WenAstar2d ago

My newest #Samue jacket is ready to wear. The switched front flaps are due to my one-year inability to use my left arm. I need that front pocket on my right side. When I am well again, I will redo the tie structure and pocket placement for normal Japanese wear.

Wool with cotton lining and cottoline #embroidery #handsewing

WenAstarApr 1

#WIPWednesday
I have a new #samue jacket I am enhancing. Cottoline embroidery (German Durchzug) on wool.
I totally know I am a heretic to mix plant based and animal fibers. But this is what I had on hand, and I am stubbornly planning not to buy more material unless it is absolutely necessary to finish a project.

#embroidery

WenAstarAug 20, 2025
#WIPWednesday
As the jacket got finished in spring (for now, the collar has started fraying), I found the #Samue trousers of the set deep in my to-be-mended - pile.
So now I reworked them like the jacket with a layer of patches. Since I finished them last week, now we have an #sashiko embroidery in progress to link the layers of fabric again.
WenAstarOct 3, 2024
This time, not embroidery but #HandSewing and #SlowStitching
I found a Japanese trader willing to export indigo #Kasuri fabrics to Europe and snagged myself some meters with daymyo/kosame pattern.
While living in Japan, I learned a lot, but it seems Japanese hand sewing techniques are the ones I use most often at home. And so a new #Samue was created on my rocking chair when I was too ill to sit at my sewing machine.
I lined it with some leftover Australian fabrics because it will get cold soon.
WenAstarSep 27, 2024
The right flap of my #samue is done. I am proud that I managed to join both shippou patterns without visible seam.
Usually I would have worked down from the existing pattern, but the Japanese cotton fabric I used at the bottom of the jacket did not take the pattern draft well, the chalk rubbed off fast, and color pencils wouldn't stay either, so I had to start there.
#visiblemending year in, year out. Should I fix the hems first, or go on with some more #sashiko embroidery on the back?
#刺し子
WenAstarSep 25, 2024

#WIPWednesday #sashiko #visiblemending #刺し子

Onwards with the old #samue. It is always a wonder how liquid and heavy the fabrics get when stitched together with a flat pattern. In this case, it also turned very rough because I did not pull any of the threads flat. I expect to wash the jacket often, so this time I am giving the threads a lot of room to shrink without puckering the fabric.
Perhaps I can finish this part of the stitching on the weekend.

WenAstarSep 18, 2024

For this #WIPWednesday I offer my #Samue jacket, which still is missing some areas. Last weekend, I started on the lower front flap - mostly because the shippou pattern requires no decisions and I had my rub-through pattern already prepared from whenever I did the shoulders last year. It was that kind of week(s).

#sashiko #embroidery #visiblemending #刺し子

WenAstarOct 21, 2023

#Samue day. I finally finished stage one of the stitching project, the big fabric areas now move as one, thanks to the #sashiko stitching.

There are still some areas around the collar I want to cover, but I am not sure whether I should "draw" a white or dark blue line in couching technique on top or just cover up my 2mm lapse with some spectacular line pattern. If I draw in too much fabric, the jacket might not fit anymore, though.

#visiblemending for years and years.

WenAstarOct 15, 2023
The sunday you-shall-not-work! - Cat. #visiblemending
I am still on the #samue and #sashiko project. It just looks nicer that way, and the rather different patches gain a cohesive look.
WenAstarOct 11, 2023

#visiblemending

Since #Sashiko is quite popular this week, I have a new work in progress picture of my aged #samue jacket. I started stitching the shippou pattern to the right front.
For historical reasons, I would like to give the jacket only star-like patterns, so am thinking of asano-ha or some freestyle stars on the back.