A woman you know is in love. In love with Japanese indigo print fabrics. Also, the traditional working class garments made of them. I purchased this fabric yesterday, to make a new smocky top, as I have worn the elbow out of the last one!! Of course, I will patch it by hand with careful stitches, for that is traditional also.
The color known as “Japan Blue” has taken the world by storm. Today we see examples of shibori resist-dyed materials as everything from cushion covers to apparel, highlighting the trend towards all things indigo-dyed.
Sashiko-stiched hemp farmers’ clothing Amuse Museum
But indigo is not new. Humans have used this tropical plant to dye cloth pale shades of blue like the sky to inky navy since the days of Egyptian mummies. Natural dyes like indigo and hand-woven textiles have long been a heritage craft in indigenous cultures from the Americas, to Africa, and Asia. Anthropologists recently uncovered the oldest known indigo-dyed fabric in Peru’s Andes Mountains dating back an astonishing 6,000 years. In Japan, indigo-dyed – or ai-zome – textiles can be traced to the 8th century, but peak-production of indigo farming and dyeing was in the Edo period between 1600 and 1868.
It's a truly fascinating article if you have any interest in this traditional process of fabric printing.
The profusion of differing patterns, prints and textures, the precise hand stitching of the repairs and the almost reverence for the whole story of how it comes together is its own sort of esthetic. Well, I dig it anyhow.
And just to complete the mood, the Spirited Away Suite.
In the world of animation, Spirited Away is right up there among the very best!
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