Led by Emilie Ma, multi-disciplinary textile artist specialist in Japanese Sashiko and embroidery, with historical insights on the practice from Asterion & Co.
Join us at The Old Vicarage in Leigh-on-Mendip for a considered day of making, slowing down, and working attentively with cloth. This one-day workshop explores Japanese Sashiko as a form of surface embellishment — not repair — using denim as a familiar, democratic and deeply satisfying material to stitch into.
Spend a summer’s day on Wednesday 8th July 2026, creating in our reimagined Somerset 16th-century farmhouse, surrounded by garden and countryside, with a seated three-course lunch included.
Working at an unhurried pace, you’ll be guided through the principles, rhythms and mindset of Sashiko, learning how disciplined repetition and restraint can transform everyday textiles into something quietly expressive and deeply personal. 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 intention rather than repair. While Sashiko has its roots in strengthening and extending the life of cloth, this workshop focuses on embellishment as a way of marking fabric with care, balance and rhythm.
In a culture of speed, novelty and replacement, there is something quietly powerful about choosing to work attentively with what already exists. This workshop invites you to step out of urgency and into rhythm — to experience how careful, repetitive making can sharpen focus, deepen material understanding, and turn an everyday object into a lasting record of time, care and intention.
This workshop on Wednesday 8th July 2026 includes:
Tuition and guided instruction
A pre-washed denim bag provided for embellishment
Sashiko threads, needles and marking tools
Sample cloth for stitch practice
Studio equipment and materials
Seated three-course lunch and refreshments
All abilities welcome. No prior embroidery or mending experience is required.
Workshop Details
Date: Wednesday 8th July 2026
Time: 10:00am – 4:00pm
Location: The Old Vicarage, Leigh-on-Mendip, Somerset
Pricing: £230.00 per person
Spaces are limited to eight guests to ensure a calm, attentive and well-supported experience.
About Emilie Ma
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.
Led by Emilie Ma, multi-disciplinary textile artist specialist in Japanese Sashiko and embroidery, with historical insights on the practice from Asterion & Co.
Join us at The Old Vicarage in Leigh-on-Mendip for a considered day of making, slowing down, and working attentively with cloth. This one-day workshop explores Japanese Sashiko as a form of surface embellishment — not repair — using denim as a familiar, democratic and deeply satisfying material to stitch into.
Spend a summer’s day on Wednesday 8th July 2026, creating in our reimagined Somerset 16th-century farmhouse, surrounded by garden and countryside, with a seated three-course lunch included.
Working at an unhurried pace, you’ll be guided through the principles, rhythms and mindset of Sashiko, learning how disciplined repetition and restraint can transform everyday textiles into something quietly expressive and deeply personal. 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 intention rather than repair. While Sashiko has its roots in strengthening and extending the life of cloth, this workshop focuses on embellishment as a way of marking fabric with care, balance and rhythm.
In a culture of speed, novelty and replacement, there is something quietly powerful about choosing to work attentively with what already exists. This workshop invites you to step out of urgency and into rhythm — to experience how careful, repetitive making can sharpen focus, deepen material understanding, and turn an everyday object into a lasting record of time, care and intention.
This workshop on Wednesday 8th July 2026 includes:
Tuition and guided instruction
A pre-washed denim bag provided for embellishment
Sashiko threads, needles and marking tools
Sample cloth for stitch practice
Studio equipment and materials
Seated three-course lunch and refreshments
All abilities welcome. No prior embroidery or mending experience is required.
Workshop Details
Date: Wednesday 8th July 2026
Time: 10:00am – 4:00pm
Location: The Old Vicarage, Leigh-on-Mendip, Somerset
Pricing: £230.00 per person
Spaces are limited to eight guests to ensure a calm, attentive and well-supported experience.
About Emilie Ma
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.
