(image: Detail of a work coat, diamond pattern; Cotton, quilted in cotton thread. Late 19th century. From embroiderers guild)

what is sashiko? (from art to wear) Early 18th Century Japanese wives of farmers, fishermen and lumberjacks made warm garments for the men by stitching two pieces of heavy fabric together using fine running stitches throughout the entire garment. At first, the stitching was used for reinforcing and repairing damaged fabrics but later became more decorative. The cotton fabric was dyed very dark blue with the root of a native plant. We know this color as indigo.

By the end of the century, this particular style of stitchery was known as “SASHIKO”. Around the late 19th Century, sashiko appeared in cities. The style was adopted for warmth but the stitching designs became more elaborate. Patterns were adopted from kimono prints, fabric weaves and nature such as, bamboo, ocean waves, flowers

tutorial of sahiko quilting at the creative life (via in a minute ago)

traditional sashiko designs and demonstration here
quilt.com has a very good explanation of sashiko designs

booga J has reviewed a couple of sashiko books

examples of some simple sashiko embroidery:
six and a half stitches - some embroidery on her bag and pin cushion
wee wonderfuls sashiko embroidery on an apron

makewrite - how to search for japanese terms on google - sashiko included