Sashiko Stitch Guide, Visible Mending Finger Tool

Neat, consistent Sashiko stitches for visible mending, boro and Japanese embroidery. Slip it on a finger and it shows you every stitch.

Made after a request on my Hand Sewing Finger Guide. That one spaces stitch and gap evenly. Sashiko doesn't: the visible stitch is longer than the gap between stitches, usually about 3:2. These guides are notched to that rhythm, with a bar printed over each stitch.

Mark your lines with any Sashiko stencil or grid, then use the guide to keep every stitch on them the same length. Good for beginners and for mending jeans, knees and pockets.

Files

• STL: default.stl. Plain mesh, any slicer.

• 3MF: sashiko_stitch_guides.3mf. Bambu Studio project with my tested settings (PrusaSlicer opens the geometry).

• SCAD: sashiko_stitch_guide_mw.scad. The parametric source, for any other size.

Which size?

• 3 / 2 mm for fine work, small motifs and lighter fabric.

• 4.5 / 3 mm is a good everyday size and the one to start with.

• 6 / 4 mm for bold lines, denim repairs and heavier thread.

• Each guide has its size on the tab, stitch first, then gap.

How to use it

1. Slip the ring onto a thumb or finger. The tab is notched on both edges, so it works in either hand.

2. Lay one notched edge of the tab along your marked line. The bars sit just inside that edge, one per stitch.

3. Bring the needle up at the notch at the start of a bar and go down at the notch at its end. That's one stitch.

4. Skip the short gap, come up at the next notch and repeat.

5. At the end of the tab, slide the guide along until its first bar sits over the last stitch you sewed, then carry on from the end of that bar.

Colours

The bars and size label are a single layer. With an AMS that is two filament swaps, and they print black on white as supplied. No AMS? Map both filaments to one and run a fine marker over the raised bars.

Need another size? Customise in OpenSCAD

Download the .scad file and open it in OpenSCAD (free). Every option below is in its Customizer panel.

• Any stitch length from 2 to 10 mm

• A 3:2 Sashiko rhythm, a longer 2:1 stitch, or even spacing

• Ring sizes 15 to 25 mm (wrap a paper strip round the finger at the middle joint, measure it and divide by 3.14, then pick the nearest size)

• Tab length

• Body and marking colours

• An edge gauge with a lip that hooks over the raw edge, notched in the same rhythm

Print settings

• Material: PLA or PETG

• Layers: 0.2 mm

• Walls: 4

• Infill: 25% gyroid

• Supports: None, flat as supplied

• Elephant foot compensation: 0

• Wall order and seam: Outer wall first and a scarf seam, for clean notches. The 3MF here already has both

The design decisions here are mine, and the guides started life for my mum, who sews. The OpenSCAD was written with Claude, and every version was rendered and checked before it went up.

If it is useful, a like and a make with a photo really help. I read every comment.

Also on MakerWorld: https://makerworld.com/en/models/3464483