Scrap Happy October
I stitched until midnight – and it still isn’t finished!
this bojagi scrap project was started in July
(click on the link for an explanation of bojagi and how the seams are sewn)
three rows of stitching for every tiny seam has taken longer than than planned
I should have know, it’s not my first bojagi piece
this scarf was stitched in 2012
an amazing old silk shibori piece, purchased at Kitano Tenjin Shrine market in Kyoto in 1987
was the start of the design
it is too precious too cut into smaller pieces
using silk scraps from workshops, dyeing experiments and several handwoven pieces
this is the almost finished scarf
there is only a yard of the finishing binding left to do
but – this weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving -family time
and a dear friend’s 75th birthday – a time to celebrate
so it had to wait
this is what the hand stitched French seam looks like on the right side
and then on the back – more of the stitching shows
(click on any of the pictures to enlarge)
Here are the links for everyone who joins ScrapHappy from time to time (they may not post every time, but their blogs are still worth looking at). If you’ve copied this list from previous posts, please use the one below as it’s the most up to date 🙂
Kate , Gun, Titti, Heléne, Sue, Nanette, Lynn, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy, Debbierose, Tracy, Jill, Claire, Jan,
Moira, Sandra, Linda, Chris, Nancy, Alys, Kerry, Claire,
Joanne, Jon, Hayley, Dawn, Gwen, Connie, Bekki, Pauline and Sue L
I can’t tell you how much I love that – the variable sizes of the pieces, the colours. I can imagine the texture and I’m imagining perfectly light, silky soft, warmth. Love it. Thank you for sharing.
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Dawn – thank you, it is all of those and warm too. It is interesting to see what a few scraps can become.
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Wow–that is a lot of hand sewing! But it really looks so beautiful and those scraps are definitely worth preserving!
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Kerry – it is easier to sewing with cottons but still takes time.
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Oh, that is really pretty. I like the silk starting piece, but it’s all the other additions that make it really beautiful.
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dezertsuz – thank you, of course it is all just scraps so you put together what comes to hand.
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Very, very beautiful. You’ve made me remember a bag of kimono scraps a friend gave me a few years ago. I couldn’t use most of them for quilts as they were silk or the wrong weight of cotton. I must revisit your bojagi explanation and investigate how much silk I have….
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Kate – Many of these are kimono silks, they are the perfect weight but they are so slippery I’ve never been able to sew them on the machine. You are much better than I am at piecing.
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I might well try hand stitching too, if I’m not successful on the machine. But would I not need to sew with silk thread? Also, I’d consider using quilting clips to hold the pieces together rather than pins to avoid marking the fabrics. I think I also have some heavier silk; I imagine it’s from a man’s garment as the colours and woven design is much more sombre and geometric.
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Kate – I sew silk all the time with ordinary cotton machine thread.I’ve never had a problem using pins, any marks steam press out. The seams are very short, most of the time I just hold them together and sew – not using pins. the clips might just get in the way and take forever clipping each little seam. Depending on the age of your kimono silks, back in the shogun’s day there was very strict laws about the colours and patterns the commoners (male and female) could wear, dark and plain. Even today colours and patterns are carefully chosen according to age, season and occasion. My scraps vary quite significantly in weight and weave structure.
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Thank you, all very helpful information. I don’t think my scraps are terribly old, dating from perhaps the 1950s, and there’s definitely some rayon in there too, but they’re still very pretty and I now have an idea how I can use them!
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Kate – you are most welcome. Have fun, it is something you can work on off and on, hope to see what you do some time. 🙂
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