Sashiko – something more complicated

The printed pattern for the second, much more complicated, sashiko pattern

I said the next one would be rather more complicated, didn’t I..!

The pattern is vaguely floral or vaguely snowflakelike, depending on your sensibilities. Since I’ve been finding it very hard to work out which line I’ve done and which I haven’t, loooking at the front, I thought the best thing to do would be to show progress from the back. Please forgive the changing colours – I refer you to the light in rainy Decembers in England!

When I got to the middle of the sequence, I started to have doubts about how I was going to finish the pattern in a neat and tidy fashion, and I was wondering whether I was missing something or it was really going to be a bit messy on the back.

Finished complicated design. The fabric is navy, and the thread is white, with occasional pinkish spots

Then it occurred to me that I have a graph theorist in the house (The Australian), so I consulted him. I explained what I’d understood to be the principle, and that I was afraid I would have to have long floats on the back. The Australian looked at the pattern, pointed, and said “There’s a degree three vertex there, so yes, you’ll have some long floats!”

As indeed I did.

But it does look pretty when it’s done, doesn’t it!

3 Comments

  1. Sue Jones says:

    I am a little worried that the Degree Three Vertex might start singing “When will I see you again?” But, mathematical disco(veries) apart, it’s a pleasant pattern, made even more interesting by the implied pattern of the spaces between the stitches. Well done for making a neat job of it.

  2. Carolyn Foley says:

    Nice work. ( I have an engineer here who I consult on math problems.)

  3. Alex Hall says:

    It’s a gorgeous pattern and you’ve worked it up beautifully. It’s a lovely idea to do something like this between Christmas and New Year. I might actually do it myself one day when I’m not frantically finishing off panto costumes!

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