KOBO Seattle | since 1995
$ 155.00
In the event that all class spots are filled, please email us to be placed on a waitlist, hello@koboseattle.com
Boro Stitching
Instructor: Penny Cheuk-Low
Date: Saturday, August 15, 2026
Time: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Location: Kobo at Higo in Seattle's Japantown
Cost is $155 + tax
Limit 8 participants
Prerequisite: Basic/beginner sewing skills
Welcome Letter with workshop details and supplies list sent after sign-up.
This workshop is for people with general sewing experience, quilting, patchwork, and embroidery. Having sashiko experience is a plus, but not 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.
Topics:
A brief history about Boro stitching; Fabric selections; Thread selections; Some stitching techniques; Examples of finished Boro pieces.
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.