Shown today is a heavily patched and mended sakiori–or rag woven–sleeveless work coat.  To appreciate the cotton patches and eccentric hemp mending stitches, I’m showing this sodenashi inside-out.If you look on the right side of the photo, below, you can see the very worn and abraded sakiori exterior of the coat.  This same photo also zeroes in on the unusual hemp mending stitches–I’ve not seen this kind of mending on other garments or textiles.The mending stitches are long and vertically oriented.

Another interesting aspect of this sodenashi is that it is not stitched closed on the sides, nor does it have  tabs connecting the front and back panels.  Most likely these have fallen off from wear.I love the resist dyed cotton patch showing a zig-zag geometric design.

Most of the mending on this sodenashi is done with rustic hemp thread.This work vest probably dates to the early-to-mid twentieth century.  The sakiori cloth is woven with a cotton warp and weft.

In the past, I’ve shown several fantastically good indigo dyed boro noragi or work coats.  This one I am showing to day, I think, is a very good one–and one that is of the same high quality as the ones I’ve shown before.
I say this for many reasons.  First, the arrangement of patches to the top, back of the piece is exceptionally strong–and the placement of shape, size and color is visually perfect, at least to my eye.The jacket is made of wonderful, old hand loomed indigo dyed cotton which has been worn and faded beautifully.  The entire coat is stitched, adding a textural element.The stitching is beautiful, as can be seen above and below.The patina to the surface of the cloth is also a beautiful feature of the coat.  The faded blue has become soft and powdery in appearance.The proper front of the coat is also wonderfully patched and distressed–but it is the back of the coat where most of the magic happens.  This is a fantastically good boro noragi. And have a look at a very good piece for sale at the webshop, here.