So you enjoyed sashiko stitching a sampler.

And then you enjoyed stitching another one.

And another one.

And another one?

What are you going to do with them? 

Cushions? Have enough already? Table centres? Ditto. But they are awfully nice to use as a light towel to throw over a fruit bowl or fresh baking.

Here are some other ideas:

Make a simple small quilt - or a big quilt.

Next is one of my favourite ideas. Cut the sampler on the diagonal

(If you put the sampler through your washer and dryer first the stitching will be fine when you cut through it, but if you feel concerned, you can iron a fusible featherweight interfacing to the sampler back to fuse the threads firmly to the fabric)

Sew the cut sampler triangles to the top and bottom corners of a kitchen tea towel. The one in this picture has been through the wash a few times. The stitching just gets prettier with washings.

You can sew a small project like this zip pouch. This is one of the Kugurizashi sashiko samplers. It is a little trickier to cut- you have to be gentle with it until the threads are fixed again by being sewn into the seams. 

Here are a couple projects made from the Hitomezashi sashiko samplers.

Another simple but great use of the Olympus Sashiko samplers- they make large pockets on bags like this drawstring small laundry bag. 

They are nice on the front of plain aprons too.

Once you catch on to how easy it is to cut the samplers up like any other fabric there are so many ways you can use them!

Combine the pieces with other fabrics or techniques for extra interest.

Here is a bag to demonstrate the possibilities. It uses a pre-printed fabric stitched and cut using the bag pattern pieces, and embellished by a little applique in the closure strap. The darker blue is a Japanese print wagara cotton fabric. (I machine quilted around the applique pieces with blue thread, that is not our topic here, I know, but its a good tip for how to quilt sashiko stitching :-)

Happy Making,

Susan