Boro Boro

I visited this exhibition last week and was inspired by the intricate stitching of the garments that were up cycled from 100 year old futon covers and duvet covers and turned into work wear. This type of make do and mend was prominent in the north of Japan as linen was very prized as only made in the south and was also difficult to obtain due to difficult trading routes . They would say that if a large bean ( like a kidney bean size) could be covered still with old cloth then it was worth keeping. They coloured their cloth in indigo dye which has a strong absorbance into linen and is also very colour fast.

During the Edo period the Japanese underclass were not allowed to wear clothing that was ornate in any way so decorated their cloth with beautiful stitches. This was not only nice to look at but added strength to the cloth.