Just arrived! This designer panel is by Ky Fujita for QH Textiles, taking hanafukin panels in a new direction.
This has to be one of the cutest sashiko sampler panels I've seen! Six cats playing with balls of yarn. Please see my stitching suggestions below for ways to stitch this design to best advantage.
Hand printed in Japan.
It is a 'hana fukin' with literally means 'flower cloth' and printed on natural greige 85% cotton, 15% linen fabric. Each panel is supplied in one piece with a plain area the same size attached, because they are designed to be stitched through both layers and the edges turned in to make a little cloth, but you can stitch the printed layer separately (as I often do). They may be stitched with a doubled or single thread (or a mixture of both, for an interesting effect), in coloured threads, or white for a very minimalist contemporary look. Any of my medium sashiko threads would be ideal for these panels, or use the finer sashiko threads doubled.
These hand printed designer panels are more expensive than the other hanafukin I sell, but the patterns are so beautiful, I wanted to start selling them! I have more more designs by Ky Fujita in stock.
Skill level - this is a quick and easy design to stitch, but a little knowledge of sashiko will be useful. While the cats are very simple shapes to stitch around, be careful not to pull the stitches too tightly as you stitch around the ends of their legs and tails, and leave a tiny bit of ease in the thread when turning around at the tips of their ears and noses. For the balls of yarn, I stitched around the outline first, and then filled in by stitching back and forth.
Sashiko Cloth by QH Textiles (Australia)
Printed with water-soluble ink - marks wash out
Composition : 85% cotton, 15% linen
Individual Cloth Size : Approx. 30cm x 60cm (Finished size : 30cm x 30cm)
This fabric is a slightly finer weave than the Olympus hanafukin sarashi cotton.
#KF2022-41 'all you need is...' cats designer hanafukin sashiko sampler greige
Hanafukin cloths are traditionally stitched through two layers of fabric (the second layer is the plain section) but can be stitched just through one if you want to add wadding and quilt the panel after finishing the sashiko stitching. For 'quilt as you go', the plain section can be used as a backing.
To stitch through two layers, the cloth can be stitched all round and bagged out before stitching the sashiko; stitched across the short ends with right sides together, then the sashiko stitched, and finally the two selvedges turned in on each other and ladder stitched together; or the edges tucked in using a butted finished and stitched all round. Any of these can also be done after the sashiko is stitched, if you don't want the back of your stitching to be visible.
Stitching suggestions for the panel - The whole panel can be stitched in a single medium sashiko thread or with some threads doubled for a bolder effect. I used a doubled medium thread for the cats, and a single medium rainbow 100m #301 rainbow for the yarn. Threads used for the cats were - #88-205 (grey cat) and 20m #03 (brown), #04 (persimmon - closest I could find for a ginger cat!), #91 (like a pale tortie), #94 (brown tabby), and #96 (grey tabby). You could choose a colour to represent your cat of course, but for a white cat, white won't show well against the greige fabric, so I would use a grey. Likewise for a black and white cat, I would use black and grey. The yarn can be any colour you like, but again, darker or brighter colours will show up better against the natural greige cream.
I stitched my panel through just one layer.
Of course, if you are including this panel with others in a quilt or wallhanging, you could take your colour inspirations from the other panels. Whatever colours you choose, remember the lightest colours, white especially, will almost disappear against the greige fabric, while colours like deep red or green will create a bright accent in your stitching.
