Katazome Box Blouse
Katazome Box Blouse
This little blouse is all Japanese fabric. The white/blue textile is a mid-century vintage katazome piece. Katazome is a paste resist process that allows the dyer to block out a pattern, thereafter dipping the piece in an indigo vat. When the indigo and resist are rinsed away, the pattern remains. It is a laborious process and the artist can only do blocks of the design at a time. The print area can only be as large as the stencil, and they were not very large. Therefore the artist would apply the resist in sections. The blue is vintage Japanese indigo dyed plain weave cotton, also from mid-century. I employed the technique of boro to repair the small holes in the cloth, enhancing the textile and giving this blouse its unique identity. The back left shoulder of the blouse is new Japanese reversible textile made in small batches of very fine natural cotton/linen blend. The horizontal joinery are all stitched by hand, along with the boro repair pieces throughout the blouse. The neckline has been finished with linen bias. Raw hem. Fine-finished seams. 20” long x 20 1/4” wide. Due to its relaxed fit, will happily fit a S-M gal.