A Superbly Beautiful Sashiko Furoshiki: Plaid Base Cloth and Patches

early twentieth century
52" x 51", 132 cm x 129.5 cm

Please pay special attention to this marvelous country textile--and do make sure to look at all the accompanying detail photos to enjoy its wonderful details.

This is a hand woven cotton, indigo dyed furoshiki, a traditional wrapping cloth, whose woven pattern is a mid-sized plaid in beautifully subdued tones of blue.  Simply gorgeous cloth.

Overlaid on this beautiful plaid is very good sashiko stitching on the four corners of the furoshiki.  The scale of the stitching against the scale of the woven plaid has great visual appeal and enlivens the character of this old cloth.

There are two stitched patterns on the cloth, the two patterns occupying opposing corners.  The angular, geometric design is hemp leaf or asa no ha; the curved design is chrysanthemum, both of these patterns are very traditional for sashiko stitched textiles and are often seen on traditional country furoshiki.  Two sides of the furoshiki are finished with sashiko stitching, the quality of which is excellent.

There are four striped cotton mending patches affixed to the cloth, the design contrast of the patches against the base cloth adds interest to the piece.

Note a 2" or 5 cm brown stain on the piece, shown in the accompanying photographs as well as a bean-sized stain, neither of which distract attention from the overall beauty of this fantastic country textile. Also, there is some light surface abrasion to the piece.

Highly recommended, this is an extraordinarily good indigo dyed Japanese folk textile.