Vintage & Antique Japanese Fabrics by Piece: Other Type Fabrics

7609: 1980s Deadstock Japanese Pongee Silk Ohshima Tsumugi,62inches

Deadstock 1980's Ohshima Tsumugi (Pongee) Silk Fabric

Floral Clusters, Dense Pixelated Weave

Catalog# 7608

Width:14.5 inches / 36.83 cm
Length: 62 inches / 157.48 cm

US$20.00 per piece
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Item Details and Description

Fabric History/Pedigree: 1980s fabric from factory deadstock (Unused, just old from a previous time.)

This is a special lightweight Ohshima tsumugi silk from Amami Islands, Japan. Details on this part of Japan's special pongee silk-making process can be found on the National Foundation for Promoting the National Costume of Japan website, which explains the natural plant dyes and mud etc. used in making Ohshima Tsumugi, 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."

Fabric Description Details:

Lightweight, minimally translucent Oshima Tsumugi silk fabric, authenticated as from the main factory(See labels came with the roll); the design is the same on both sides; The Background color is tan, but the dense pixelated threads are in a light black to gray, so from a distance the sense of color leans towards light gray; 5 inches/12.7cmm diameter floral orbs are in alternating 1 to 2 per row running the length of the fabric(warp); flowers are in the following colors: orange, orange-red, green, white, and dark lavender;

NOTE: While Ohshima Tsumugi pongee silk of this time is known for its patterns rendered using tiny pixelated micro-dots in grid patterns, this one uses variable densities of the gray-black threads(dots) to create pond designs, and, if looked at closely, there are also thin darker straight lines flowing down the full length (please view closeups);

The nature of the weave is such that the fabric is smooth and has slight sheen; same on both sides.

Recommended for making scarf/accessories.

NOTE: All designs are the result of a pixelated effect: tiny pixelated lines, and dots, created in the weaving/dyeing process (please see closeups); selvage on both sides is .375 (3/8)inch (9.53mm); fabric is slightly stiff, minimal drape.

Colors: Please use our text color descriptions to complement your sense of the fabric due to differences in contrast and color on different devices.

Condition: EXCELLENT,

Popular with our antique Japanese textile aficionados and collectors.