Slow Stitching Set - Persimmon & Clay

A collection of warm, earthy colors, remarkable old textiles, and small treasures gathered from different places and times—all waiting to become something new

Our Slow Stitching Sets bring together vintage fabrics, hand-dyed fibers, beautiful threads, beads, paper ephemera, and found objects. Some materials have traveled a long way, others have already served a practical purpose, and many are things you might never think to combine until you see them together.

The collection moves through shades of soft apricot, persimmon, terracotta, weathered brown, and natural flax. Japanese persimmon-dyed textiles and handmade clay beads from Mali are among the many treasures that give this assortment its warm, earthy character.

These aren't conventional kits with a pattern to follow or a single finished project in mind. They're thoughtfully-curated collections for experimenting with color, texture, layering, stitching, wrapping, and making something entirely your own.

What Can You Make?

There's enough material here to explore a dozen or more small projects, depending on their size. Generous pieces of linen and cotton provide a starting point, while the smaller fragments, ribbons, beads, and found objects give each creation its character.

A few ideas to get you started:

• Stitched talismans and amulets: Layer old fabric fragments, beads, and meaningful details into a small keepsake.

• Mini textile collages: Combine persimmon-dyed cotton, antique sake cloth, silk ribbons, and decorative stitching into little works of art.

• Brooches, bag charms, and key chains: Use the included safety pins, swivel hook, and linen cord to turn your stitched pieces into something you can wear or carry.

• Lavender sachets and tiny pouches: Combine the included dried lavender with wool stuffing and soft fabrics to make something fragrant and useful.

• Fabric beads and necklaces: Wrap silk and cotton scraps into small shapes, then embellish them with thread.

• Needle books and stitched patches: Create something practical from your experiments.

• Small wall hangings: Use the driftwood as a hanger for a miniature textile composition, or wrap it with colorful threads and fibers.

You might make a small gift for someone you love, stitch a decorative patch onto a favorite bag, or simply enjoy seeing what happens when you bring a few unexpected materials together.

The Stories Behind the Materials

One of the things we love most about these collections is the opportunity to work with materials that have their own histories. Some were once part of everyday life; others reflect generations of specialized textile-making.

Vintage Japanese Sakabukuro — Sake-Filtering Cloth

Among the most distinctive materials in this collection are fragments of vintage sakabukuro, the heavy cotton bags traditionally used in Japanese sake production. 

During brewing, these bags held the fermented rice mixture while the liquid sake was pressed out through the cloth. The fabric was prepared with kakishibu, a traditional dye made from fermented unripe persimmons, which helped strengthen the fibers and make them more resistant to water and microbial growth.

Repeated use in sake production gave these bags their remarkable character. The cloth became supple and richly colored, developing shades of amber, brown, and dark reddish tannin. It is also fragrant!

Persimmon-Dyed Fabrics & Threads

The warm peach and rust tones in this collection come partly from fabrics and sashiko threads dyed with persimmon tannin.

Known in Japan as kakishibu, this traditional dye is made by fermenting the juice of unripe persimmons. Exposure to sunlight and air deepens the color over time, creating a beautiful range of warm shades, from pale peach and amber to reddish brown.

We've included persimmon-dyed fibers in several shades. 

Oshima Tsumugi & Vintage Japanese Textiles

The collection also includes pieces of Oshima Tsumugi, a fine Japanese woven textile traditionally associated with kimono-making.

Produced through a highly-detailed process of preparing, dyeing (some are dyed with mud), and weaving threads, Oshima Tsumugi is known for its intricate patterns, smooth texture, and remarkable lightness.

The brown-toned fragments in this set provide a beautiful contrast to the rougher sakabukuro and jute. Additional vintage Japanese fabric pieces add more patterns, textures, and shades to explore.

Hand-Dyed Silk Ribbons & Specialty Threads

Soft silk ribbons bring another dimension to the collection, with shades of terracotta, peach, champagne, pale gold, and white.

Some have frayed edges, while others are woven, tie-dyed, or made from silk crepe. They're lovely for gathering into small flowers, making into fabric beads, layering beneath stitches, or adding soft movement to a textile collage.

You'll also find persimmon-dyed sashiko threads, hand-sewing thread, natural cotton-linen ribbon, and toffee-colored silk velvet.

The combination of smooth silk, textured linen, sturdy old cotton, and delicate threads is part of what makes this collection so enjoyable to work with.

Clay Beads from Mali & Vintage Found Details

The warm terracotta beads included in this set come from Mali in West Africa, where clay beadmaking has a long history. Their earthy surfaces and handmade character feel especially at home among the persimmon-dyed fabrics and natural fibers.

Coconut stick beads introduce another organic texture, while vintage postage stamps in shades of brown, orange, and yellow bring small pieces of printed history into the mix.

A piece of driftwood offers possibilities for wrapping, embellishing, or hanging a finished textile composition.

Lavender for Little Handmade Gifts

We've also tucked a small packet of dried lavender flowers into the collection.

Combined with the included wool stuffing and fabric scraps, the lavender can become the filling for a sachet. It's a lovely way to turn your experiments into a handmade gifts.

What's Included

Each Peach Slow Stitching Set is assembled to closely resemble the assortment shown in our photographs.

Fabrics & Textile Fragments

• Small Peach Kaya Bag by Ban Inoue, for keeping your materials together

• Heavyweight linen in Flax - 9" × 22" (22.9 × 55.9 cm)

• Midweight Linen in Natural - 18" × 22" (45.7 × 55.9 cm)

• Cotton muslin

• Light and dark peach persimmon-dyed linen/cotton

• Vintage sakabukuro sake-filtering cloth

• Brown Oshima Tsumugi kimono fabric

• Assorted earthy-toned vintage Japanese fabric fragments

• Jute/burlap

• Gray felt fragments

Threads, Ribbons & Fibers

• Terracotta hand-dyed silk ribbon

• Peach hand-dyed woven silk ribbon

• Pale gold and white tie-dyed silk

• Silk crepe ribbon with frayed edges

• Toffee-colored frayed silk velvet ribbon

• Sand-colored twill tape

• Natural frayed cotton-linen ribbon

• 2 colors of persimmon-dyed sashiko threads

• Daruma hand-sewing thread in Silver Gray

• Natural linen cord, 2 mm

• Wool fiber for stuffing and dimensional work

Vintage Paper, Beads & Found Objects

• Vintage postage stamps in shades of brown, orange, and yellow

• Terracotta clay beads from Mali

• Coconut stick beads

• Small pieces of driftwood

• Dried lavender flowers

Tools & Finishing Details

• Hand-sewing and embroidery needles

• Assorted safety pins

• 1/2" (1.3 cm) swivel hook

A Note About These Collections

Many of the textiles, beads, papers, and other components are vintage, antique, reclaimed, naturally dyed, or handmade. Their variations, irregularities, signs of age, and occasional imperfections are part of what makes them interesting.

Each set is assembled to be a very close match to the one photographed. The vintage materials are available only in limited quantities, and some cannot be replaced once our supply is gone.

There are no rules for what you make, no pattern to follow, and no expectation of perfection. Just a collection of beautiful and curious materials, ready for you to give them a new story.