{"id":11115170,"date":"2026-03-04T22:05:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T16:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sewguide.com\/?p=11115170"},"modified":"2026-05-02T17:56:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T12:26:19","slug":"shippo-tsunagi-sashiko-embroidery-pattern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sewguide.com\/shippo-tsunagi-sashiko-embroidery-pattern\/","title":{"rendered":"Shippo-tsunagi Sashiko – drawing and stitching this beautiful Japanese pattern"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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When I first saw the Shippo-tsunagi Sashiko pattern I thought: Ofcourse, trust the Japanese to turn something simple into something that looks complicated. Sashiko has at its base the easiest of all hand embroidery stitches – the running stitch. But here, this full circle lattice pattern with interlocked circles looked anything but simple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, already anything Japanese always seems far beyond my intelligence. I thought the same about this sashiko pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Shippo-tsunagi<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Turns out I was wrong. It is quite easy. Even an inept embroiderer like me could turn out something passable. I love it. And it is so relaxing to sew the repetitive pattern. It is like the boxed breathing in meditation. The repetitive breathing calming your senses and nervous system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I forgive them, even if it is hard work, it is great for the soul. And also because, the patterns are so beautiful. Despite their age (It has been a regular sashiko pattern since the 1800s) they look wonderfully modern. Those white thread against the indigo background is a maximalistic beauty done in a minimalistic way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the way it is stitched proves its efficiency as you will see. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is how to draw the Shippo-tsunagi Sashiko design with just a circle template.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Checkout the video on how to draw the pattern here: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

Cut out a circle with a 1.5″ diameter. Mark the 4 corners of the circle. If you have a circle template, the thin plastic kind, it will have the holes marked already. Otherwise you will have to mark manually on your paper template – and mark this on the fabric as well. This marking is used repeatedly and should be accurate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"circle<\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This step is very important. I used a circle template ruler to mark the circle neatly on a chartpapaer and then cut it out. You draw all the pattern based on these markings and they have to be accurate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The size of the circle can vary. I am making a very small pouch so my flower petals are small. For large projects you can use bigger circles. Work is the same! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now place the circle template on the face of your fabric – mark your first circle on the middle of the top edge of your embroidery area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"circle<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Start tracing the circle shape around the template with a marking tool of your choice. I am using a marking pencil. A water erasable marker is the best for embroidery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Next, move to the next intersection and mark the circle. The petals are formed automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Repeat till you fill the whole design area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Shippo-tsunagi<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When you start the embroidery there are three things you should keep in mind :<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make even stitches with even tension and remember to sew smoothly along curves. And do not overlap stitches along the center \/ junctions. ( a mistake very easy to make in your enthusiasm to finish the design.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To complete the stitch efficiently two short cuts are used. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"stitching<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. Instead of sewing one stitch at a time, you should load load multiple running stitches onto the needle. so, you will be using long needle and working a large area at once. Saves a lot of time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. And the Shippo pattern is usually stitched as interconnected arcs in one go, not one circle at a time. So you finish one line of the arc in one go and then move on to the next line of arc. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    In more lucid terms, start at one edge, stitch a curved arc, continue directly into the next arc and likewise move across the row like a gentle wave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Shippo-tsunagi<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Sashiko pattern trivia I read<\/strong> : \u201cShippo\u201d means Seven Treasures in Japanese Buddhist symbolism. The seven treasures are the ones we all covet- gold, silver, lapis lazuli, agate, crystal, coral, pearl. Because of the endless loop pattern it also means endless prosperity. I like, I like. Beauty and money, what is not to like. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Related post: More about Sashiko embroidery<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    When I first saw the Shippo-tsunagi Sashiko pattern I thought: Ofcourse, trust the Japanese to turn something simple into something that looks complicated. Sashiko has at its base the easiest of all hand embroidery stitches – the running stitch. But here, this full circle lattice pattern with interlocked circles looked anything but simple. For me, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11115183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11115170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-embroidery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sewguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11115170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sewguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sewguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sewguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sewguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11115170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sewguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11115170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sewguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11115183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sewguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11115170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sewguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11115170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sewguide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11115170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}