A Group of Textiles: Mended and Botanically Dyed Cotton

green pieces: mid twentieth century
yellow piece: late nineteenth, early twentieth century

green pieces: 26 1/2" x 6 1/2" and 18" x 14 1/2", 67 cm x 16.5 cm and 45.75 cm x 37 cm
yellow piece: 12 1/4" x 12", 31 cm x 30.5 cm

Shown here are three pieces of cloth--two of them mended and one of them dyed in natural dye stuff.

The two mended pieces seem to be a blend of wool and cotton as each shows sprays of small moth eaten areas--but each is really interesting for its wonderful patching and stitching, and for its unusual color, a kind of electric moss green, or a khaki/chartreuse.

The cotton piece is hand woven from hand spun cotton yarns and it is dyed in a botanical dyestuff, either turmeric, kihada (a kind of native Japanese plant bark) or gardenia seeds--but most likely the dye is turmeric.  This cloth likely dates to the late nineteenth century.

Together these three cloths create a wonderful color story, probably evoking early spring.

Lovely.