A Length of Hand Woven Zanshi Ori: Slubby Cloth of Leftover Yarns

early twentieth century
54" x 13 1/4", 137 cm x 33.5 cm

Zanshi ori is cloth that is woven from threads either leftover from home production of yarn making, or from broken threads that were purchased from local commercial weavers. 

Usually the weft is fed with these random threads while generally the warp is regulated producing an irregular horizontal 'striping'; if home threads are used, knotted slubs can often be seen which is the case with this length.

This length shows ten white, warp-based stripes which are superimposed over a field of dark-colored, very slubby and knotted weft yarns.

The length is drapey in the hand and is a "classic" length of zanshi ori for its irregularly patterned weft and its highly textured surface.

Just beautiful, and a type of cloth very much associated with Japanese folk textile traditions.