potd - Remnant Bundles

I've been having fun making up bundles of old remnants - mostly  early-mid 20th century cotton and  a few bits of  sakabukuro and silk worm netting.

potd - Arimatsu Shibori

I sell this indigo shibori-dyed cotton yukata fabric by the metre ($25/m). It comes from Arimatsu  near Nagoya which has been a centre for indigo cotton shibori since 1608. Most of these haven't been steamed flat after dyeing and still have a wonderful crinkly shibori texture.  The texture will fall out if you aren't careful with washing and drying - or you can iron it out if you prefer.

potd - Yukata Fabric

Old (1970's? ) yukata fabric...

potd - Sashiko Zokin

I've just put out a  big bundle of hand-stitched zokin cleaning cloths made from old cotton remnants, probably from the middle of the last century but unused.   A bit boro.

potd - Indigo Otedama

I'm just putting out some traditional otedama bean bags that I've been making from tiny  antique indigo scraps.

potd - Quilting Fabric

I've re-opened after a short but refreshing break! While I was closed these lovely new quilting cottons arrived. Cats and bunnies are always popular but I especially like the very fresh white one with umbrellas and bells.

potd - Yukata Cottons

I've always stocked Indigo and white yukata (summer cotton kimono) fabrics and they're still popular for quilts. These ones  date from around the 1970's.  I sell them by the metre or in small pieces.

potd - Old Vest Lining

When I was going through some old plain indigo I came across this patched vest lining. Just a little bit boro and with lots of potential.

potd - Japanese Quilting Fabric

Quilting fabrics in traditional Japanese patterns. All 100% cotton and made in Japan.

potd - Yukata Fabric

Cheery summer yukata fabric for a chilly winter's day.

potd - Patches

I'm ironing up pieces of old indigo cotton (sorry, the colour is never right in the photos). The patched pieces are my favourites...

potd - Printed Shibori Boro

This is a post-war patched and stitched futon cover panel  in the make-do boro tradition. At a distance it looks like shibori dyeing but is actually printed.  This is for sale on my website or in the shop.

potd - Antique Cotton Bundles

I'm just making some more antique cotton bundles - perfect for boro projects, These are available in the shop and online.

Potd - Tsutsugaki Noren

Our website upgrade has finally been finished  so I've started putting some more items on - including this late 19th- early 20th century tsutsugaki dyed noren doorway curtain.

More information here.

potd - Katazome

Just putting  this beautiful ginko leaf fabric in the shop. Early 20th century katazome (stencil resist) indigo cotton.

potd - Yukata Cotton

Full bolts (approx 11m) of cotton for men's yukata (summer cotton kimono). These are unused but date from the 1960's or 70's.

potd - Old Japanese Cotton

Just tidying up rolls of old (mid - late last century) cotton.

potd - Antique Cotton

Just about to price some more antique indigo cotton pieces...

potd - Indigo Shibori

I just put out some more rolls of indigo cotton shibori. To be made into usable  yukata (cotton kimono) fabric these would be steamed and stretched -  and lose much of the texture they have now. In their scrunched up state they're popular here for scarves - though I always warn customers that some colour might rub off (crocking).
The centre for this type of shibori since the 17th century has been Arimatsu  in Aichi, now part of Nagoya, where you can have classes in shibori dyeing.

 

 

 

potd - Tsutsugaki Futonji

I try and post a photo of the day here and on facebook every day that the shop's open but sometimes I just don't have time and sometimes the commentary is rather brief.  The brevity  of yesterday's post amused some of my  facebook 'friends' so today I'm trying to be more informative...

This is a  wonderful   tsutsugaki dyed futon cover panel with a dynamic peony and karagusa ('chinese grass') design. It has been taken from the kake-buton top part of the futon (the equivalent of a doona).

 

In tsutsugaki the design is drawn on the fabric with a rice paste resist using a cone-shaped 'tsutsu' that is a little like an icing piping bag. When the fabric is dyed in indigo the resisted areas remain white. The fabric will be dried and re-dyed a number of times. During this process the areas to remain light indigo will be covered with more resist before re-dying to achieve the dark indigo on the rest of the piece.  Then the resist will be washed out. This will have been professionally dyed at a local dye shop (traditionally a male job) for a relatively well-off  family in the late 19th - early 20th century. It's still in perfect condition. It's obviously been treasured over the years and probably only used for guests.  It's available in the shop or online.