A Finely Woven Hemp or Ramie Furoshiki: Sashiko Stitched Detail

early twentieth century
43" x 37 1/4", 109.25 cm x 94.5 cm

This is seemingly unused, hand stitched, indigo dyed hemp or ramie furoshiki, a furoshiki being a traditional carrying cloth used for the storing and hauling of bundles of things.

The cloth shown here is finely woven and the yarns used to weave the cloth appear not to be hand plied, however, that said, the quality of the cloth is still very, very good.

The resist dyed pattern woven into the cloth is also delightful, it is a repeat pattern of elaborately drawn, geometric starbursts of sorts that very well utilize the resist dyed warp and weft yarns.

On the lower, left hand corner there is a nicely sashiko stitched circle inside of which is stitched a Chinese character or kanji. Please note there are a few, very small holes to this cloth--unnoticeable unless you really look hard--which are shown on a few of the detail photos that accompany this post.

This is a very handsome furoshiki that is made of good looking, nicely woven bast fiber kasuri cloth.