Kona Bay’s Hana Bashi Collection by Nobu Fujiyama

Kona Bay Fabrics is known for their wide selection of Japanese-themed fabrics, and two prints from Hana Bashi, the lastest collection from designer Nobu Fujiyama, are now in stock, ready for your spring projects. The colors are a bit darker than they appear on the images, and the metallic gold details are far nicer than they appear in a flat image. The blue swirls and waves will look gorgeous in summer projects, and the chrysanthemums will look great for autumn. The cool blues round out an elegant winter look, making this a four-season fabric.

I find the swirls especially appealing as they lend a feeling of movement. Rippling water with tiny chrysanthemums and leaves dance across sun-splashed tones of blue or teal. You can click on the images to see them in my shop.

I’ve also included the blue version in a fat quarter trio with two of Kona Bay’s Ginkgo Tonals (“sand” and “jute”). I think the grouping looks fresh, light, clean, and elegant. The group of three fat quarters is $7.50 plus shipping in the KimonoMomo Etsy shop. I offer several trios of fat quarters, and would be happy to make a custom listing just for you with any prints I have in stock. Just ask! 

Karinui Comparisons, part 2

In part 1 I disassembled an inexpensive kurotomesode (high formal women’s kimono) and gave you a peek at the inner workings, so to speak. This time we’ll be looking at a more expensive kimono and seeing how different the two can be.

Part 2: The Hot Date

Unlike the pretty, fast, and easy Cheap Date, this kimono has some hidden charms and plenty of class. This is another kurotomesode, solid black with five white circles reserved for family crests and a colorful design along the bottom hem. On the surface it appears similar the previous kimono, but that’s about to change. First, this one has a woven design, not just a dyed one. This is not terribly common, so already she stands out among the crowd. The woven details are charming, especially when you consider that no one would be down on hands and knees looking at the hem of this kimono while it is worn in public. At least I hope not. That would be rude. A Heian era scene shows a garden, boats on the water, a daimyo‘s procession his castle. Click on any of the images to see a closer view. Subltle woven details shift to bold red waves splashed with gold. Look at the amazing detail on the horse and rider! Keep in mind this detail is less than two inches tall. And here is what it looks like from the back. Delicate brush strokes in pink accentuate a peaceful sky above the woven scenery.

A bit of design overlap. One of the things about this kimono that makes it a work of art is how even the inner lining is dyed to match the outer. This is more typical in kimono of a century ago or older, but it is not done as often in today’s formal kimono. All of the woven designs go to the selvedge, but there are a few exceptions with the dyed parts. Not all, but some.

Again, unlike the previous kimono, most of the hand dyework is selvedge-to-selvedge, including the metallic gold splash accents.   This crest circle was reserved for filling in later, and covered by a scrap of white silk to keep it clean and protected until a customer has chosen the kimono and sent it out for the crest to be applied by hand. Basting threads tearing apart with the greatest of ease. Stamp noting the fabric is 100% silk and 12.3 meters (13.45 yards) long. All rolled up!

 

So what happens now? Both karinui will be used for other projects I have in mind. Those will be disclosed a little later this year after I’ve had a chance to sit down with needle and thread. If you have any questions or would like to know more, please leave a comment below.

Book Review: Sashiko by Agnès Delage-Calvet

• Sashiko : japanisch sticken

• by Agnès Delage-Calvet with photographs by Frédéric Lucano

• 2007, Haupt Publishing. ISBN 978-3-258-07134-3

• Language: German

I stroll through Amazon from time to time seeking out new sashiko books to add to my library. It doesn’t matter what language they are in, all are welcome.

This slim volume starts off with a visual bang for me right on the cover with a cast iron teapot on top of a stack of sashiko textiles. It’s all blue and white from the start, and continues that way for the next 64 pages. There is a section in the beginning with the usual “do this, don’t do that” graphics, which are always a nice reminder that while sashiko is a technique with rustic roots, it still has rules.

Projects include a selection of traditional geometric designs, a few cranes and the like, and several florals. The florals are based on Japanese designs, but they appear more European to me, and I like the dichotomy. I think I actually squeed like a schoolgirl when I saw “Rechteckiges Kissen”, the large indigo pillow with a spider mum in white on page 16. Even better was “Betttuch und Kissenbezüge”, the lovely set of ivory bed linens with indigo flowers on page 12.

