Awa Shijira-ori

Known for its distinctive crinkled, crepe-like texture, Awa Shijira-ori* is a cotton fabric ideal for making summertime yukata. The texture, similar to seersucker, does not stick to the skin in Japan’s hot, humid summers, and the openness of the weave allows for good airflow.

Originating in the Tokushima Prefecture during the Meiji era (1868-1889), it is believed that the Awa Shijira-ori’s unique texture was discovered by accident when cloth was left out in the rain, then dried in the sun. As the fabric shrank, it developed an uneven texture of puckers, known as shibo. This shrinkage was caused by different tension between the warp threads, similar to how chirimen is made.

From Traditional Crafts of Japan, Volume 1, Textiles:

Basically, a set of yarns with a tight tension is alternated with one [that has] fewer yarns and less tension. The latter set of yarns will be drawn up by the tighter set when the cloth is finished, thus producing a crepe texture. Maintaining this imbalance in tension when dressing the loom in an essential element in the creation of a shijira cloth having textural interest.

To give a general overview, however, the important manufacturing processes may be listed as follows: reeling, scouring, dyeing and rinsing, sizing, drying, twisting of the yarn; warping of the yard and dressing of the loom; weaving; removal of the cloth from the loom; crepeing, sizing and drying, measuring, and finally rolling the cloth onto one tan (eleven meters, the length needed to make one kimono) bolt.

Awa denotes the ancient name for the Tokushima Prefecture. This area has long been known for indigo cultivation, and Awa Shijira-ori is most often dyed with indigo. This image from issue # 3 of Kimono Hime shows mechanized looms, dye vats and reels of indigo-dyed cotton thread drying in the sun.

By the end of the 19th century, production was around two million bolts of fabric a year. Today only four family factories produce several thousand bolts annually of this interesting textile. I will be listing some yardage of the fabric at the top later today.

*Ori means “to weave” in Japanese (as used in shibori and origami it means “to fold”).

New in the shop

I will be listing new items throughout the day, including the latest shipment of sashiko supplies. Yes, that means the thread prices will be going up (needles, thimbles and kits remain the same price), but not until I get to them. Right now I’m focused on getting other things listed first, so there is still a bit of time to grab a bargain.

Temari Sakura Sashiko Kit

Also new are two beautiful Kimono Silk Scarves. I have decided to discontinue my line of Obi Purses and will be listing the remaining fabrics by the piece in February. Despite many requests for new bags, I find that they are not where my focus is anymore and I can’t put my heart into them like I used to. Scarves will be limited in the future also, as I shift towards my first love, the fabric itself. Expect to see many more bolts of both Japanese and American cottons, vintage kimono silks, and other fibers as I come across them.

Blue Mountain kimono silk scarf

KimonoMomo shop updates

I’ve been a terrible slacker. There are stacks of projects on my cutting table, finished scarves to be photographed, business cards to be designed and printed, taxes to be filed, orders to ship (packages went to Australia and Canada yesterday, Italy today), and piles of notes everywhere.

A box of fabric tipped over this morning when I was checking my email at the computer, and now I am standing in a puddle of kimono silk. *sigh* I feel so pretty.

In February you will see an increase in items in my shop, including more sashiko thread and kits (remember, thread prices go UP as soon as new stock arrives in a few days so get yours now), vintage kimono fabric bundles, books,  and new cotton yardage from Kona Bay. I’m excited!

If you are interested in having me come teach a class or hold a trunk show for your local quilt guild, library, school or craft group, please let me know as soon as possible. My spring schedule is rapidly filling up! I am willing to drive within the greater Northern California  San Francisco Bay Area (San Jose to Sacramento or thereabouts), possibly even to Reno/Tahoe if you can put me up for the night. I honestly do enjoy a road trip. Email me for rates and details.

