British Columbia student Sarah Dalziel, who regularly wins medals in Canadian science fairs, is working on hybridizing the woad plant for maximum yield in harsh climates. Woad, which as you probably know was used by Boadicea to paint herself blue in early Celtic times, is an important source of indigo dye.

...read more

The post High school student hybridizes her own indigo woad appeared first on Ouno Design.

This Japanese boro (futon cover) was made in the 19th century by recycling remnants of indigo dyed cotton and joining them together. It’s so well-made that it’s still in perfect condition.

...read more

The post Mending and Recycling Textiles in Japan appeared first on Ouno Design.

The photo above shows the central living area of a rural farmhouse on the border of Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures. The house was restored by Kenji Tsuchisawa who bought it as a rundown heap when he was only 20, after seeing a photograph of a traditional Japanese farmhouse on a Tokyo magazine cover.

...read more

The post Japanese interiors – updated traditional farmhouses appeared first on Ouno Design.

The bottom photo shows a functioning scarecrows made of indigo-dyed hemp. The original book caption reads “The bold design of this piece of shibori-dyed hemp by Seizo Ishikawa, a farmer, seems at home working as a scarecrow by a newly harvested rice field.” The birds in Japan must have been accustomed to seeing farmers in real Japanese indigo yukatas, waving their arms.

...read more

The post Traditional Japanese scarecrows appeared first on Ouno Design.

This amazing textile is actually the back of a quilt by Lauren Venell, but it could just as easily be the front. Venell’s fabric is dark blue denim, with light grey quilting thread to show the quilting design in contrast, and she pieced and quilted the whole thing by hand on the sewing machine.

...read more

The post Geometric landscape quilt appeared first on Ouno Design.