A Lovely and Faded Sakiori Length: Ragweave

ca. mid twentieth century
72" x 15", 183 cm x 38 cm

This is a lovely, beautifully faded length of sakiori, a kind of weaving that uses shredded cloth for its weft yarn; sakiori is the Japanese word for rag woven textiles.

The regularly set warp yarns are of red, yellow, blue and white cotton which give a large, checked appearance to the cloth.  The weft is cotton rag and the variegated colors of the weft are composed so as to create blocks of color. This wide, thickly woven and slubby cloth is beautiful in the hand and is also beautifully textured.

Note that the one short end is unraveling a bit although, if handled sensibly, it should be stable.  

Most likely this sakiori panel is taken from a kotatsugake or hearth cover. 

Beautiful and unusual.  And recommended.