How to Make a Boro Bag: A Japanese Textile Tradition
Photograph via Susan Briscoe and We Are Studio for the Victoria and Albert Museum
A New Approach to Stitches
To appreciate sashiko stitches ("little stabs" or "little pierce" stitches) and boro clothes (meaning tattered or repaired), we need to put aside the idea of always trying to hide our stitches, and explore the elegance of having our construction be bold and in plain sight. Long, decorative reinforced thread can be incorporated into any number of fabrics that make up clothes, bedding, and accessories.
Boro Tradition
Boro is Yuyo-no-Bi, or the Beauty of Practicality, found in the traditional Japanese patchwork technique of piecing together and mending fabric.
Boro is a traditional Japanese form of repairing clothes, where layers upon layers of fabric and stitches make up a multi-layered patchworked piece of clothing, accessory, or bedding. Boro pieces were created from years-worth, even generations-worth, of repairs being made to a jacket or bedcover.
Before cotton was introduced in Japan, fabric was hand-made, hand-spun, and hand-dyed linen, hemp, and ramine. When a piece of clothing or bedding began to fall apart they would be pieced, patched, and stitched back together. Sashiko stitches would bind the many layers together, like a quilt.
Long running sashiko stitches traditionally give new life to cloth items, strengthening the fabric and adding warmth.
When clothes started to fall apart for good, and were beyond repair even with more layering and sashiko stitches, they’d be repurposed and turned into smaller items such as aprons, bags, and cleaning cloths.
Making a Boro Bag with Sashiko Stitches
Making a boro bag is a great way to try out sashiko stitching - having fun pairing contrasting colored stitches throughout an item, making dramatic marks with thread that take on a life of their own.
You'll need some simple sewing items to start, which we've listed below with links to Amazon. You can also jump in and see some Sashiko Kits available for purchase online, or purchase some Sashiko items separately. (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases - at no extra cost to you.)
- Scraps of fabric
- Hera marker (marks a crease/light indentations on fabric)
- Sashiko needle
- Pins
- Clear see-through ruler
- Sashiko thread or embroidery thread
- Cutting wheel
- Self-healing rotary mat
- Scissors
- Interfacing
- Iron
- Sashiko leather or palm thimble or metal thimble
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BeBe Bold’s video instructions below are helpful in learning an easy way to create a Boro Bag. To get a download of Bebe Bold's pattern, you’ll need to go to the website and purchase it.
If you’re a thrifty crafter or on a budget, you can follow directions, including a free pattern, from Indigobird Design, or from Fabrice Editions to make a loop bag, and adapt it to be a boro bag.
You can find a Japanese Boro Bag Tutorial with photos at Handmadiya.com, as well as .pdf downloadable step-by-step directions for another type of Boro Bag Tutorial via London's Victoria & Albert Museum.
· Don't miss: Sashiko Stitching and Sashiko Videos.
You can adapt bag projects to make a boro bag, using hand stitches (sashiko), machine stitching, or a combination of both. All People Quilt's messenger bag would look great as a boro bag - you'll have to create a free account to download free patterns.
If you want to see how boro tradition and techniques are inspiring contemporary designers, keeping traditional craftsmanship alive, have a look at Kapital and Kiriko.
Susan Briscoe Designs is a great place to start for putting together a sashiko kit. Click here for a one-stop convenient resource for needles, threads, fabric, books, patterns, and instructional videos.
For more about the Sashiko tradition and written tutorials, consider some helpful books we've curated below.
SASHIKO, JAPANESE QUILTING, MENDING, and SLOW STITCHING BOOKS
The Ultimate Sashiko Sourcebook by Susan Briscoe Explore the origins of Sashiko, and what you need to get started. Ten project chapters show how easy it is to use sashiko patterns to make beautiful items for the home. *At the time of publishing, the price was $21.
This book includes 15 projects, including mending clothes and home goods. *At the time of publishing, the price was $13.
Japanese Sashiko Inspirations: 25 Ways to Explore a Traditional Technique by Susan Briscoe
Experiment with 12 essential sashiko techniques. Each chapter includes a beginner's project, and a more intricate design. *At time of publishing, the price was $22.
Japanese Quilting: Sashiko by Hiromitsu Takano This book includes 30 designs, each accompanied by a full drawing, ranging from the Ougi (Fan) to Sayagata (Buddhist symbols). *At the time of publishing, the price was $19.
The Geometry of Hand-Sewing by Natalie Chanin This book features more than 100 stitches—from the most basic straight and chain to the more fanciful feather and herringbone, with photos of both right and wrong sides. *At the time of publishing, the price was $17.
Japanese Country Quilting-Sashiko Patterns and Projects for Beginners by Karen Kim Matsunaga Instructions for stitching patterns inspired by natural motifs, including 60 traditional patterns. *At time of publishing, the price was $24.