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8025: 1960s Japanese Silk Ohshima Tsumugi, Tortoise Shell Pattern,Grid,61in. AraiHari

8025: dark creamy tan 1960s Ohshima silk, 61in.

1930s-1950s Distinctive Japanese Textiles:

Catalog# 8025
Light Cocoa Browns/Tan Ohshima Tsumugi (pongee) Silk Fabric
Pixelated Weave Tortoise Shell Traditional Pattern

Width: 14 inches / 35.56 cm
Length: 61 inches / 154.94 cm

US$20.00 per piece
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Item Details and Description

Fabric History/Pedigree: Pieces received from a traditional Japanese kimono cleaner/reconstructor called Arai-Hari -- see an excellent explanation of traditional Arai Hari by textile expert John Marshall,by clicking HERE;

For an excellent 'how-to' do Arai-Hari oneself, we highly recommend Kae Warnock's Blog, Chocolate Factotum:

Fabric Description Details:

This silk piece is light-medium weight, textured in light-cocoa-brown to dark tan background with full fabric pattern being a tiny element pixel mesh; elements have slight off-white threads; per the usual Ohshima Tsumugi weave/dye process. The fabric is the same on both sides; textured to the touch due tothe tortoise shell pattern.

Colors: Please use our text color descriptions to complement your sense of the fabric, taking into account differences in contrast and color on various devices.

BACKGROUND JAPANESE TEXTILES CULTURAL NOTES:

There are various types of older Ohshima Tsumugi silk that involve tsumugi using mud, indigo, and grass or plants in the dyeing process.

To learn about the older Ohshima textiles, there are details on that aspect of Japan's special pongee silk-making process which can be found on the National Foundation for Promoting the National Costume of Japan website. The site explains the natural plant dyes and mud etc. used in making older (1960s and earlier) Ohshima Tsumugi silks, quoted here:

Characteristics: A plain woven silk fabric with pre-dyed scoured threads both for warp and weft. The color is refined and calm and the fabric is soft and difficult to wrinkle. Threads are dyed with plant dyes such as "Techiki" (Raphilolepis umbellata) and indigo (Persicaria tinctoria) with a technique, peculiar only to "Oshima Tsumugi," called "Ori Jime." As a variety, an additional treatment is made to the dyed thread by dipping them in muddy water. It is "Doro(mud) Zome(dyeing)." There are several kinds of "Oshima Tsumugi":"Doro Oshima," "Ai(indigo) Oshima," "Doro Ai Oshima," "Iro(color) Oshima" and "Natsu(summer) Oshima."