Sashiko Mending Workshop

Repair PDX is hosting a Sashiko Mending Workshop at the Leaven Community Center on Sunday, October 18, from 10 AM to 1 PM, with doors opening at 9:45 AM. The session is led by instructor Angela, who'll be walking you through the basics of sashiko—a traditional Japanese visible mending art that stabilizes and reinforces fabric mends while adding a bit of embellishment. The name itself translates to 'little stab,' which pretty much sums up the process.

Sashiko dates back to the Edo Period (1603–1867), when working-class people were restricted by the shoguns' social hierarchy and by a real scarcity of cloth. They mended their clothes with indigo-dyed boro—scraps of fabric—using stitches no bigger than a grain of rice, building intricate patterns full of meaning and symbolism. Angela will share that history and talk about how the craft is used today, so you'll get a sense of where the technique comes from before you start stitching.

Over the course of the morning, you'll learn the knots, the stitches, and the methods for transferring a design onto your fabric. You'll go home with thread and a needle, and fabric if you want it, so you can keep mending on your own after the workshop ends. The session is run by Repair PDX, a local group focused on fixing things rather than tossing them.

It's a sliding scale, pay-what-you-can setup, and there are no refunds. The workshop is currently sold out, but there's a waitlist if you're still hoping to get a spot. The Leaven Community Center is at 5431 Northeast 20th Avenue in Portland.