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Weavers of Western Mass 

January 21, 2026

Guild Program

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Sashimi-Ori 

Presented by

Beth Ross Johnson​

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Sashiko Ori is based on the hitomezashi style of Japanese sashiko stitching. This weave structure is basically a supplementary warp and weft and basic possibilities have been mined in weaving traditions from Peru, Japan and Europe. Learn about the history and structure of this weave and how to take design work a step further.

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​Beth Ross Johnson is a weaver, teacher and workshop leader living in Black Mountain,  North Carolina.  She grew up in Charleston, South Carolina and when she became interested in weaving and textile arts, learned initially from students from Norman Kennedy, later studying with him for many workshops.  A lifelong fascination with Asian art led to an interest in Japanese textiles and she has had two extensive stays in Japan to study kasuri (ikat weaving and dyeing) and sakiori (rag weaving) with master weavers there. Other avenues of exploration have been sashiko stitching and nyoho-e (Zen stitching). Recent studies have been in the ikat traditions of Europe, influenced by the 18th century wave of Orientalism on the continent, and woven structures like sashiko-ori and kasuri-ori that mimc hand stitching and ikat processes.  The craft schools, weather, and music compelled a move to western North Carolina in 1980 where she has worked a number of arts related jobs (including in environmental and craft preservation in Cherokee) while maintaining a studio and teaching in formal and informal institutions. She is now weaving and teaching full-time and is co-authoring a book on Sashiko-ori.

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