanket stitching around the hem, others towards embroidery and some towards a bias band. One suggested weaving straight onto the hem. I decided to embroider on a bias band on one leg and sew a tight blanket stitch on the other. The weaving I will save for later. I feared that it might get too bulky on a pant leg hem.

Blanket stitch

Both leg hems were worn, one a bit more and wider than the other. I chose the blanket stitch for the less worn leg. I have a box full of thrift shop embroidery yarn in wool, silk and linen. But for a pair of jeans I would need cotton. The only cotton yarn I had was a melange pink pearl cotton one, which was perfect for visibly mending hems.

A pink melange pearl cotton yarn blanket stitched around the hem to strengthen it with some oomph.

I think I will keep my eyes open for more melange pearl cotton for future mending emergencies, I really liked this one.

Bias tape and sashiko

I wanted to use sashiko as the main mending technique for the more worn leg. I had bought a bundle of 26 beautiful Chinese handwoven vintage cotton patches from the 1960’s from Indigoloom that I wanted to use. They are all great candidates for both a bias tape and other mending techniques. Since I wanted to make my own bias tape out of the Chinese patch – another great tip from my Instagram question – I had ordered a bias tape maker.

The loveliest bundle of cotton patches, hand woven in China in the 1960’s.

In the Ultimate Sashiko sourcebook by Susan Briscoe that I had in my book shelf I found sweet patterns based on chequered fabrics. There were a lot of those in the bundle and I chose one of them. I figured that as a beginner it would be a good idea to use a chequered fabric pattern as a guide when I did the stitches.

The world isn’t square!

As I meticulously measured the cutting angle and width of the bias tape-to-be I realized that something was wrong. Only I couldn’t figure out what. I saw that I had measured the angle and the width correctly, but still the checks didn’t add up. Measuring again and again I scratched my head until it dawned on me: There was a weaving error!

A bias tape to be from a vintage Chinese hand woven cotton fabric with, as it turned out, sweet irregularities.

I had made the mistake of counting on the squares to be square. But that’s the thing – the world isn’t square! It’s full of wonderful irregularities and differences. Therefore, so is my bias tape.

The making of a bias tape

Making the bias tape was quite entertaining. Once I had cut the fabric on the bias I eagerly waited for the bias tape maker to arrive. Once it did it took me five minutes to grab the iron and ironing board and make the tape.

The making of a bias tape. In goes a strip and out goes a tape!

The bias tape maker is just a metal guide where you stick the flat strip of bias fabric into one end and end up with a folded tape in the other. As soon as the folded end appears you just iron it and there you have it!

My very first bias tape, made from a vintage hand woven Chinese cotton fabric.

I cut the frays on the pant leg edges and stitched the tape by hand on the inside of the leg with a backstitch. I stitched the top of the tape onto the front of the leg with a whipstitch.

Sashiko pattern

I used a komezashi variation for the sashiko part, that took advantage of the chequered fabric pattern. This meant that I didn’t have to create a grid for my stitches since it was already there. I did want to continue the pattern above the tape, though, so I did my best to follow the lines from the tape onto the denim.

When mending my hems I allowed the sashiko stitches to run over the denim as well as the tape.

Since the bias tape was longer than I needed I could easily have cut out the weaving error. I chose not to, though, but instead to embrace the perfectly flawed irregularity and work with it as it was. It will serve as a tribute to the weaver who reminded me that the world isn’t square.

Two mended pant legs ready to be shamelessly flaunted!

It was interesting to use the sashiko technique for mending. I haven’t tried it just for the sake of sashiko yet, but I have plans to make little sashiko project pouches. Perhaps to keep my sashiko kit in.

Mending with love

I love my old new pair of jeans. Every time I mend them, which will be a treat and an act of love in itself, I will get that feeling that a new piece of clothing can give. A new start, a fresh breath. But with a smaller ecological footprint and hopefully with the inspiration for others to mend their own clothes with love.

A pair of mended hems.

As I plan to keep mending my jeans I also ordered a book on visible mending by Arounna Khounnoraj . It’s supposed to come next week. I’m secretly looking forward to more wear on my jeans. There is so much to explore! Thank you all who contributed to my cry for hem mending help.

Happy mending!

You can find me in several social media:

  • This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
  • My youtube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to missanything!
  • I have a facebook page where I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
  • I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden.
  • On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
  • You are also welcome to make one-off donations on my Ko-fi page.
  • Follow me on Instagram.  I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
  • Read the new book Knit (spin) Sweden! by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
  • In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
  • I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.