Getting Crafty with Shibori: A Tutorial on Chico Stitching

Hey everyone welcome back to Handmade with Matt and I want to tell you guys about Chico have you heard of it. It is a decorative form of stitching used to reinforce and repair fabric with patches. Let's get crafty to get started we're going to cut about 12 inches of embroidery floss keep in mind as you're threading that you do not need to double the floss as you sometimes do with traditional sewing you're simply going to pull the floss through the eye of the needle and let a few inches hang loose not the other end. You're going to clean the hole by removing any threads from around it I'm actually cut into the lining a little bit because this lining is terrible too now we want to make sure that you have a piece of fabric that is large enough to cover the hole you can double it for extra strength and security then you're going to pin it in place.

Now that we have our patch pinned in place it's time to mark our lines there are tons of show Chico patterns that you can follow but we're gonna do a straight line. You can use a ruler or you can eyeball it now it is time to stitch I'm going to show you the running stitch and it is the only stitch you need for this project it's very similar to traditional sewing so you got this you're going to start from the back side of your fabric you want to go a little bit outside of your patch like where you were you know where it needs to be repaired. You're starting from the outside of that pull it through and then stitch I like to have my stitches about the size of an extra-long rice grain and then the space in between the stitch about half of that so you're gonna go up then down space alright does the space like I said the space is a little bit shorter than the longer stitch you're gonna pull it up and back down and you're going to repeat until you finish your line if you run out of thread you can just tie it off on the back and rethread and continue.

Oh my foot came out of my needle that happens it's life what are you doing just read it back and keep on stitching up and down how easy is that you're gonna just follow the line that you marked it's so easy up through the fabric. Oh No if you want to make your stitches smaller that is well within your right it's fun it's yours we are mending with embroidery you want to make sure you go beyond the patch that's what gives it its razzle-dazzle.

The Story Behind My Favorite Book Bag

The story of this book bag is that I got it in 2013 as I was traveling overseas I was teaching art at an orphanage in Ghana West Africa and in my travels I went to wheelie waterfalls which is the tallest waterfall in West Africa. And I hiked it me and a group of volunteers and to reward myself from doing you know like such thing I bought this book bag.

The book bag was tailored by a local man and one of the shops in the town where the waterfall is and he told me there are one else you know interested in getting a book bag and he said pick any fabric you want and I'll make you something. And I just can't pick all of these pieces of fabric and he made this beautiful book bag. Since then this book bag has been with me everywhere every time I travel I try to bring it with me when I just go places I go to a supermarket like it comes with me everywhere.

And that's why I want to share this technique with you guys today because it reminds me of the special trip I took and the beautiful piece of art that was made for me. And who knows maybe one day you'll be traveling to a new place and picking out some fabric to make your own book bag or patchwork quilt.

So let's get back to the tutorial shall we? Now that we have our patch pinned in place it's time to mark our lines there are tons of show Chico patterns that you can follow but we're gonna do a straight line. You can use a ruler or you can eyeball it now it is time to stitch I'm going to show you the running stitch and it is the only stitch you need for this project.

The Running Stitch

The running stitch is very similar to traditional sewing so you got this you're going to start from the back side of your fabric you want to go a little bit outside of your patch like where you were you know where it needs to be repaired. You're starting from the outside of that pull it through and then stitch I like to have my stitches about the size of an extra-long rice grain and then the space in between the stitch about half of that so you're gonna go up then down space alright does the space like I said the space is a little bit shorter than the longer stitch.

You're going to pull it up and back down and you're going to repeat until you finish your line if you run out of thread you can just tie it off on the back and rethread and continue. And that's it! You've finished your first Chico patch. Well maybe not the first but I hope this tutorial helps you get started.

What Do You Think of Shibori?

So what do you think of Shibori? Is it something that you can get into? What are some items that you would like to repair with this technique? Let us know in the comment section below and don't forget to Like and subscribe for more tutorials and tips on how to get crafty with Shibori.

