A Length of Zanshi ori Plaid Cotton: One Patch

early twentieth century
65" x 14", 165 cm x 35.5 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.

This patched length, with its beautiful, close-in-value tonal variations presents as a subtle panel of zanshi ori.  The hand woven piece of old zanshi ori is beautifully supple and this length of zanshi ori is a good example of its kind.

One cotton patch is hand stitched to this length, the contrast of the applied patch to the base cloth is artful and appealing.

A wonderful example of home weaving, this length illustrates that frugality of materials can also produce a wonderful product.