A Two Panel Piece of Rustic Sashiko: Two Patterns on Recycled Cotton

early twentieth century
46 1/2" x 24 1/4", 118 cm x 61.5 cm

This is a two panel, indigo dyed, sashiko stitched fragment which was taken from a larger piece whose original function is not known.  What is known, however, is that the layered, indigo dyed cotton base cloth was recycled--probably from a garment--before the sashiko stitching was applied.

There are two stitched patterns on the this good-sized cloth: on the left panel there is a jagged design that is called matsukawabishi or a repeat pattern of stylized, abstracted pine bark. On the right hand panel there is a repeat pattern of swastikas, which for millennia and still today in Japan are auspicious symbols with ties to Buddhism.

When the other side of this piece is viewed the recycled past of the cloth is easily seen by the piecing of old fabrics of different tones of indigo.

The piece has significant wear in the form of a hole or two--shown--and a section of the layer of cloth on its reverse side is torn away.

This is a beautiful, sashiko stitched cloth with plenty of stitching in attractive patterns.