Kogin Sampler

Updated February 20, 2020. New posts return Mondays & Thursdays startnig February 24. Nuts about Needlepoint posts daily, subscribe (box on the right) always to get the latest.

Today and tomorrow I’ll have a sampler project, made of 1″ bands, for you that uses a single color of Watercolours, or other overdyed #5 pearl, and colored canvas to show off this technique. For a more traditional look, you could stitch it in three strands of Mandarin Floss. Japanese threads for Kogin are becoming more common, you might want to seek these out. Kogin is a form of counted embroidery which developed from Sashiko, a kind of Japanese quilting.

The sampler is designed as a long narrow band sampler, which will fit into one of the ready-made picture frames for panoramic photos. You can find these frames in the stores with openings which are 4 x 12. It will hang vertically when finished.

Material List

8 x 16 piece 18 count mono canvas
2 skeins Watercolours in color of your choice
4 x 12 picture frame (usually sold as a panoramic frame)

While Kogin is generally done in solid colors, I thought the many shades in a single color of Watercolours would be more interesting. Pick a shade of Watercolours you like and then find a color of canvas that coordinates well. Buttercream canvas is very intense and works well with the intense colors of these skeins of Cranberry. I found as I stitched that the strong color of the canvas made the colors of the Watercolours less jarring.

Step by Step Instructions

1. Across the top of the canvas, mark the center of the canvas. Then measure and mark 2″ from the center mark on either side. This will give you a space 4″ wide. The finished sampler is slightly narrower than this.
2. You will be using a single strand from the three-strand thread of Watercolours. Each band in the sampler will use one three-strand thread of Watercolours. As you need to use an additional strand, knot the end which is closest in color to the one with which you finished.



3. Begin on the left side of the canvas, about 2′ below the mark you made. Following the pattern (it’s large and will take a bit to load but should print on a single page). Stitch the first row.
4. When you get to the end of the row go out about 1/2″ and bring your needle up through the canvas. Now bring it back down into the canvas, one thread below where you brought it up. Now you are ready to begin the second row. Follow this procedure for starting and ending all rows.
5. Once you have completed a band, end your thread. Starting with a new thread, drop down four canvas threads and start the next band. Continue in this fashion until you have completed all five bands of the top section.