The KimonoMomo website is once again being updated. Sincere apologies to all whom I’ve sent over there, only to find it hopelessly out of date. Yes, I’m on it, and things are improving, one page at a time. HTML coding takes a bit of time and mental focus, but I love it.

As for the KimonoMomo Etsy shop, I have a goal of 200 listings by February 5. I’m currently at 149, so there’s 51 to go in just over a week. If you have any special requests, let me know. I do my best to accommodate them as often as possible.

Because it’s still winter here

I’ve been drooling over scarves on Etsy recently. It’s still chilly enough here in the San Francisco area that I could happily wear one, so I’m sharing my appreciation of fine neck wear with you today. Enjoy!

Copper Lace Scarf by bluepeninsula

Fine merino wool warmly knitted in Massachusetts, USA.

Snow Queen Felted Scarf by FeltedPleasure

Flirtatious felted wool from Russia with love.

Ice Blue Lace Knitted Shawl by Berniolie

Delicate as a snowflake but without the chill, from the Netherlands.

Sashiko updates

First the bad news: Due to a falling Dollar and rising Yen, my wholesale supplier has raised prices on most sashiko items. This means that with my next restock, I’ll have to raise prices, too.

Now the good news: I’m keeping my prices low until new items come in. Stock up now to get your sashiko supplies for the lowest prices on the web!

In other news: Part 3 of my Olympus sashiko kit tutorial will be up soon. The holidays put me in a bit of a tailspin and some projects were shelved while I was on vacation with the family. I am back on track and will have new photos, new projects, and artist interviews up over the next few weeks.

The Old Girl, part III

“How the dickens do you thread this thing?”

That was our first challenge after establishing that yes indeed, she ran just fine. A search on the Singer site provided a free pdf download of the instructions we needed for our vintage 15- (“fifteen straight”) machine, and with a bit of tinkering, we sorted it out. A run to the fabric store for more bobbins, fresh needles and a touch up with the old can of oil still (thankfully) kept in her tip-out drawer, and we were ready.

She does have some gumption in her, that’s for sure. The foot pedal also is rigged to be a knee pedal, hiding under the table out of sight. I’d never sewn this way before and found it a bit of a treat. With a foot pedal I always feel like I’m driving a car, but with the knee pedal it felt more like the machine and I were connected somehow. We fussed about for an hour or so, getting the feel of the machine, thread tension, speed, etc.

Jacob took to the machine easily, which wasn’t too surprising considering the machines in his own workshop consist of mainly old Singers and other vintage industrial machines. It was odd to see his lanky frame seated at such a tiny table, but I was glad it was him and not me ramming the fabric through to make my purses. Between Jacob and the Singer, there was plenty of muscle to get the job done, and quickly. When all you need is a straight stitch, an old solid metal 15- certainly does the job.

Jacob and I continued to use the Old Girl through the summer and into September, shortly before I got the call that my mother didn’t have long to live and I’d better get home as soon as possible. After that, she was packed into a moving van with everything we hadn’t yet thrown away and taken to California, where she languished in storage for over a year. But there was always the thought of her in the back of my mind, nagging me to get on with it and get her back into use. In December I hauled her out to The Sewing Machine Shop in Walnut Creek, California, for a tune up. After an impatient two week wait (longer than usual due to the holidays), I brought her home, clean and happy.

Sadly, she now once again sits piled high with books. That will change once we’re able to move things around and have enough space to get some work done. I haven’t sewn much in the past year, and while my sister moved my mother’s fabric stash into storage, I have plans to get it back and start playing with it. While Mom’s 1990’s Bernina has its charms, I still prefer the older machines for their simplicity and stamina.

If you have an vintage machine you’d like to share, let me know in the comments section, or email me. I will be featuring more machines as I come across them. Two more are already waiting for their moment to shine, as soon as I sort out their background information. Eventually I’d like to compile them into a book, so do let me know if you have a particularly special gem of your own, especially if there is a story attached.

