A Bolt of Re-Constructed Intricately Designed Cotton Kasuri: Stitched Pieces

early twentieth century
approximately 11 yards x 13 1/2", 10 m x 34 cm

This is a very long piece of--you could consider it a full bolt--intricately designed and dyed kasuri cotton of the type made in Amami Oshima which is famous for its unbelievably complex kasuri patterned silks often dyed in mineral rich mud that yields a deep brown color tone.

This "bolt" is stitched from pieces, not many, but on the detail photos here you can easily see that fragments of other kasuri cotton cloth have been stitched onto/into it to create a standard width. Some of these stitched-in pieces of kasuri cotton show some loss or holes.

It is fairly common practice to take apart kimono in order to thoroughly wash them. Sometimes the deconstructed kimono is hand stitched back together again, puzzle-like, to form a bolt. This is called araihari.

This bolt of old kasuri cotton has a great deal of potential for almost any type of creative project one can imagine.