A Beautifully Mended Boro Kimono: Small Checked Indigo

ca. late nineteenth, early twentieth century
51" x 48", 129.5 cm x 122 cm

Shown is an indigo dyed cotton kimono that has been hand dyed and hand loomed: the base fabric is a sophisticated repeat of very small blue-and-white checks.

The interior of the kimono is shown in the accompanying photographs in order to display the marvelous patching and mending stitches that are used to reinforce the garment--and also to show the areas of light fading which are easy to see.  Clearly the original material of this kimono has been re-purposed and re-worked until it has reached this stage, since it appears that what was once the proper outside of the kimono is now the proper inside.

The soft blues of the cloth and the patches--as well as some of the mending thread--is really lovely.  Equally lovely are the patches of layered plaid-on-plaid.

The stitching of the folded collar area has come undone a bit, but this merely shows access to more of the collar's layers and folds.  There are small holes, just a few, one on the sleeve, shown in the detail photos here.

A really lovely example of a boro garment.