On the road

I’ll be away from the studio and up in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon for a while, but I’ll try to work in a post or two while I’m gone.

Happy (almost) New Year everyone!

The Old Girl, part II

It took a bit of wrangling, but we managed to slide her into the back seat of my car and take her home. She looks like a portable Featherweight, but she is most definitely attached to that table with its spindly legs.

Once in the house, I gave her a good look. I checked the serial number on Singer’s website and dated her manufacture to 1955. This surprised me, as the 1959 machine my mother had given me a few years before wasn’t nearly so attractive as this one.

SINGER SEWING COMPANY
“AM” Series Register Numbers
Factory Name:  Elizabethport
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Register Numbers

Letter / From – To: AM- / 000001 – 017250

Machine Class (Model No.): 15

Quantity Alloted: 17250

Date Alloted: February 24

Year Alloted: 1955

Looking over the wiring, which was covered in a grimy layer of dust, I was afraid to even turn her on. She sat for weeks with a stack of books on top, dutifully fulfilling a very practical purpose (the phone having found another home in the meantime). Once in a while my son and I would clean her off and open her up, just to look at her.

“Can I have the machine in my room so I can practice sewing?” my son asked.

“I’m not so sure about that wiring. I don’t want you to be goofing around on that and have it set the room on fire. That would be bad,” I cringed.

“It’ll be fine. Looks okay to me,” he said, examining for loose or exposed wires.

“Nope, she stays here,” I said firmly. “One of these days we’ll get her checked out, then we’ll talk.”

A month later I hired a man to help me sew my purses. Frustrated with how poorly my more advanced machines were performing, I figured maybe it was simply a problem of me not being strong enough. Perhaps someone with experience in sewing heavy fabrics and leather might be more able to get through the process. Jacob had that experience in spades and lived within bicycling distance.

On his first visit to the home studio, Jacob asked about my machines. I showed him the Pfaff I’d been using, plus the Janome and other Singer I had on a shelf.

“And then there’s this one, but I think she’s too old to be much use.” I cleared off the stack of books, flipped open the lid and let Jacob take a look.

“Nope, this one’s good to go. Set it up over there by the window where the light is good. This is the one I’ll use.”

Well okay, then.

Next up, Part III, where she shows us what she’s got.

The Old Girl, part I

She’s a gem, my old girl.

My son and I found this beauty one afternoon while driving through our Central Oregon neighborhood looking for garage sales. I was seeking a small table for the kitchen telephone. Spotting a likely subject in a yard three blocks from our house, we stopped to take a look. Lo and behold, the table turned out to be more than we’d first thought.

“This was my great aunt’s,” the man of the house told us as he flipped the table top up and exposed the distinctive black and gold sewing machine encased within. “She passed away a few years back, and no one in the family sews, so we’re getting rid of it. It works, I think. At least it turns on.”

“I was really just looking for a table, but this is nice.”

“Do you sew?” He seemed eager for a sale.

“Yes, but I already have several machines. More than I can use, actually.” Lies, all lies. One can never have enough.

“Honey,” the man called back through the garage to his wife, “how much did we want for the sewing machine?”

“Fifteen dollars?” she called back.

My son looked me in the eye using his Jedi mind skills and not saying anything out loud. We are getting this now, he told me.

Well of course we were.

yep, more sashiko

I got this little beauty in the mail a few days ago from someone who has been incredibly patient and understanding with me over the past year. I count my blessings every day for the people who put up with me, even the ones I only know through the internet.

It’s a pillow made from one of the little sashiko kits I sell in my shop! When people ask me “what can I do with the kit?” I usually suggest just stitching it together as a flat cloth as shown in the Olympus sashiko craft books, but this is just sweet as can be. I will be bringing it to show at upcoming classes so you can get an idea of well these kits can work as pillows.

Pardon my photography skills (or lack thereof), I ran outside to photograph it in the morning sunlight, of which we get very little during this time of year.