http://threads.srithreads.com Commenting on the world of Japanese Folk Textiles...and more Sat, 20 Mar 2010 04:59:30 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Japan in the late Edo Period (1603-1868) is a far cry from the Japan of today.  Enduring  in modern Japan, however, are traditional pilgrimage circuits where the faithful follow a prescribed course and make their way to a set of distinguished Buddhist temples: the reason I bring up the Edo ... http://threads.srithreads.com/2010/03/19/a-pilgrims-book-dating-from-1802-88-temple-pilgrimage/ Sashiko stitching, a Japanese running stitch, is used to strengthen cloth: this is a universal practice, employed by many cultures around the world, and it goes by many names depending where you are. Today, however, I am showing two distinctly Japanese items: instep guards called kougake and a very heavily stitched. ... http://threads.srithreads.com/2010/03/17/indigo-dyed-rustic-cloth-hemp-sashiko-stitching/ I think that many readers of this blog who are Japanese textile enthusiasts love sashiko stitching and, if you have come to discover zokin, the heavily sashiko stitched pads made of recycled cottons, you probably have been smitten by them. Each piece in the group that I am showing today is ... http://threads.srithreads.com/2010/03/15/wonderful-hemp-stitched-zokin/ I think most people who are enthusiastic about Japanese country textiles have a special place in their heart for the asa or bast fiber cloth of Japan.  Its rich texture and its closeness to nature tap into our primal instincts and connect us to something of the earth. Here is a ... http://threads.srithreads.com/2010/03/12/a-stack-of-asa-cloth/ I hope by placing the adult's indigo dyed cotton tabi underneath the pair of child's white tabi on the right, you will get a sense of just how tiny these tabi really are. They're cotton, and just like the adult's pair, the children's version are also worn hard and reinforced with ... http://threads.srithreads.com/2010/03/10/two-pairs-of-tiny-tabi/ Beginning today and for the next two weeks I'll be in Japan sourcing new textiles.  But I'll be regularly posting on this blog while I'm gone, so keep checking in as there are some interesting postings in the works.I chose to show this little maneki neko on this farewell posting ... http://threads.srithreads.com/2010/03/08/going-to-japan-and-returning-with-wondrous-cloth/ What a striking, paste resist, indigo dyed cotton noren or door covering.  It is sewn from six panels which creates an almost monumental presence, the actual size being 68" x 73" or 163 cm x 185.5 cm. Centrally placed is the large, mon, or  family crest, in this case it is ... http://threads.srithreads.com/2010/03/05/an-elegant-six-panel-resist-dyed-indigo-noren/ Today I am showing some photos that are about mood, texture and materials.The rolled and tied sashiko stitched cotton fragment sits in a hand carved soba noodle dough mixing bowl along with a ball of indigo, katazome dyed  Edo komon hemp cloth which was taken from a kamishimo.The massive wooden ... http://threads.srithreads.com/2010/03/03/a-scrap-of-sashiko-stitched-cloth-edo-period-katazome-dyed-hemp-and-an-antique-soba-mixing-bowl/ Shown today are two full tan or bolts of indigo dyed cotton shibori from Arimatsu, Japan, Arimatsu being one of  Japan's great shibori producing centers. Within the cities of Arimatsu and Narumi, countless families were engaged in all aspects of shibori making and finishing, and within this hotbed of shape resist ... http://threads.srithreads.com/2010/03/01/two-full-bolts-of-antique-arimatsu-shibori/ Picking up on the previous post, below this one, which showed recycled, braided back pads or seate, I decided to show another kind of twining---this one done with paper recycled from ledger books and twisted into long cords to use as string. Shown is a long section of recycled paper twine ... http://threads.srithreads.com/2010/02/26/twined-paper-cord/