Don't forget to follow us on social media for updates and behind-the-scenes peeks into our latest projects. And if you have any questions or comments then please feel free to reach out to us anytime. Thanks for watching and we'll see you in the next video!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey everyone welcome back to handmade its meat AV and I want to tell you guys about Chico have you heard of it it is a decorative form of stitching used to reinforce and repair fabric with patches let's get crafty to get started we're going to cut about 12 inches of embroidery floss keep in mind as you're threading that you do not need to double the floss as you sometimes do with traditional sewing you're simply going to pull the floss through the eye of the needle and let a few inches hang loose not the other end you're going to clean the hole by removing any threads from around it I'm actually cut into the lining a little bit because this lining is terrible too now we want to make sure that you have a piece of fabric that is large enough to cover the hole you can double it for extra strength and security then you're going to pin it in place now that we have our patch pinned in place it's time to mark our lines there are tons of show Chico patterns that you can follow but we're gonna do a straight line you can use a ruler or you can eyeball it now it is time to stitch I'm going to show you the running stitch and it is the only stitch you need for this project it's very similar to traditional sewing so you got this you're going to start from the back side of your fabric you want to go a little bit outside of your patch like where you were you know where it needs to be repaired you're starting from the outside of that pull it through and then stitch I like to have my stitches about the size of an extra-long rice grain and then the space in between the stitch about half of that so you're gonna go up then down space alright does the space like I said the space is a little bit shorter than the longer stitch you're gonna pull it up and back down and you're going to repeat until you finish your line if you run out of thread you can just tie it off on the back and rethread and continue oh my foot came out of my needle that happens it's life what are you doing just read it back and keep on stitching up and down how easy is that you're gonna just follow the line that you marked it's so easy up through the fabric Oh No if you want to make your stitches smaller that is well within your right it's fun it's yours we are mending with embroidery you want to make sure you go beyond the patch that's what gives it its razzle-dazzle this is my favorite book bag the story of this book bag is that I got it in 2013 as I was traveling overseas I was teaching art at an orphanage in Ghana West Africa and in my travels I went to wheelie waterfalls which is the tallest waterfall in West Africa and I hiked it me and a group of volunteers and to reward myself from doing you know like such thing I bought this book bag the book bag was tailored by a local man and one of the shops in the town where the waterfall is and he told me there are one else you know interested in getting a book bag and he said pick any fabric you want and I'll make you something and I just can't pick all of these pieces of fabric and he made this beautiful book bag and since then this book bag has been with me everywhere every time I travel I try to bring it with me when I just go places I go to a supermarket like it comes with me everywhere and I want to make sure I keep it forever because it was such a special trip so now I'm going to do my next line so I'm going to just tie it off I'm double not just for security and then the read it again what do you think of the shashi code technique is this something that you can get into what are some items that you would like to repair let us know in the comment section don't forget to Like and subscribe and we'll see you next time byehey everyone welcome back to handmade its meat AV and I want to tell you guys about Chico have you heard of it it is a decorative form of stitching used to reinforce and repair fabric with patches let's get crafty to get started we're going to cut about 12 inches of embroidery floss keep in mind as you're threading that you do not need to double the floss as you sometimes do with traditional sewing you're simply going to pull the floss through the eye of the needle and let a few inches hang loose not the other end you're going to clean the hole by removing any threads from around it I'm actually cut into the lining a little bit because this lining is terrible too now we want to make sure that you have a piece of fabric that is large enough to cover the hole you can double it for extra strength and security then you're going to pin it in place now that we have our patch pinned in place it's time to mark our lines there are tons of show Chico patterns that you can follow but we're gonna do a straight line you can use a ruler or you can eyeball it now it is time to stitch I'm going to show you the running stitch and it is the only stitch you need for this project it's very similar to traditional sewing so you got this you're going to start from the back side of your fabric you want to go a little bit outside of your patch like where you were you know where it needs to be repaired you're starting from the outside of that pull it through and then stitch I like to have my stitches about the size of an extra-long rice grain and then the space in between the stitch about half of that so you're gonna go up then down space alright does the space like I said the space is a little bit shorter than the longer stitch you're gonna pull it up and back down and you're going to repeat until you finish your line if you run out of thread you can just tie it off on the back and rethread and continue oh my foot came out of my needle that happens it's life what are you doing just read it back and keep on stitching up and down how easy is that you're gonna just follow the line that you marked it's so easy up through the fabric Oh No if you want to make your stitches smaller that is well within your right it's fun it's yours we are mending with embroidery you want to make sure you go beyond the patch that's what gives it its razzle-dazzle this is my favorite book bag the story of this book bag is that I got it in 2013 as I was traveling overseas I was teaching art at an orphanage in Ghana West Africa and in my travels I went to wheelie waterfalls which is the tallest waterfall in West Africa and I hiked it me and a group of volunteers and to reward myself from doing you know like such thing I bought this book bag the book bag was tailored by a local man and one of the shops in the town where the waterfall is and he told me there are one else you know interested in getting a book bag and he said pick any fabric you want and I'll make you something and I just can't pick all of these pieces of fabric and he made this beautiful book bag and since then this book bag has been with me everywhere every time I travel I try to bring it with me when I just go places I go to a supermarket like it comes with me everywhere and I want to make sure I keep it forever because it was such a special trip so now I'm going to do my next line so I'm going to just tie it off I'm double not just for security and then the read it again what do you think of the shashi code technique is this something that you can get into what are some items that you would like to repair let us know in the comment section don't forget to Like and subscribe and we'll see you next time bye\n"