Clothing: Zakka Style

Clothing: Zakka Style
In Praise of the Running Stitch
By Linda Lee
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What is Zakka?
Zakka is a fashion and design
phenomenon that began in
Japan and has spread around
the world. The term refers to
anything that improves your
home, life and appearance.
It has been described as the
art of seeing the savvy in the
ordinary and mundane.
The zakka boom touches on
issues of self-expression and
spirituality.
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What is Zakka?
Zakka can also be
contemporary handicraft. But
to qualify, a product must be
attractive, sensitive, and have
an underlying theme.
For me, handicraft and
handwork go hand-in-hand,
so this presentation extolls
the benefits and beauty of
adding hand stitches to
handmade items.
Sashiko is also a form of decorative reinforcement stitching
from Japan. Traditionally used to reinforce points of wear or
to repair tears, this running stitch is often used for decorative
purposes. The running stitch is a classic zakka look, too.
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Influences
It all started with a little
stitching on a small bag for
my Sew Easy Bags book.
After learning some sashiko
stitching techniques, I
experimented on a piece of
silk layered over cotton flannel
and made a bag from the
sample.
I was hooked!
Drawstring Pouch from The Sewing
Workshop book, published by sixth&spring
books, 2012, pages 93-97.
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Influences
Then I ran into my friend,
Paula McPhee from Virginia.
She was wearing her Trio
Top made in a Japanese
linen print embellished with
a few simple running
stitches in off-white thread.
It was just enough to
highlight the printed design
on the fabric and add a
handmade quality to the
garment.
Trio Top and details
by Paula McPhee
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Influences
I discovered Alabama Chanin
and bought all of the books.
Alex, my daughter, and I went
to Florence, Alabama and
studied with Natalie Chanin.
We learned to sew traditional
embroidery stitches on cotton
jersey and how to embellish
with beads and sequins.
Alex learning to stitch by hand at Alabama Chanin.
And we learned to construct
garments completely by
hand!
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Influences
I researched and read and
collected books and images.
And I snooped in Kathy
Davis’s closet.
There are many books
available about zakka.
A hand embroidered Mexican
shirt from Kathy’s closet.
Hand embroidered toile “art” fabric by
Richard Saja. Discovered on Pinterest.
Lots of hand stitches
going on in Stitch
magazine projects.
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Gather Your Materials—Fabrics
Any fabric can be hand
stitched, from silks and
sheers to cotton jersey.
Sometimes you have a
lackluster finished garment
that needs a little something
to perk it up or make it more
interesting. Add some fabric
fragments and hand stitching
to make it your own.
Back Side
Front Side
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Gather Your Materials—Threads
Any thread works for
hand stitching. Check
out the myriad of fiber
options and weights.
Linen Thread
Experiment and have
fun!
Pearl Cotton
Sashiko Thread
Wool Thread
50/50 Wool/Nylon
Button Craft Thread
Cotton or Silk
Embroidery Floss
Metallic Thread
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Gather Your Materials—Needles
Hand sewing needles are
very specific to the thread
and the personal “feel” of
the stitching.
So try several out before
making a decision.
I was told that a
professional hand stitcher
used the same needle her
whole life. I can’t keep track
of mine for 10 minutes!
Essential!
Needle Threader
Embroidery
Needles
Sashiko Needles
My favorite travel accessory
is my leather case made by
Merchant & Mills in London.
Leather needle case
Assorted Milliners and Sharps
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The Essential Stitch Guide
While a simple running
stitch is my favorite, I
haven’t forgotten about the
days in my youth when I
loved to embroider hand
towels and doll clothes.
Elegant Stitches by Judith
Baker Montano is the
encyclopedia of hand
stitches.
This all brings back
memories of a quieter time.
The best resource for hand embroidery stitches.
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Projects—Clothes
Nancy Shriber created
this artistic Ikina Jacket.
Her beautiful lotus
blossom motif is hand
stitched, sashiko style,
using cotton embroidery
floss through silk
doupioni and cotton
flannel.
Subtle and elegant.
Ikina Jacket with pieced bands
and sashiko stitched designs.
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Projects—Clothes
I loved the fabrics used in
this Peony Vest, but
something was missing,
and I never wore it.
