I'll keep adding to this page in response to customer questions, so if there's anything you want to ask about my products, please contact me.

Q - My order hasn't arrived. Where is it?

A - While I get a tracking number for every item sent via Royal Mail, this only shows whether or not it has been delivered. So once a parcel is in the post, I don't know. If a parcel does go missing, which has happened rarely, after several weeks I can claim back from Royal Mail and can send you another parcel. The tracking numbers would notify me if both were delivered though (this has happened!) so you would need to send one of them back.

Sometimes there are delays sending out orders. This is more common with orders that have many different items, because sometimes things can go out of stock before I get a chance to update the website. This year, I am doing many more live shows, and it is all done out of the same stock. If I need to reorder something for you, and there will be a delay, I try to let you know, and will either send part of the order first or hold the order until the missing item arrives.

I'm a sole trader - I'm doing everything myself, and it does take time to pack an order for the post. It takes a lot longer to process the purchase than it would at a show.

There have been several times this year when I have been doing shows back to back either without going home in between or with a very short turnaround. I don't have every item from the website with me while we are away, and there isn't always a post office I can use (if the local PO's opening hours are the same as the show we are attending, I can't send anything). So this can cause a delay too.

Royal Mail's delivery times have slowed down too. First Class often takes more than one day. Please bear in mind that I'm usually posting from Perthshire, Scotland, so it can take two working days even for First Class to arrive.

You can check my Events page or follow my newsletter to keep up to date with any posting delays too.

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Q - How can I pay?

A - I now accept payments by personal cheque (UK only) plus online by PayPal and by credit/debit card (payments are handled by my website provider, Wix). Please note, if you choose to pay by cheque, you will have to send me your cheque and it will take a little longer for your order to arrive, as I will need to allow time for your cheque to clear before I can send your items. NB - Payment by PayPal is my preferred method, as credit/debit card payments will take five days to clear into my bank account, whereas PayPal is more immediate.

Q - My order still hasn't arrived and I want a refund.

A - Please contact me via my website messenger via my contact page (not directly via one of my email addresses, because I might miss the email). I can send a refund manually without needing to report a case to PayPal or your bank. Starting a case makes a lot of admin for me to deal with and will have the knock on effect of actually stopping that day's other orders from going out.

There is only one of me, and I'm not Amazon! I can't send orders out overnight. If an order is needed for a special occasion e.g. a birthday, please tell me when you place the order, and I will do my best to get it to you in time. I'm not a mind reader!

Q - Are all your products made in Japan?

 

A - Yes, for sashiko and kogin threads and materials/panels.  I always try to add the country of origin to every listing. Some of the fabrics I sell are woven in India or printed in Korea, Japan, or Italy. Patchwork fabrics in particular are produced in various countries.

Q - Do you ship worldwide?

 

A - Not at present. Shipping to the EU is now out of the question as the EU's 2019 VAT regulations on mail order goods plus the fact that the UK stupidly left the EU and the Single Market means that complying with these VAT regulations is now impossible without a lot of work and huge expense. It just doesn't make financial sense to even try.

I stopped Worldwide (non EU) shipping after the UK's Royal Mail's computer systems were hacked last year and international mail wasn't available. After international mail was resinstated, they put the price up, so my old 'flat rate' postage was way too expensive. I have tried adding the weight of every product to the website to calculate shipping costs based on weight, but it has turned into a very lengthy job. So no international shipping for the forseeable future.

My panels and most of the other products sold on my site are available from other sellers worldwide.

Q - The edge of your sashiko panels is very narrow. Why?

 

A - The panels are designed with 9 1/2in and 4 1/2in squares, which include quarter inch seam allowances in them.  I designed them this size so the larger squares are the same finished size as the quilt blocks in two of my books, ‘Japanese Quilt Blocks to Mix and Match’ and ‘Japanese Taupe Quilt Blocks’. The kamon crests were originally stitched for the first book, ‘Japanese Quilt Blocks to Mix and Match’, where the finished block size is 9in. To make best use of the maximum 60cm wide printing area (the size is dictated by the screen print screens), less complicated kamon were reduced in size for the central strip of 41/2in squares.

The lines separating the squares are therefore cutting lines but, if you wish to keep the fabric as a whole panel, you have the option of either stitching these or washing them out afterwards (all the lines wash out), which gives the effect of the sashiko patterns floating on the background. The idea is that you can use the panel in different ways, as individual blocks or as a whole panel.
 

The panels are hand screen printed, not roller printed, so there is a 1/2in gap between each panel on the bolt, so they can be cut apart for sale.  You can include this narrow edge in your seam allowance if you decide to keep the panel complete and add a border, as shown in the photo below, where the cutting lines have been washed out after the panel was finished. There is ample space between the kamon edges and the border. If you want to stitch the cutting lines as well, I would suggest sewing your border fabric to the panel, pressing the seam towards the border fabric, and then adding sashiko on the outer vertical cutting line - so you can stitch that line right up against the border fabric.  If you stitch it before adding the border, it is difficult not to accidentally seam over the sashiko line.

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Q - Are Olympus Thread Mfg. Co. and 'Olympus' the same brand?

 

A - This is a bit complicated! You may have heard of products made in Japan by Olympus Thread Mfg. Co. referred to as 'Olympus'. Unfortunately, we can't use that name for thread in the UK (as I was informed by a trade mark lawyer on 9th October 2019), because UK wholesalers Habico trade marked it in 2010 for one of their Loweth acrylic knitting yarns, under section 23 'threads and yarns' of the UK's trademarks registration (you can decide if you would mistake sashiko thread for this yarn by clicking the link). Olympus Thread Mfg. Co. had the original trade mark for the name in the UK in 1969, but it was allowed to lapse. Although Olympus Thread Mfg. Co. applied to have the name registered for their products in 2018, Habico objected to their application, so we can't call the thread made by Olympus Thread Mfg. Co. 'Olympus sashiko thread' or 'Olympus kogin thread' (even though Habico don't make sashiko thread or kogin thread). The trade mark does not apply to Olympus Thread Mfg. Co.'s fabrics, needles etc. only their threads.  This is despite Olympus Thread Mfg. Co. being established in 1908, their products sold in the UK since at least the mid 1990s, having their trade mark registered in Japan and other countries, and the two logos looking nothing like each other. I hope that explains it. All this information is in the public domain and you can search for trade marks freely on the UK government's website - https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmtext/page/Results

There is therefore no branding on some of my sashiko threads, which are made by various companies in Japan. Olympus have also recently altered their thread labels to appease Habico's lawyers.