Tour No.05 "Sakiori in Nishinomiya"
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Date : 2006.4.11
Location : Nishinomiya
We always saw Gramma Ashiwa at a monthly antique kimono auction in Kyoto.
She always buys old ai dyed cotton fabrics. We didn't know much about her,
and one day she offered sakiori fabrics, which she said she wove herself.
They had exceptionally beautiful ai colors and delicate textures, and many
bidders surprised with their beauty.
At that time we couldn't win her sakiori fabric, but later we asked her to weave more for our customers. She selects carefully natural ai dyed cotton fabrics among lots of vintage fabrics. She sends warp threads to an ai dyer in San'in district, and asks them dye with pure natural ai. She tears cotton fabrics, and weaves one thread by one thread. In a month she only can weave one or two fabrics, but her elaborate work and careful material selection make her sakiori fabric exceptionally beautiful. We have sold her sakiori fabric at Ichiroya site, but this time we visited her workshop and introduce her technique and about herself.
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In olden times people weren't allowed to use fabrics and threads in clover.
Wives and mothers tried to make beautiful fabrics from well-worn kimono
and rags. Fabrics were more precious, and in some districts young women
were taught like this, 'Never abandon fabric if it is more larger than
the fabric, which can wrap three small red beans'. People had to weave
from the material which they had in their houses. They tore the used kimono
and rags, wove one thread by one thread, tried to blend their favorite
colors, and finally found their original colors and textures.
Gramma Ashiwa was enchanted by such sakiori fabric, and has woven for 20
years.
We only knew her ai color and Oshima brown color sakiori fabrics, she showed
me more various sakiori works.
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Gramma Ashiwa is weaving--
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Colorful sakiori works of her.
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She uses not only ai dyed cotton, but also uses meisen and other old kimono
fabrics.
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To weave beautiful sakiori like these pieces, weaver must not only know
about material, but also have good sense of color and design.
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We really wish she had more time to weave! We hope we offer more various
color fabrics of her works if she could!
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Beautiful details - real one is more beautiful than photos.
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These ai color sakiori have different designs.
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Gramma Ashiwa tress various designs with ai cotton fabrics.
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Bats made of her sakiori fabrics. Beautiful!
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Copyright 2006 ICHIROYA Inc. All Rights Reserved.