March Program Night - Sashiko-ori - Phyllis Miller

Sashiko-ori
Phyllis Miller

Sashiko is a traditional Japanese handicraft, with origins that date back to the early 16th century. Long used to embroider, bind, and quilt fabric to reinforce it, Edo period military and firefighters uniforms employed sashiko. Sashiko is now a worldwide phenomenon, with deep cultural significance and design importance in Japan. 

Sashiko-ori refers to these patterns when they are woven into the cloth on the loom. Modern woven sashiko can be seen in martial arts wear, luxury goods, and fall and winter fashions. The patterns often require six to eight shafts and consist of blocks of plain weave ground crossed by floats of pattern warp and/or weft threads.​ While the vast majority of production is mechanized, sashiko-ori handwoven on traditional looms can still be found in the Enshu region. 

Phyllis Miller's interest in sashiko-ori grew from an appreciation of the rich tradition of Japanese textiles. Inspired by a beautiful piece of silk kasuri style fabric from her stash, Phyllis wove fabric to coordinate with it using drafts she developed that mimic sashiko, eventually compiling her own portfolio of drafts and samples for weaving. As current interest in the topic has increased, she has begun teaching and collaborating with other weavers to explore the potential of sashiko-ori for contemporary weavers. In this presentation Phyllis will take us on a tour of this weaving tradition.

Phyllis Miller has been weaving since 1970 and has been a member of various weavers guilds since 1977. Published in Handwoven Magazine and Handwoven's Design Collection, she's also participated in Lord & Taylor’s Savannah Style week in New York City, exhibited in Atlanta, Jacksonville, Savannah, and Minneapolis. An upcoming book, Sashiko-ori: Designs and Drafts for Woven Sashiko, will be out in the summer of 2026 from Stackpole books. Phyllis is a member of Complex Weavers.