The photos are not unlike those of a Japanese craft book, but darker and moodier with a touch of hope, like a Nordic spring. I’m of Northern European roots, so the visuals really resonate for me. The colors are so cool, but the textiles so inviting, especially “Plaid”, the creamy white wool flannel blanket with indigo stitches on page 30. You won’t find that in any Japanese sashiko books, at least none that I’ve seen. I’d never thought of working with fuzzy or fluffy knits, either, which is exactly why I think this is a book worth having; it stretches the imagination to include a different view of what sashiko is. The Japanese do sashiko so well, and even Silvia Pippen with her tropical designs sheds a new light on this old task, but to take something traditional to one country and make it look like it naturally belongs in yours… that’s magical. I’m happy to see an artist do it so well.

If you already have a working understanding of how to do sashiko, this book will serve as delightful visual inspiration. If you are a beginner and only read English, it might be a nice book to have for later. If you read German, go for it. I took a year of German in high school and barely remember any of it, so I enjoy the pictures and leave it at that. Besides, my German language teacher was Austrian and the book publisher is Swiss, so there may be differences… Sadly, I confess I have no clue.

Olympus Wagara cotton sashiko sampler project part 3

After completing the Persimmon Flower background, I felt the coat needed something. Referencing vintage firemen’s coats I decided to go with a plain stitch, echoing the technique of stitching together multiple layers of cotton to make the coats very thick. Historically, the coat would be drenched in water before the firefighter went forth to battle a fire. The soaking wet layers of cotton would be very heavy, but also protective.

The printed design is of an open coat viewed from the back. With a real coat the back would be two panels of fabric wide, the front two more panels wide. I lined up the ruler along one of the imaginary seam lines between a front and back panel, and started stitching in the area with Indigo thread. Click on any of the images to get a closer view.

Here’s how the work is going so far. I’m rather pleased with the effect. It’s not noticeable at first, but it does help with the puckering caused by all the Persimmon Flower stitches by balancing things out.

My stitches may not be even and tidy, but I prefer the handmade look of this project over some of the more stiff and precise projects I’ve worked on before. The Olympus preprinted kits area a wonderful way to get a feel for sashiko, but there are times I find it more fun to play around with ideas and make a bit of a mess, especially when I have no idea how the project will look until I’m done with it.

Part 4 is coming up.

Olympus Wagara cotton sashiko sampler project part 2

Here we go, on to the fun stuff.

The magic of Persimmon Flower – Kaki no Hana (柿の花) — is how it evolves. Like an actual blossom, it starts off simple and innocuous, then blooms into something wonderful. And it’s all about the math; if you want the blossoms to be bigger or smaller, you adjust your lines accordingly. This is where graph paper comes in handy because you can plot out your design in advance. Obviously I didn’t, because I’m spontaneous like that. Some might say “headstrong”, “impatient”, or “sloppy”, but I like “spontaneous”.

Sewing a straight line on this fabric is easy. Unlike standard Western quilting cottons, the weave is open enough that you can follow the weft. If you’ve never sewn sashiko before and were considering using embroidery floss and Western fabrics, stop now. Nothing beats Japanese thread on Japanese fabrics. They’re made for each other. Literally.

Every sashiko book with tell you to allow enough slack in the thread so that the fabric won’t pucker, especially when turning corners. Do I listen? No. You should see how I knit, too. I’ve been told more than once that I could benefit from drinking a glass or two of wine before picking up my knitting needles because I knit like my project has to hold water. Tight tight tight. Be loose. Enjoy the flow. Be Zen.

Why did I start putting in my vertical lines before I’d finished the horizontal ones? Because I didn’t bother to measure in advance, of course. I could see my lines spreading out wider after I’d passed the sleeves, and I worried that by the time I came to the hem things wouldn’t balance out. And besides, I’m spontaneous. Yes I am. And honestly, I wanted to see how the blossom was going to look. Because I am impatient.

