Jazz up your jeans with Japanese Sashiko embroidery

After a long career in the civil service, my retirement gave me the opportunity to fully engage and indulge my creative interests. My mother and grandmother - both keen dressmakers - taught me to sew, knit and crochet, generating a life-long love affair with fabric and fibres, and leading me into experimenting with upholstery and felting, Shibori hand dying of fabrics and hand painting yarns.My interest in all things fibre took a new turn when I visited Japan and fell in love with the ancient art of Sashiko embroidery, which I’ve subsequently used to embellish jeans, jackets and bags. The closely associated craft of Boro Boro patchwork also appealed because it speaks to my other great love: making mosaics, which I’ve been doing for many years now.’