About an hour of hand
stitching outlining the
edges and repeating
some of the motifs of the
lining/facing fabric turned
this garment into a new
favorite.
Peony Vest in linen lined with a cotton
ikat fabric. Styled with the Zen Shirt.
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Projects—Clothes
This Liberty Shirt was
another “relegated-tothe-basement” garment.
The white-on-white
Japanese cotton fabric
was interesting on the
bolt, but it looked like a
plain muslin garment
from a distance.
It needed a little fix-up.
Liberty Shirt in Japanese cotton print.
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Projects—Clothes
Scraps from other
projects provided
inspiration for some
embellishments.
As I pinned some small
bits of fabrics to the shirt,
I found that I could see it
better when I hung it up
and looked at it vertically
rather than flat on a table.
I gathered some fabric scraps, tore
them into small shapes, and pinned
them to the garment to see the effect.
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Projects—Clothes
With a few well-placed
fragments and some
hand stitches in pearl
cotton, the shirt has
more character and
impact. Now it’s a
special piece to wear.
I got the hang of a running stitch by the
time I got to this garment. Now I can
sew more than one stitch at a time.
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Projects—Clothes
So it was back to the
Alabama Chanin experience.
I love the stencil design and
detail of this Alabama
Chanin top, but the style of
the top is not something that
I would wear.
So I thought about how I
could adapt their signature
technique into a garment
that suits me more.
Anna’s Garden Shell Top by Alabama Chanin.
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Projects—Clothes
I decided to start small.
So I opted to embellish
some pockets first.
Angie’s Fall Small Flower Print stencil by Alabama Chanin.
I had never cut a stencil
or spray painted a stencil
design on fabric before.
I have a new appreciation
for this technique, and I
have a long way to go to
get the perfection that I
am looking for.
But here is my first
attempt.
I cut out the stencil on
pennant felt.
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I used acrylic spray paint to
stencil the design onto
organic cotton knit.
Projects—Clothes
Blue knit is placed over a
piece of natural knit.
I stitched around the stencil
design using running
stitches and button craft
thread by Coats and Clark.
The insides of the designs
were then cut away to reveal
the under layer of knit.
I stitched the top edge of the
pocket and then attached
the pocket to the shirt using
the same running stitches.
Stencil design is
stitched and cut away.
Pocket is stitched
to the shirt.
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Projects—Clothes
I used the Hudson Top
pattern as the base
garment and left off the
cowl collar.
The same knit that was
used as the pocket under
layer is used as strips
sewn to the wrong side
of the garment edges.
A neck binding option.
The garment is generally
constructed using a
serger — six seams, to
be exact.
Hudson Top without cowl.
Pocket and hem detail.
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Projects—Clothes
I soon realized that
stenciling might be my
thing, but I wanted to enjoy
the stitching process and
make it simple.
The next project was a
Helix Top using the
embroidery floss to simply
outline the diagonal seams
and the neckline.
Helix Top
Neckline stitch detail.
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Projects—Clothes
A raw-edged MixIt Shirt
in organic cotton with
tone-on-tone embroidery
floss stitching.
The garment is
essentially sewn together
by machine, but all of the
edges are left raw and
handstitched together.
Edge detail.
The pocket is an addition
to the pattern.
MixIt Shirt as a jacket.
Pocket detail.
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Projects—Clothes
Handstitching is the
perfect travel activity.
This Peony Vest has
two layers of 100%
organic knit, taupe and
soft grey/blue,
handstitched together
in a 2"grid.
Smaller sections are
stitched in a 1" grid
allowing for cutouts
and sequin and bead
embellishments.
Lapel detail.
Peony Vest
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Cutout detail.
Projects—Clothes
Looks easy, and it is!
Narrow strips of
cotton jersey cut on
the crossgrain are
sewn in rows on this
simple wrap skirt.
Alabama Chanin wrap skirt.
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Projects—Clothes
Let the fabric do the
talking!
A fairly ordinary stripe
fabric is dressed up
with the addition of
buttons and
embroidery stitches.
If you don’t like to match
stripes, turn the direction of
the fabric for different
sections of the garment.
Now Shirt by Karen Tornow.
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Projects—Clothes
This is another great
example of enhancing
the weave of the
fabric with the use of
some colorful hand
stitches.
