A Sashiko Stitched Furoshiki: Large Areas of Stitching and Good Mending

early twentieth century
66" x 65", 167.5 cm x 165 cm

The beautiful and good-sized indigo dyed cotton sashiko stitched textile shows wonderful stitching and lots of it--and what is wonderful about it, too, is that it is equally beautiful on both its sides.

The front shows a mend on the top, left corner; on the back the mending and patching is obvious and attractive. This means that either side of this old cloth can be displayed and appreciated for its own merits.

The cloth is a furoshiki or a traditional wrapping/hauling/carrying cloth. As the corners would be drawn together around a bundle and tied on top they are stitched for durability.

Two opposing corners show two large slices of intense stitching, in fact they create something of a visual channel of indigo dyed cotton in the center of the cloth where there is little stitching.

One corner shows a repeat pattern of the Buddhist swastika while the other corner shows the traditional hemp leaf motif called asanoha. Both of these motifs are used often on sashiko stitched cloth and they are particularly well done here.

In the other corners we see the stitched, stylized petals of the chrysanthemum flower, another well-used motif in sashiko stitching.

Please note that the cotton on this furoshiki seems not to be hand woven.

Highly recommended this is a really wonderful textile with so much visual appeal.