When I reached the hem area and could count the stitches to see they would not meet up as planned, I changed plans. This type of adaptation is evident on many vintage pieces, which gave me confidence to do what I knew had to be done. Persimmon Flower adapts to change so beautifully that it was almost a joy to revise my count and find that with just one altered vertical row I could make it work.


How did it turn out? Tune in tomorrow to find out… and see what I did next!

Olympus Wagara cotton sashiko sampler project part 1

Last year I stocked a single bolt of Wagara fabric. I wasn’t sure if it was worth the investment (they are pricey, even at wholesale!), but once I felt the fabric in my hands, I knew I’d made the right decision. Olympus, the Japanese company who makes all the sashiko supplies I carry in my Etsy shop, has been producing Wagara (traditional design) fabrics for some time now, and every year I see new patterns coming in while old ones disappear. It’s a case of get-it-while-you-can with these, and I will be snapping up several bolts this year.

I listed this fabric with Firemen’s Jackets earlier this month, and cut a panel for myself to experiment with. It sat on my desk, taunting me for some weeks, until I decided to cut it up and stitch away. I like to work late at night when the house is quiet and I can shut myself away in my office undisturbed, with only the dogs to keep me company. Laying out fabric, thread, and needle, I pulled a sashiko book from my library and looked for image inspiration.

The white and off-white Olympus sashiko threads were too bright for the creamy unbleached cotton color of the fabric, so I decided to go with a contrasting color instead. The fabric is indigo with the design printed on the surface, not resist-dyed as it might have been 100 years ago, but this does keep the cost down so I’m not complaining. It also means the fabric is not reversible, but it makes great decorator fabric for something like a pillow or a quilt.

I decided to use Cranberry Red in a persimmon flower motif as a background to the single jacket I’d selected. Persimmon flower looks complicated, but it isn’t really. If you can count to four, you can do this stitch. It starts with horizontal lines in alternating rows, like laying bricks. After the fourth row, you reverse and mirror the previous row. I counted my rows, “one-two-three-four, four-three-two-one” as I went. It may be difficult to see in the images, but that’s probably because my stitches were too small. I figured that out later.

Here is my progress and hour or two later (who’s counting anyway? Thomas was upstairs in bed with a cold and I couldn’t sleep. It might have been 45 minutes or 3 hours. I have no idea. I did spend a while just staring at the piece trying to figure out what I was going to do, but that’s part of the creative process, right?). At this stage it’s layers of horizontal lines, nothing special. But wait until tomorrow when we bring in the vertical lines… then it gets interesting.

Sashiko Patchwork Apron Pattern

If you’re looking for a fun little project you can make with recycled fabric, sashiko thread, and a little ingenuity, this Sashiko Patchwork Apron Pattern might tickle your fancy. I designed it for the Spring 2012 issue of Stitch and it’s now available for download. The pattern is $4.00, none of which comes to me, it all goes to the publisher, so (correction: apparently I do get a portion, but I didn’t know as it’s buried somewhere in my contract) this isn’t really a sales pitch so much as an FYI.

The point of the project is to really get a feel for sashiko. Play with the stitches, try something new, and learn as you go. I had a lot of fun working on the prototype, and I think you’ll enjoy it, too. It’s a great project if you’re the sort who uses an apron in your sewing room or have a child who would enjoy having a few extra pockets for bits of this and that.

Okay, here’s a sales pitch: I have tons of sashiko supplies in the Etsy store right now, and I’ve put in another order to replace all the stuff that sold the last time I restocked, just this month! I used a single 40 meter skein of Cranberry thread for this project, but you might want to mix it up a bit with other colors.

I’ll take some photos so you can get a better view of the project. There’s a lot going on that isn’t shown in the single picture they used for the magazine.

Another tabletop Singer? Of course I’ll take it.

Rambling around the Alameda Point Antiques Faire this winter, I found this lovely Singer standing front and center of an antiques booth. She was a bit raggedy, but the dealer insisted that she would run just fine. I took a gamble that he was an honest man, especially after I noticed the throat plate was missing and he said he’d mail it to me. For $50 and a little extra for the guy who helped me haul her to the car, I had acquired yet another old Singer.

