Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Japanese sashiko


My dear friend Joanna was in town last week. Over the phone she said, "my jacket really needs some more patches." Joanna is such a free spirit (and an anti-capitalist one, at that!) that she proudly sports the jackets she's been wearing for decades. She tells me she cherishes the patches I've sewn, but is definitely sensitive about any new holes. This is my third or fourth round of patching her jackets, which of course, has been my honor and pleasure.

Here's Joanna (in a relatively new jacket--no patches!) in the health food coop of Ann Arbor, with a random stranger she invited to be part of the photo. (I thought this pic was quilt-blog-worthy!)


For this round of patchwork, I had a new skill to apply: Japanese sashiko. Last month, a textile tour in Japan had taken me to the small but very memorable Amuse Museum in Tokyo, where Chuzaburo Tanaka's collection of "boro" (historical, patched Japanese textiles) is on permanent display. Tanaka was the first to recognize the artistic--spiritual?--value of the patched-over robes, blankets and pants worn by impoverished Japanese villagers of the last century. These textiles have texture!


Above is an example of pants in Tanaka's collection. The way the item is displayed helps convey the lived-in quality that makes them so beautiful, as the haiku-like signage suggests:


I think the same principle applies to the Gees' Bend quilts from Alabama that use old jeans material(photo from object [if] ied blog, which has a nice article about them).

Anyway, in boro, these patches are applied to the garments (both inside and out) using sashiko stitching, a running stitch, in rows, to stabilize the layers. Again, the trace of the human activity of stitching is seen and felt. People now employ sashiko for decoration, using a thick cotton embroidery thread, but my use on Joanna's jacket went back to its functional roots, and I simply used a double strand of sewing thread:


Truly, sashiko makes so much sense. Where it now has interesting texture, the jacket was once rumpled, with the bulk of an unruly placket lining causing much of the wearing-down points. Stapling down the flap with the running stitch made it behave:


I also added patches of silk with sashiko to the frayed parts on the collar


and sleeve (pictured here from the elbow down).


I love this beautiful technique and am so thrilled to employ it in an authentic context, so soon after my return from Japan, for such a sweet and appreciative recipient.

Linking up with Work in Progress Wednesday and Needle and Thread Thursday.


7 comments:

  1. It's pretty! I love the idea of giving new life to things, so that they can continue to be used.

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  2. Amazing and I loved reading this post! The textures really catch my attention with the running stitches!

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    1. Thank you Jayne. I appreciate your stopping by. Let me know if you try it yourself.

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  3. Lovely journey you are on. Love these images, textures speak for us.

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  4. In only a few short weeks you've been able to take what you learned in our private sashiko workshop, and couple that with what you saw at the Amuse Museum in Tokyo during the tour to produce work reminiscent of this Japanese mending style. We are all so lucky that Mr. Tanaka had the vision to collect & save these time-honored garments revealing the essence of the lives of these northern fisherman and farmers, of their impoverished yet humble livelihoods.

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    1. Susan, I am honored by your visit to the blog and your comment. I almost put in the part about the northern fishermen and farmers, and then saw the tattsuke were from Kyoto (!) Both of us still reflecting on the amazing times we had, my house is becoming Japanized (tablecloth and curtains so far; wall quilts to follow)!

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    2. ...not to mention decluttering!

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