TemariKai Tool Kit - Chidori Kagari (Stitch)  /  Closest English equivalent: ZigZag Stitch
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       The Japanese name for "stitch" is Kagari, although you will also find it being called "Gake". Differences arise from the various dialects and areas of Japan where the terminology originates, but these are the two words used for our basic word "stitch". Kagari is more often found, especially in newer Japanese books but you can also see Gake, depending on the author.  Most Japanese stitch names will have Kagari or Gake as the last part of it, usually Kagari, but Gake will mean the same thing.



The action of bringing the thread up from the mari after anchoring it (see Basics Little Things), placing the thread where you want it to be, and entering the needle to secure the thread in that place is taking a stitch - or Kagari (Gake). It can be long, short, large, small.

Purists may be checking their Japanese translators or dictionaries, and you may find variations as to what "stitch" translates into Japanese. Remember that here we are dealing with the traditional and accepted terms that are historically and currently used in Temari in Japan, in both written publications and current verbal conversation. Any language can and will have various terms for a word, based on dialects, vernacular, proper and slang. We're using what has become the accepted verbiage within Temari.

       The Japanese word "Chidori" is used to mean what in the West is accepted as "zigzag". It literally translates (and again, you will find minor difference based on vernacular and who is translating. This is inherent in the Japanese language - it is not always precise by nature and even native Japanese and fluent speakers can both look at a Japanese language word or phrase and translate it into slightly different Western words but not significantly different enough to affect the meaning) - to "how the little bird flies". This is comes from the ancient association to the Chickadee, which has a distinctive flight pattern of up and down - zigzag. When the Japanese wanted a word to describe that line or direction orientation, it was natural to them in to relate it to something in nature that was similar. The Chickadee's flight pattern followed the same concept they were trying to describe, so Chidori it became. Chidori has been an historically accepted term to mean zigzag in Temari throughout any history that can be found, and thus it still is.
      



Chidori Kagari is the stitching term used to mean a basic zigzag stitch in Japanese Temari.  Chidori Kagari is a zigzag line of stitching. It can be tall or short, wide or narrow, worked on marking lines or not, vertical or horizontal. It is used in a myriad of designs, not limited to or associated with any. Just as an artist will use a zigzag line in any context, so too is Chidori Kagari a very commonly used stitch, and it sets the basis for several other traditional stitches.


(Comparisons have been made to equate it to the Western Herringbone stitch - while a similarity may be seen, embroidery purists will see that a true Herringbone stitch is a bit more involved in terms of size and stitch placement.)

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Last updated 9/06 ©  2005, 2006 G.Thompson, all rights reserved. You are welcome to download one copy of this information for personal, non-profit use. Please contact and request for all other uses.