But really, is there such a thing as too many old Singers?

It was a sunny, windy day as I pulled her from my tiny car and onto the sidewalk in front of our house. She looked pretty in the sunshine, so I took a few pictures. Oh look, lots of numbers! And one I didn’t recognize… a number with a letter. She’s a 99K. The K denotes that she was made in Great Britain (which it also says quite clearly in several places but I’d missed in my initial excitement), specifically at the Kilarney factory in Scotland. From the Singer UK site:

The Singer 99k sewing machine is small in size measuring only 12-1/2″ wide, this image shows an early version the 99K (99K21 – 26) made between 1924 to 1954. Originally it may have been hand operated.

The stitch length was adjusted via a screw and the machine did not stitch backwards.

Later versions 99K31 had a stitch length up-down lever with reverse stitch and numbered tension dial – Year 1955

My machine is dated 1954 by her serial number, and she does stitch backwards and does not have the screw, but a lever that goes up and down, which I prefer.

Once I had plugged her in and discovered that she ran just fine, I immediately unplugged her and inspected the cord. Yes, I know I did that backwards, but I was too excited to play it safe. The cord had several nicks in it, which told me that it was due for replacement. The bulb had also burned out and the plastic casing on the lamp was cracked, so I figured that would need replacing as well. A quick search found me a site that offered replacement parts to fit my machine. I placed an order and threw in an extra set of metal bobbins. I also noticed at this point that she was missing her bobbin case. Replacements for those are not so easily found, although I have seen one or two on eBay.

Her faceplate is straight, not decorated with lovely scrollwork, and her gold decals are of the prism style, not anything curly-whirly. But that means she matches my other machine, the Old Girl, a 15-, and that’s fine by me.

The antiques dealer, true to his word, did send the missing throat plate, but it was the wrong one. For now the newest addition to my growing collection will have to sit and wait in the office, looking prim and orderly, and behave like a nice table. I’ll post again once we start in on the restoration project, which may be later this winter or spring. Living in an old house, there’s always something to repair, update, maintain, or fix, and another sewing machine (when I have half a dozen that already work) is low on the list.

Have you ever repaired a machine on your own? I’d like to hear about it!

Closeout Sale!

I’ve been talking about selling off KimonoMomo now for a loooong time, and now I really do need to get things out the door. To that end, instead of offering coupon discounts and such, I’m going to be listing whole bolts at a deep discount. I’m moving again and simply can’t carry so much stock with me one more time. Much as I love working with these fabrics, they need to move on to new homes of their own (hopefully yours!) and become beautiful things, not sit around in boxes waiting to be sold a bit at a time.

So please take advantage of my situation and purchase a bolt or two (or more) of your own! They will be listed as long as I am able to have the space to sell them. My next move may be tricky and I can’t be sure how long I can keep the shop open in the meantime.

[If you're reading this early on Sunday, be patient as I update listings to reflect the new prices. Thanks!]

Book Review: The Ultimate Sashiko Sourcebook

Susan Briscoe is a familiar name to many sashiko stitchers here in the West, and rightfully so. The Ultimate Sashiko Sourcebook: Patterns, Projects and Inspirations (2005) is a book I would suggest anyone getting started with sashiko would benefit from having in their library.

The Ultimate Sashiko Sourcebook starts the reader off with a colorful history of sashiko, including examples of country textiles and black and white photos from the early 20th century, when sashiko was still used for practical purposes, not just decorative ones. Susan goes on to discuss equipment, fabrics, and basic techniques, followed by several projects and a comprehensive section of stitches with instructions. At 128 full-color pages, I highly recommend this book to both new and experienced sashiko stitchers.

Originally published in the UK, I found a copy in my local library here in the US. If you’re stitching on a budget, ask your librarian if this is available. If you’re building up a craft library, this is a good book to have on hand as a reliable resource.

Having a fondness for Japanese craft books, I’ve unfairly avoided the majority of English-language craft books out there, but over the past few years many new titles have arrived on the market that offer Western crafters a comprehensive education on Eastern techniques. Susan Briscoe writes with an obvious fondness for Japanese culture, and I look forward to checking out more of her books in the future.