On the last day of January, my sister came to town and we made sure to go on a sister date while she was here. It just happens to coincide with Pable®’s Playble with Little Morning League. In case you don’t know, Pable® is an organisation that focuses on a closed-loop solution for the garment sector. They recycle used clothing, adopting a circular system that turns waste into resources. So I was pretty excited about their little event, since I’d only recently discovered it.
This is a new little shindig in Jakarta, having before held in Surabaya—although, I believe, with a whole other concept. In Jakarta, the event consists of a variety of activities, such as community gathering, workshops, sustainable lifestyle market, art exhibition, music performance and even a clothing recycle drop box. What coincided with my sister’s coming here was their Sashiko Workshop—and so I signed us up.
On the last day of January, my sister came to town and we made sure to go on a sister date while she was here. It just happens to coincide with Pable®’s Playble with Little Morning League. In case you don’t know, Pable® is an organisation that focuses on a closed-loop solution for the garment sector. They recycle used clothing, adopting a circular system that turns waste into resources. So I was pretty excited about their little event, since I’d only recently discovered it.
This is a new little shindig in Jakarta, having before held in Surabaya—although, I believe, with a whole other concept. In Jakarta, the event consists of a variety of activities, such as community gathering, workshops, sustainable lifestyle market, art exhibition, music performance and even a clothing recycle drop box. What coincided with my sister’s coming here was their Sashiko Workshop—and so I signed us up.
📷 ASUS ZenFone 10 50 MP f/1.9, (23.8 mm lens) + some photos are documented by the Pable team
A Girl-Coded Afternoon
The workshop was held on 31 January 2026 at Little League, in collaboration with Bijak Studio. There were two time slots and we opted for the second session at 1 PM, mostly because we didn’t want to rush to get there—still, we arrived a lot later than we should. Thankfully, the workshop also ran late and hadn’t started yet by the time we got there. The class was pretty full, all ten seats were taken by ladies. We were provided with simple tools, such as 3 grid templates, a needle, fabric scissors, 100% cotton thread (with a diameter of 2 mm), a ruler, fabric chalk and a selection of recycled Pable® fabric—some of which we could bring home with us.
The instructor started by explaining to us what sashiko is and how we could develop the technique to create our own sashiko rendition. Then we started with the sewing. Our first task was to create a grid on the Pable® fabric to create our first sashiko pattern. It was way harder than it looked, especially since the fabric was pretty small and often frayed easily on the seams. We all struggled with it, and I think mine ended up looking pretty wonky. Afterwards, we were taught how to utilise our grid to create a boro sashiko patch. This part was a lot more fun for me, because you’re expected to be imperfect—that I’m really good at. It was truly so much fun and I felt inspired to start mending my frayed denim jackets. I haven’t done it yet, but you know, I am inspired (lol).
The workshop was held on 31 January 2026 at Little League, in collaboration with Bijak Studio. There were two time slots and we opted for the second session at 1 PM, mostly because we didn’t want to rush to get there—still, we arrived a lot later than we should. Thankfully, the workshop also ran late and hadn’t started yet by the time we got there. The class was pretty full, all ten seats were taken by ladies. We were provided with simple tools, such as 3 grid templates, a needle, fabric scissors, 100% cotton thread (with a diameter of 2 mm), a ruler, fabric chalk and a selection of recycled Pable® fabric—some of which we could bring home with us.
The instructor started by explaining to us what sashiko is and how we could develop the technique to create our own sashiko rendition. Then we started with the sewing. Our first task was to create a grid on the Pable® fabric to create our first sashiko pattern. It was way harder than it looked, especially since the fabric was pretty small and often frayed easily on the seams. We all struggled with it, and I think mine ended up looking pretty wonky. Afterwards, we were taught how to utilise our grid to create a boro sashiko patch. This part was a lot more fun for me, because you’re expected to be imperfect—that I’m really good at. It was truly so much fun and I felt inspired to start mending my frayed denim jackets. I haven’t done it yet, but you know, I am inspired (lol).
Learn to Mend Before It Breaks
Now that I’m single, I feel like I have so much more time to go on dates with my sister—and I’m so here for it. We used to go on dates all the time, exploring new places and going to little events on other corners of the city. That was back when we were both on long-distance relationships. But it all kind of fell away for a while when I had a boyfriend in town, which is honestly a shame. Now, she lives out of town though, so we can’t hang out as much as we used to. Hanging out with my sister has always led to belly-aching laughter, so I try to never take it for granted whenever we’re geographically aligned.
Speaking of my sister, I feel like I should give her props for being so determined in this workshop. You see, my sister has dystonia—which often means her nerves wouldn’t listen to her—so doing a detailed task like sewing is such an uphill battle for her. She trembled a lot and could get tired very easily. That being said, she had fun and was glad that I took her to this workshop, so she did as best she could to put what we learn from the workshop into practice (and she did much better than me?!). I could tell how tired she was afterwards, yet she seemed to enjoy herself very much. Good on you, sis!
Now that I’m single, I feel like I have so much more time to go on dates with my sister—and I’m so here for it. We used to go on dates all the time, exploring new places and going to little events on other corners of the city. That was back when we were both on long-distance relationships. But it all kind of fell away for a while when I had a boyfriend in town, which is honestly a shame. Now, she lives out of town though, so we can’t hang out as much as we used to. Hanging out with my sister has always led to belly-aching laughter, so I try to never take it for granted whenever we’re geographically aligned.
Speaking of my sister, I feel like I should give her props for being so determined in this workshop. You see, my sister has dystonia—which often means her nerves wouldn’t listen to her—so doing a detailed task like sewing is such an uphill battle for her. She trembled a lot and could get tired very easily. That being said, she had fun and was glad that I took her to this workshop, so she did as best she could to put what we learn from the workshop into practice (and she did much better than me?!). I could tell how tired she was afterwards, yet she seemed to enjoy herself very much. Good on you, sis!
As for me, this workshop wasn’t just about mending clothes or crafting patterns that looked cute. It was about mending my broken heart. At this point in time, I can finally look back and see the footprints in the sand. Look how far I’ve come! I almost couldn’t recognise the girl who used to cry in bed for the guy who once said he would always love her. It wasn’t easy, and before I knew it, I was living my life week by week—since my life could feel drastically different from one week to another, it’s insane. Now, though, I feel like I can laugh again, listen to all kinds of music again, watch movies again, meet new people again, and have crushes again. Now, though, I can feel like myself again.
What other types of workshops should I join next time?
As for me, this workshop wasn’t just about mending clothes or crafting patterns that looked cute. It was about mending my broken heart. At this point in time, I can finally look back and see the footprints in the sand. Look how far I’ve come! I almost couldn’t recognise the girl who used to cry in bed for the guy who once said he would always love her. It wasn’t easy, and before I knew it, I was living my life week by week—since my life could feel drastically different from one week to another, it’s insane. Now, though, I feel like I can laugh again, listen to all kinds of music again, watch movies again, meet new people again, and have crushes again. Now, though, I can feel like myself again.
What other types of workshops should I join next time?