Led by Emilie Ma, multi-disciplinary textile artist specialist in Japanese Sashiko and visible mending, with historical insights on the practice from Asterion & Co.
Spend Wednesday 21st October 2026 creating in our reimagined 16th-century Somerset farmhouse in Leigh-on-Mendip, working carefully and deliberately with cloth, stitch and time, with a seated three-course lunch included.
Sashiko developed as a practical response to scarcity, where cloth was precious and damage inevitable. In this workshop, mending is approached as an act of care rather than concealment. Through slow, rhythmic stitching, participants learn how to strengthen what already exists, allowing repair to remain visible, honest and integral to the life of the garment. For those who would like to explore the heritage, origins and philosophy behind Sashiko in more depth, you can read our accompanying Journal essay here.
This course is about repair as an act of care — not disguise, not perfection, but thoughtful continuation.
During this one-day workshop, Emilie will guide you through the foundations of Sashiko as a structural repair practice. You’ll learn the Unshin running stitch, how to read areas of stress and thinning in a garment, and how to reinforce them using patches and layered stitching. Guests are invited to bring a well-worn denim garment carrying its own history of use. If you don’t have a suitable item, a sturdy denim tote bag will be available to work on, allowing the same principles of visible mending and reinforcement to be explored. The day focuses on rhythm, consistency and practical decision-making — skills that can be carried into future mending at home.
This workshop on Wednesday 21 October 2026 includes:
Guided teaching in traditional Sashiko repair techniques
Learning how to assess wear, stress points and structural weakness
Demonstration and practice of the Unshin running stitch
Patch placement and layered reinforcement
One-to-one guidance throughout the day
Use of Sashiko threads, needles and practice cloth
A seated three-course lunch and refreshments
A strengthened garment and the confidence to continue mending independently
All abilities welcome. No prior embroidery or mending experience is required.
Workshop Details
Date: Wednesday 21 October 2026
Time: 10:00am – 16:00pm
Location: The Old Vicarage, Leigh-on-Mendip, Somerset
Price: £230.00 per person (a 10% discount is available for two or more guests booking together with code TWOTOGETHER2026).
Includes: All tuition, use of tools and materials, lunch and refreshments
Buying this as a gift? Let us know on the registration form at checkout and we can create a gift package for you, either emailed or posted to you directly.
Spaces are limited to eight guests to ensure a calm, attentive and well-supported experience.
About the Collaborator
Emilie Ma is a Cornish-born, multi-disciplinary artist whose practice spans embroidery, visible mending, scratchboard and jewellery design. After transitioning from jewellery into textile work in 2016, she became deeply engaged with Japanese Sashiko, drawn to its discipline, rhythm and practical intelligence. Emilie has lived and worked in China, running markets and workshops where repair was part of daily life, and now teaches from her Somerset base with an approach that is thoughtful, unhurried and grounded in lived practice.
Read more about Emilie in The Asterion Journal.
Your Hosts at Asterion & Co.
This course is hosted by the Asterion & Co. team at The Old Vicarage in Leigh-on-Mendip — a beautifully reimagined 16th-century farmhouse and working studio where heritage, making and shared learning shape the rhythm of the day.
This workshop forms part of Asterion & Co.’s Heritage-Inspired Learning™ — an approach developed by founder Neil Crump that places contemporary practice within its wider historical, cultural and material context. Rather than separating making from meaning, the framework weaves lineage, research and hands-on learning into a single, grounded experience.
Asterion & Co. brings together artists, growers and craftspeople to explore traditional skills through contemporary practice, supported by research-led context and thoughtful hospitality.
Throughout the day, the team will be on hand to offer guidance, care and insight, ensuring the experience reflects Asterion & Co.’s commitment to craftsmanship, regeneration and doing things well.
Led by Emilie Ma, multi-disciplinary textile artist specialist in Japanese Sashiko and visible mending, with historical insights on the practice from Asterion & Co.
Spend Wednesday 21st October 2026 creating in our reimagined 16th-century Somerset farmhouse in Leigh-on-Mendip, working carefully and deliberately with cloth, stitch and time, with a seated three-course lunch included.
Sashiko developed as a practical response to scarcity, where cloth was precious and damage inevitable. In this workshop, mending is approached as an act of care rather than concealment. Through slow, rhythmic stitching, participants learn how to strengthen what already exists, allowing repair to remain visible, honest and integral to the life of the garment. For those who would like to explore the heritage, origins and philosophy behind Sashiko in more depth, you can read our accompanying Journal essay here.
This course is about repair as an act of care — not disguise, not perfection, but thoughtful continuation.
During this one-day workshop, Emilie will guide you through the foundations of Sashiko as a structural repair practice. You’ll learn the Unshin running stitch, how to read areas of stress and thinning in a garment, and how to reinforce them using patches and layered stitching. Guests are invited to bring a well-worn denim garment carrying its own history of use. If you don’t have a suitable item, a sturdy denim tote bag will be available to work on, allowing the same principles of visible mending and reinforcement to be explored. The day focuses on rhythm, consistency and practical decision-making — skills that can be carried into future mending at home.
This workshop on Wednesday 21 October 2026 includes:
Guided teaching in traditional Sashiko repair techniques
Learning how to assess wear, stress points and structural weakness
Demonstration and practice of the Unshin running stitch
Patch placement and layered reinforcement
One-to-one guidance throughout the day
Use of Sashiko threads, needles and practice cloth
A seated three-course lunch and refreshments
A strengthened garment and the confidence to continue mending independently
All abilities welcome. No prior embroidery or mending experience is required.
Workshop Details
Date: Wednesday 21 October 2026
Time: 10:00am – 16:00pm
Location: The Old Vicarage, Leigh-on-Mendip, Somerset
Price: £230.00 per person (a 10% discount is available for two or more guests booking together with code TWOTOGETHER2026).
Includes: All tuition, use of tools and materials, lunch and refreshments
Buying this as a gift? Let us know on the registration form at checkout and we can create a gift package for you, either emailed or posted to you directly.
Spaces are limited to eight guests to ensure a calm, attentive and well-supported experience.
About the Collaborator
Emilie Ma is a Cornish-born, multi-disciplinary artist whose practice spans embroidery, visible mending, scratchboard and jewellery design. After transitioning from jewellery into textile work in 2016, she became deeply engaged with Japanese Sashiko, drawn to its discipline, rhythm and practical intelligence. Emilie has lived and worked in China, running markets and workshops where repair was part of daily life, and now teaches from her Somerset base with an approach that is thoughtful, unhurried and grounded in lived practice.
Read more about Emilie in The Asterion Journal.
Your Hosts at Asterion & Co.
This course is hosted by the Asterion & Co. team at The Old Vicarage in Leigh-on-Mendip — a beautifully reimagined 16th-century farmhouse and working studio where heritage, making and shared learning shape the rhythm of the day.
This workshop forms part of Asterion & Co.’s Heritage-Inspired Learning™ — an approach developed by founder Neil Crump that places contemporary practice within its wider historical, cultural and material context. Rather than separating making from meaning, the framework weaves lineage, research and hands-on learning into a single, grounded experience.
Asterion & Co. brings together artists, growers and craftspeople to explore traditional skills through contemporary practice, supported by research-led context and thoughtful hospitality.
Throughout the day, the team will be on hand to offer guidance, care and insight, ensuring the experience reflects Asterion & Co.’s commitment to craftsmanship, regeneration and doing things well.
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