How to make kinusaiga

The idea fits in one sentence: each shape of the picture is one piece of fabric, held by tucking its edges into grooves cut in a board. Where two shapes meet, both fabrics dive into the same groove, and the groove becomes the fine dark line between them. No needle, no thread, and usually no glue.

What you need

• A foam board, ideally extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation foam, the pink or blue panels sold in hardware stores, 1/2 to 1 in thick. Which foam to choose.
• A pattern, printed at the size of your board. All the patterns on this site are free and come with true-scale cut maps.
• Fabric scraps, ideally thin, tightly woven quilting cotton. How to choose fabric.
• A sharp craft knife with a fresh blade (an X-Acto #11 or similar).
• A tucking tool: a purpose-made kinusaiga tool, or a butter knife, a letter opener, a small palette knife or a seam ripper.
• Scissors, masking tape, a ruler, and optionally a double-sided adhesive sheet the size of the board.

The full list, with what each item is for and what to buy, is in the supplies guide.

Step 1: Choose and print a pattern

For a first piece, pick a pattern with 8 to 15 pieces and big, rounded shapes: a sunset, a simple flower, a rainbow. Thin strips and tiny details are the hard part of kinusaiga, so leave them for your third or fourth project.

Print the cut map with your printer set to Actual size or 100 %, never "Fit to page". Every pattern here has a 1 in and a 25 mm square at the bottom: measure it. If it is smaller, your printer shrank the page and the drawing will no longer match your board.

Step 2: Prepare the foam board

Cut the board to the size of the pattern with a long blade or a fine saw, using a ruler as a guide. Insulation foam cuts best with several light passes rather than one hard push.

If you use an adhesive sheet, stick it on the board now, before scoring: peel the backing from one side, lay it on the foam and smooth out the bubbles from the centre outwards. Leave the top liner on; you will peel it piece by piece as you go. The adhesive keeps each fabric flat while you tuck, which helps a lot on large shapes.

Step 3: Score the grooves

Tape the pattern on the board along the edges so it can't slide. Then cut along every line of the drawing, straight down into the foam, through the paper. Aim for about 1/8 in (3 mm) deep: enough to hold two layers of thin cotton. Go up to 1/4 in (6 mm) for thicker fabric.

• Hold the knife upright, like a pencil, and pull it towards you. Turn the board rather than your wrist on curves.
• Change the blade often. A dull blade tears the foam instead of cutting it, and torn grooves don't grip.
• Cut every line, including the outer frame if the pattern has one, and lines that run off the edge of the board.
• When you have scored everything, lift a corner of the paper to check before removing it. Missed a line? Put the paper back and finish it.

Step 4: Cut the fabric

Use the colour guide to match each numbered piece to its fabric. For each piece, cut a fabric shape about 1/4 in (6 mm) larger than the shape on every side. That margin is what goes into the grooves.

• The easiest way to get the shape: lay the fabric over the scored piece and press it lightly so the groove shows through, then cut outside it.
• For small or awkward shapes, cut a paper template from a spare print of the cut map and add the margin around it.
• Iron the fabrics first. Creases are very visible once the fabric is stretched over the foam.

Step 5: Tuck the fabric

This is the heart of kinusaiga. Lay a fabric piece over its shape (peel the adhesive liner for that piece only, if you use one) and smooth it from the centre. Then push its edges into the surrounding grooves with your tool, working around the shape a little at a time.

• Start in the middle of a straight-ish edge, then tuck the opposite side, then the other two. The fabric stays centred and taut, like stretching a canvas.
• Background first, details last. Large pieces go in first; a small piece sitting inside a bigger one (an eye, a window, a spot) is tucked last.
• Trim before the last tuck. If the excess is too wide, it bunches in the groove and pushes the neighbouring fabric out. Trim to about 1/8 in before pushing it in.
• On curves, make small snips in the margin, a few millimetres apart, so it folds into the groove without pleats.
• On sharp points (a star, a leaf tip), fold the fabric over the point first, then tuck the two sides.

Step 6: Finish the edges

Pieces that touch the outer edge of the board need finishing. You have three options: tuck them into a groove cut about 1/4 in in from the edge (a clean frame line), wrap them around the sides of the board and glue them at the back, or simply put the piece in a frame that covers the edge. A deep shadow-box frame suits kinusaiga best because it shows off the texture. More in finishing and framing.

Common mistakes

1. Printing at the wrong scale. Check the 1 in square before you cut anything.
2. Grooves too shallow (the fabric pops out) or too deep (the board cracks along the lines).
3. A dull blade, which tears the foam and leaves ragged grooves.
4. Margins too wide, which bunch up and make bumps. 1/4 in to cut, trimmed to about 1/8 in before the final tuck.
5. Stretchy or thick fabric for a first project. Start with plain quilting cotton.
6. Too many tiny pieces. Choose a beginner pattern first.

Ready? The Sunset Over Rolling Hills pattern has only eight pieces and is the one we recommend for a first try.