A Length of Tattered and Patched Shibori Dyed Cotton: Indigo

early twentieth century
28" x 12 1/2", 71 cm x 31.5 cm

This charming fragment of very patched and mended indigo dyed shibori shows a base cloth of very nicely done--and quite complex--shibori cloth.

The image shown by the shibori is that of two types of fans.

This length was taken from a garment, the garment itself seems to have been recycled from another garment: the cotton is thin and a bit fragile which is why there is so much patching and repair to this length.

Although small, the base cloth shows very good age and it is obvious it was patched over time: for the most part the patches are of a more recent vintage than the base.

This is visually very appealing and certainly shows the ingenuity of mending and repair in old Japan.