I have also done a little hand sashiko.... somewhere I have a UFO.... if I kept it....:o I don't think it would be any easier to do than any other hand stitching. Yes your stitches are larger but so is your thread to pull through the fabric.

I haven't tried it, but I get the sense that it's more along the lines of embroidery than quilting. Have you checked your local library for books on sashiko?

I was looking for a hand sewn look that would be easier on my hands that hand quilting but after watching these videos etc. I think Sashiko is still quite difficult to sew and have it look like it should. I do like the look of the Baby Lock Sashiko machine though. That might be the way to go. Not hand sewing but the same look. Thanks for all who took time to answer and offer me some info about this. It is a truly beautiful way to decorate a piece of fabric. Thanks!

Made some beverage coasters in the blue with various colored threads. It is precise and very deliberate stitching that one follows a grid or pattern. I bought a book on sashiko in San Francisco and love the look of it. It's probably harder on the eyes than the hands, anyway for me that is so. It is derived from Japanese women mending or reinforcing everyday type work clothes in blues, Therefore the blues. Now, it is celebrated as an art form with meaningful Japanese symbols.

This, like quilting, is an old art and probably much older than quilting and I will be fascinated watching how it, like quilting, will be transformed by using modern techniques.....I.e., using freezer paper as above, a sashiko machine, what next? I really like to see how we will always try to make something easier, more streamlined.....

Sorry, but sashiko is hand quilting. It is all straight lines, with each stitch the same size in lenght(sic) and separation and the use of contrasting thread. When I first learned to do sashiko, tiger tape came in very handy. You can use sashiko to do all over quilting or just do sections, like a grid. Nowadays, I have heard, there are sewing machines that do sashiko. I do not remember the manufacturer. Sashiko is all about the stitch. Your favorite size of quilting needle will do. I use topricin on my hands and wrists when doing any kind of hand work. No smell or oily stain.

Shashikko
 

Traditionally, this technique was in stitched in white thread (you can use pearl cotton) on a denser blue fabric that was hand dyed using varying shades of blue indigo. Now the thread comes in a variety of colors and fabric is available is colors also. If you can, look online at traditional fabric to understand the weight/density of the fabric. Don't use traditional cotton quilt fabrics as the weight is too light and the weave too dense. An embroidery needle is used because of the size of the thread. It's easy to do.

You can take a piece of transfer paper, place it transfer side to the right side of the fabric and trace the straight lines using a ruler as guide and a stylus to run over the lines instead of a pen. Please don't use the marking pens. When washed, the lines can come back permanently when the fabric is pressed.
It's fun and even with arthritis, you should be able to do it, as little pressure is required.
SandyQuilter

I have done sashiko. It is more like embrodary than quilting. Design is done on single layer of fabric then sandwiched and quilted.

No, it is not, because it's traditionally done on a single layer of fabric, not on a fabric sandwich. Regular quilting betweens will not work, because the eye of the needle is too small for the thread.

Helen, as to whether you can do Sashiko with arthritis in your hands, the only way you can really find out is by giving it a try. It is quite similar to the movements needed in hand quilting, but you don't have to push through all those layers.
I bought the book Japanese Sashiko Inspirations by Susan Briscoe and highly recommend it. Her projects are great and show many other colors used effectively.