Boro: And A Story of White and Blue

My new passion regarding Japanese (Folk) Art is a technique to recycle and to reuse tattered cloth. The aspect that, in my eyes, makes these pieces for everyday-use so singular is the combination of extremely simple material and the wide range of possibilities experienced in the use of used cloth and simple repeating stitches.

Boro is a Japanese word meaning “tattered rags” and it’s the term frequently used to describe lovingly patched and repaired cotton bedding and clothing.
The frugal Japanese woman repaired the family’s sleeping futon covers and noragi (farm clothing) again and again by “boro” patching fabric scraps over thin areas and holes in the fabric. Adding sashiko sewing to the repair gave greater strength to the material. Today international collectors regard boro textiles as uniquely Japanese and striking examples of a bygone and lost folk craft.

At a time when Japan was struggling to recover from the devastation of the second World War, the Japanese regarded boro textiles with great shame. These utilitarian textiles served as an open reminder of Japan's impoverished past. Now these same textiles are cherished and collected for the stories they tell and the windows they open into Japanese folk culture and history.

Kimonoboy is an online-shop based in Japan which offers an incredible variety of boro and other cloth and garments. All the pics are from there.

Another remarkable site is Srithreads. You can also buy here and you can find a lot of fascination information on Japanes and Indian Textile Art.