Sashiko
First coming into existence in the Edo period (1603–1867), embroidery was first applied to clothing out of a practical need, and would have been used to strengthen the homespun clothes of olden times. Worn out clothes were pieced together to make new garments by using simple running stitches. These clothes increased their strength with this durable embroidery. By the Meiji period (1868–1912), had been established enough that it had evolved into winter work in northern farming communities, when it was too cold to work outside. Designs and patterns. Many patterns were derived from Chinese designs, but just as many  were developed by native Japanese embroiderers; the style known as , for example, generally consisting of diamond-shaped patterns in horizontal rows, is a distinctive variety of that was developed in Aomori Prefecture. Other developments in have come from the work of Japanese artists, such as Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849), whose 1824 "New Forms for Design" inspired many patterns.