KOBO Seattle | since 1995
$ 195.00
Workshop: Boro Stitching II
Project: Kinchaku - drawstring pouch
Instructor: Penny Cheuk-Low
Date: Saturday, June 27, 2026, 9:30AM to 1:30PM (includes lunch break)
Location: KOBO Japantown
Cost: $195 (includes all fabric)
Group size: 8 participants
Prerequisite: This workshop is for people with general sewing experience, quilting, patchwork, and embroidery. Having Sashiko experience is a plus, but not required!
Welcome Letter with workshop details and supplies list sent after registration.
Participants will first construct a piece of Boro then construct the Kinchaku bag. The finished size of the Kinchaku will be approximately 8.5’’ × 11’’.
Participants will have access to extra fabric, in addition to the basic fabric package provided in the workshop. Participants will also learn to construct the Kinchaku by hand. No sewing machine is required.
Boro means rag, scrap, or tattered clothes in Japanese. Primarily in the cold Northern regions of Japan, old clothes were mended by stitching pieces and layers of cloth together to extend the life of the clothes and to keep warm. The arrangement of patches of worn and torn fabric created a random sense of beauty.
Workshop instructor: Penny Cheuk-Low is a textile artist who creates fabric art with vintage and repurposed fabrics using techniques such as appliqué, Sashiko (Japanese hand-stitching) and Boro (mending/patching with fabric scraps). Her style combines her expertise in traditional Japanese fabrics and dyeing methods with an interest in utilizing environmentally sustainable materials to express her daily life in the Pacific Northwest.
Penny studied traditional fabric dyeing in Kyoto, Japan as a fabric designer and kimono fabric dyer. Her areas of focus were Yuzen (paste-resist dyeing), and Katazome (stencil dyeing). She moved to Vancouver, Canada and established Someya Studio in 1982 to create hand-dyed fabrics for fashion and interior design, as well as to teach Japanese fabric dyeing techniques. She later relocated to Seattle, WA where she currently resides. Her work has been exhibited at the juried Kokugakai Tenrankai (National Creative Arts Association) exhibition in Tokyo in 1984, and she was selected to design and hand-dye silk scarves for the 1986 World Expo in Vancouver. She held her first solo exhibition at the Wing Luke Asian Museum in Seattle in 1988.
Penny also holds a degree in Education, and spent over 25 years as a Montessori educator and trainer, traveling and teaching throughout Asia. After retiring as an educator in 2020, she returned to her creative work. In 2026, Penny travelled to Northern Japan to further study Sashiko and Boro techniques from renowned artisans and is delighted to share her knowledge with all who are interested.