Kinusaiga FAQ: your questions answered

Kinusaiga (絹彩画, “silk colour picture”) is a Japanese technique for making pictures with fabric and no sewing. You cut the lines of a design into a board as shallow grooves, then push the edges of fabric pieces into the grooves so each shape is filled with a different fabric.

Kee-noo-sigh-gah. In Japanese it is five even beats, ki-nu-sa-i-ga, with sa-i run together to sound like “sigh”. No strong stress on any part.

The Japanese artist Maeno Setsu (前野節) developed it in 1987 by adapting kimekomi, the older technique of dressing dolls by tucking fabric into grooves, to flat pictures in silk. The name was given at the artist's first solo exhibition in 1993. It is a modern art form, not an ancient one.

Same gesture, different object. Kimekomi is the 18th-century Japanese technique used for dolls and, later, round ornaments. Kinusaiga applies it to flat pictures on a board.

No. If you can use scissors and a craft knife, you can make one. A beginner pattern with 8 to 15 large pieces takes one to two hours, and mistakes are easy to undo: pull the fabric out and tuck it again.

A foam board, a printed pattern, a sharp craft knife, a blunt tucking tool (a butter knife works), scissors and fabric scraps. A double-sided adhesive sheet is optional but helpful on large pieces.

Extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation foam, the pink or blue sheets from hardware stores, about 1/2 to 1 in thick. It is dense, smooth and grips the fabric well. White bead foam (EPS) crumbles at the cut and is a poor substitute.

Not well. Paper-faced foam core board is usually too thin for a groove and its paper skin tears. White craft Styrofoam is bead foam: the grooves crumble and don't hold a tuck. XPS insulation foam is cheaper and works far better.

Thin, tightly woven quilting cotton is the easiest. Traditional kinusaiga uses silk, often from old kimonos, which is beautiful but slippery. Avoid stretchy knits, thick felt and loosely woven fabrics until you have some practice.

No. A butter knife, a letter opener, a small palette knife or a seam ripper used blunt side down all work. Purpose-made tools are thinner and nicer to hold, which helps on small pieces.

A good kit is a convenient way to start or a nice gift. Check for firm foam, generous fabric, a real tucking tool and a numbered pattern key. If you have fabric scraps already, a home-made kit costs less.

About 1/8 in (3 mm) for thin quilting cotton, up to 1/4 in (6 mm) for thicker fabric. Deeper only weakens the board. Hold the knife upright and use a fresh blade.

Cut each piece about 1/4 in (6 mm) larger than its shape on every side, then trim to about 1/8 in before the final tuck so it doesn't bunch up in the groove.

No. The grooves hold the fabric. Some makers use a double-sided adhesive sheet so the fabric doesn't shift while they work, and a little white glue is useful on the back when wrapping the edges.

One to two hours for a beginner pattern of 8 to 12 pieces on an 8 in board, an afternoon for 25 pieces. Scoring is quick; tucking is where the time goes.

Tuck the outer pieces into a groove cut about 1/4 in in from the edge, wrap them round the sides and glue them at the back, or cover the edge with ribbon. For a frame, use a shadow box or deep frame so the glass doesn't flatten the fabric.

Yes. Every pattern is free to download and print for personal use, with no account and no email address required.

Open the PDF for your paper size (US Letter or A4) and print at Actual size or 100 %, never Fit to page. Then measure the 1 in (or 25 mm) square on the page with a ruler. Each PDF has cut maps for 8, 6 and 5 inch boards.

Yes, you can sell finished pieces you make by hand from our patterns. Please don't sell, share or re-upload the pattern files themselves; link to the pattern page instead.

No. We are an independent resource, not affiliated with Maeno Setsu, the artist who created kinusaiga.