A Safflower Dyed Partial Kimono Lining: Hand Spun Cotton

early twentieth century
23 3/4" x 34", 60 cm x 86.5 cm

This is a partial lining from a girl's kimono: it consists of six panels of hand spun, hand woven cotton that are hand stitched together and dyed in benibana or safflower dye.

Safflower dye is light fugitive and not terribly stable but it produces many tones and shades of color from a pale yellow to this kind of almost-shocking pink.

The color here is faded as is clearly visible from looking at the detail photos and both sides of this partial lining are shown in order to see that one side is more faded and worn than the other.

Still this is a very good-sized piece of old hand spun cotton that is a good study piece for those who are interested in natural dyeing, especially natural dyeing with safflower.

Please note a few small stains to the cloth, one of which is pictured on the accompanying detail photos.