Comments on: Mending and Recycling Textiles in Japan

By: kristian kofoed

kristian kofoed — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 23:03:10 +0000

I’m interested in Boro and sashiko, and in “mending stitchery” generally. I’m a beginner so any tips or other websites would be very helpful.

Thanks.

Kristian

By: Boro + Sashiko – The Art of Mending |

Boro + Sashiko – The Art of Mending | — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 19:00:15 +0000

[…] Japanese boro (futon cover), 19th century by recycling remnants of indigo dyed cotton- courtesey of Ounodesign. […]

By: If Dubai was made of denim «

If Dubai was made of denim « — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:33:56 +0000

[…] this technique ever since, but I haven’t found the right project. Then a few months ago Ouno had a great post about recycled japanese textiles. Also, this girl on the Sartorialist caught my […]

By: LB

LB — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:47:19 +0000

In reply to Jim Austin. Those are pretty gorgeous.

By: Jim Austin

Jim Austin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:57:30 +0000

Please look at this link for addition examples of Japanese boro textile folk art from the late 1800s to the early 1900s:

http://www.kimonoboy.com/catalog.html?category=Sold_Boro

By: John Meyers

John Meyers — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:34:54 +0000

Lindsay that is a great piece- as usual- and John Hopper, a nicely thoughtful response.
Boros have always seemed like fantastic blue patina-ed modern paintings. Sometimes I think there are just too many pieces of mending on one textile, but then when it happens to you, when you have to patch some jeans, you know that once you start, that base material is going to need another and another and another patch very quickly! I love that history.
Another recent book came out about it:
http://www.ideabooks.nl/index.php?op=full&title=24312&what=c&u=&page=40
and in our own book we did a take on Boro- you can see a bit of the 3 spreads here:
http://warymeyers.com/warymeyerstossed.html

Long live the repair shop.

By: john hopper

john hopper — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 09:09:16 +0000

A beautiful and well timed piece. In the UK there is a general move, though still on a small scale, to recycle excess items within the community which could be anything from furniture, old TVs, to greenhouses and rubble. It is called Freecycle and is very much web based. I’m sure most other countries have set up similar systems. Whether they are flourishing because of the present economic crisis and will falter when things pick up, is unknown, though I would like to think that it was a ground swell movement.

As to textiles specifically, one of the main problems is the mass export of cheap clothing from China. In many respects the Chinese government, along with western retailers, is encouraging the adoption of a throwaway clothing culture. It has got to the point in the UK where charity shops can no longer compete with new clothing. A £5 note could buy one top in a charity shop, but buy three new ones because of cheap imports. We are actively being persuaded to wear clothing for a few months and then throw it away

It seems a depressing trend, but perhaps we can do something by being aware of how much we really need to buy, rather than how much we are encouraged to buy. Some sections of the UK retail market have nearly ground to a halt because of the caution of consumers, so it is possible to change things if we choose.

It will be interesting to see in the coming months and years, whether we, as consumers, really are in control of our consumer society.

By: iinekore

iinekore — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:45:48 +0000

god, that is beautiful. many thanks for pointing out that book and the links.

By: Sarah Peterson

Sarah Peterson — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:51:43 +0000

Can’t wait to see more American companies taking up this trend! It’s about time and totally cute!

By: Eva

Eva — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:12:04 +0000

Adorable!