bojagi – the process
some of these pieces are scraps and some are recycled from clothing, some have been overdyed or dyed with shibori techniques. The kakishibu dyed cotton is old sheeting.
I’m not a quilter, I don’t follow set patterns very well. I go wandering off on my own path, looking for my story to tell.
Part of my reason for wanting to stitch bojagi is to use handwoven/dyed fabrics. Commercial fabrics would be much easier and quicker. But I’ve never been one for easy or quick! Handwoven fabric tends to fray, in some cases with amazing speed!
- there are some rules one needs to pay attention to. Scraps need to be squared. The seam allowances need to be fairly wide as they are stitched 3 times. Some of the pieces are whipped stitched to stop them from fraying beneath my fingers. And, just like in dressmaking, seams benefit by being pressed frequently.
it helps to work in small blocks and then stitch them together. Not being a quilter I didn’t realize this at first. You have to organize what fabric pieces you have as there is no running off to the store to buy more.
Think I’m getting the hang of this. There will be more.
very, very good!
I have been playing with the idea of bojagi, mainly to have a nobrainer little project.
I am a little worried about all this hand stitching: what if I get bored in the middle of the process. Yet I know that this pointless thinking, nobody is going to punish me if I abandon the project at a certain point.
What is certain is that i do not have the interesting fabrics that you have!
traditionally bojagi was done with plain coloured fabrics, the seams are the intended pattern. Many are machine stitched. give it a try, let me know how you like it.