A Sekka Itajime Diaper: Folded and Clamped Shibori

mid twentieth century
22 3/4" x 12 1/4", 60.5 cm x 31 cm

This shibori dyed gauzy cotton cloth measures, as shown as 22 3/4" or 60.5 cm in length, when in reality it is twice that since this is a length of cotton that has been hand stitched as a "tube," short end to short end.

It is a traditional Japanese diaper and is dyed in the itajime shibori or clamp dyed method.  The cotton would have been folded in a series of triangular folds, then clamped, and then the edges would have been dyed.  The result is this field of blue on white, kaleidoscopic, six pointed "flowers," a pattern that could also be read as a repeat of hexagons, which in Japan represents tortoise shell, a symbol for long life.

The indigo color is a bit dulled and the cloth is in good, used condition with a few very faint stains, shown on the last detail photo.

Really lovely.