What Teaching Means
A Student Who Came Early and Grew Steadily
Yesterday, a student who took lessons in the very early days of our chain stitch embroidery school came to visit. They had taken lessons again and again from the first one, and I could feel their skill steadily improving. In my mind, they were someone I expected to improve quickly.
The student then bought a chain stitch embroidery machine and started making work at home. Since then, I have given them lots of practical advice, from detailed techniques to the steps for turning a design into embroidery.
The Starting Point: "I Want More People Doing Chain Stitch Embroidery"
I try to share the knowledge and skills I have learned without holding back. The reason is the wish that also led me to start the school: I want more people doing chain stitch embroidery.
When I saw the dark side of craft
At the same time, I felt that a kind of closed, insular mindset in the embroidery and sewing industries was one of the things standing in the way of passing skills on.
I understand that deliberately keeping the barrier to entry high can be a way to protect an industry. But if even unique techniques and the steps to becoming a practitioner are deliberately hidden, and that goes on for decades, I thought the industry itself would become a black box, take on a strange air of authority, and eventually face aging and a lack of successors. Of course, opinions differ. I decided to spread chain stitch embroidery according to my own policy.
The road to starting the school
At the time, there were many embroidery videos online on Instagram and YouTube, but almost no physical books or materials. With changing that in mind, I first built my own website and began sharing information about chain stitch machines in general as columns. I felt there were so many questions: "You can embroider with a chain stitch machine, but how?" "Can you buy one?" "How much does it cost?" "Will I be able to embroider if I buy one?"
As I checked primary sources as far as possible and got in touch with volunteers overseas, I thought that if I organized and shared this information further, more people would surely want to try chain stitch embroidery. In reality, though, while you can gain systematic knowledge, I felt that learning one-on-one is an essential step to actually mastering it. So on January 1, 2025, I started the school.
A New Goal That Emerged Through Teaching
We have now had 55 students in total. The youngest was 7 and the oldest 78. I have traveled from Okinawa to Fukushima and taught in many places. Unfortunately, some people stopped after a single trial lesson, but many, like this student, have bought a chain stitch machine and keep making work.
From the start, I have kept in mind that "teaching is also learning." As I taught, I came to feel that learning the chain stitch machine itself is not that difficult. It doesn't require special skills; as long as you have proper knowledge and steps to learn, it is embroidery that anyone can enjoy, regardless of age, gender or even background.
About six months after starting the school, I was confident I had developed a kind of pattern, a template, for teaching beginners effectively. I think I have also established the steps for getting used to the chain stitch machine as quickly as possible, and the steps for intermediate students to level up further. And gradually, I began to wonder, "Where is the goal of this school?" At first it was "to increase the number of people involved in chain stitch embroidery," but I started to feel: is that really all?
When a Student Told Me Their Work Had Sold, I Knew Teaching Was Worth It
From there, overlapping with my own journey, my thinking shifted toward "teaching students all the way to the point where they can sell the work they make on a chain stitch machine."
The student I mentioned at the beginning is the one who reached that goal. They are already making and selling work, and it is actually selling. When I heard, "I sold six yesterday!", I instantly thought, "Ah, I'm so glad I taught. I'm so glad I started the school." Is this what it feels like to watch an apprentice grow? (lol)
At the same time, I feel that reaching this goal is by no means easy. It takes curiosity about the chain stitch machine, plus grit and determination. Anyone can learn the chain stitch machine, but the steps to selling your work are a different direction altogether. Even so, having experienced this student's story, I now want to also teach the marketing side, for people who can make work on a chain stitch machine but don't know how to sell it.
Here is this student's Instagram. Please take a look.