Another artistic piece by Karen Tornow.
She used a combination of straight
stitches in different directions and “X”
stitches. Simple but looks more complex.
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Projects—Clothes
Needle felting is so
much fun!
You can needle felt
any fabric, not just
wool roving.
This punched design
is enhanced by
sewing simple
running stitches in
cotton floss outlining
the design.
Kathy Davis used scraps of silk doupioni
to needle felt this whimsical design.
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Projects—Clothes
Common materials
such as rickrack,
wool roving and
cotton floss create
this spectacular
contemporary design
on the Yvonne
Porcella Jacket.
The base fabric is wool crepe with
wool gauze triangular inserts.
Another artistic piece by Karen Tornow.
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Projects—Clothes
Layers of wispy silk are
stitched together in a
series of parallel running
stitches to make this
stunning coat.
Layered silk and stitched coat.
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Projects—Clothes
In this yet-to-be-finished
project, Adrianne Noe is
stitching a very personal
and meaningful adage in
braille using French knots.
The embellishment will be a
vertical element on a sleeve.
Braille in French knots on a sleeve.
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Projects—Clothes
Susan Van Swearingen is
preparing her pieces to
make an art-to-wear vest.
Two layers of striped knits
are sewn together using the
running stitch to follow the
linear pattern.
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Projects—Clothes
Just a few details can
make all the difference.
Stitch a pocket
where there isn’t one.
Play up the snap closures
with stitches that show.
Outline a motif on
an existing garment.
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Projects—Bags
Just a few stitches and some
seed beads add dimension
to this tote bag.
Stitching and bead detail.
Tote by Alex Woodbury. A Stitch magazine project.
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Projects—Bags
Sunday morning on the
patio—a quick little bag
project to get the rhythm of
the stitching.
Wool and bamboo felt is a
really soft non-woven
material, and it’s easy to
stitch using cotton sashiko
thread.
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Projects—Bags
The more uneven the
stitches, the better,
according to Natalie
Chanin.
It’s a chance to “let go”.
Alabama Chanin canvas tote.
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Projects—Pillows
This is a pillow style that I
have been playing around
with for awhile.
I like the idea of nicely
finished pieces with some
surprise unfinished
elements included.
My pillow from Sew Red. The
proceeds from the sale of this
book benefit the American
Heart Association.
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Projects—Pillows
Some leftover cotton from a
shirt and a bit of stria silk
are combined to make this
more casual pillow.
Pieces of shot cotton are
torn and inserted into the
seam and held together
using long running stitches
in four different colors of
cotton embroidery floss.
A quick pillow project using scraps and raw edges.
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Projects—Pillows
This pillow started with a kit
from Alabama Chanin.
Pale yellow cotton jersey is
layered over off-white knit.
The design was first
stenciled onto the top layer.
The stencil was outlined
using cotton embroidery
floss, and then the insides
of the stencil design were
cut away.
The embroidery stitch
is the backstitch.
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Projects—Table Runner
I couldn’t bear to cut up
my kimono silk pieces,
so I left them as they
were and hand stitched
them to a hemp base,
leaving the edges raw.
Stitching detail.
Asian table runner in my dining room.
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Let’s Not Forget Machine Work
I just couldn’t throw away
all of those darling little knit
shirts of my daughter’s.
Making this Urban T-shirt
as a cardigan allowed me
to use those shirts in a
meaningful way —
something better than
leaving them in a plastic
tube in the basement!
A variation using an
assortment of striped knits.
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Urban T-shirt as a cardigan
with raw-edged knit pieces
machine sewn to the shirt.
Let’s Not Forget Machine Work
So you don’t like to
hand stitch...it’s okay.
Machine stitches,
both decorative and
utilitarian, can have
the same hand crafted
look, but are easier
and faster to produce.
Basic and utility stitches
are the easiest stitches to
sew. And they’re cool, too!
A Karen Tornow creation.
Decorative stitching and
couching on plain linen.
Large triple zigzag stitches
on a collar stand.
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Let’s Not Forget Machine Work
It doesn’t have to
be perfect.
Folded, crinkled,
and raw-edged
bits of fabric,
placed in a
random display,
embellish this
summer skirt.
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Clothing: Zakka Style
By Linda Lee
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