Because cloth/kimono were/are expensive, there is a long tradition of recycling them (going right back to Edo Japan!). Kimono might be recut for a child, made into a haori, or otherwise altered to extend the life of the fabric. Every piece, right down to the littlest, was reused. Pieces of fabric which were smallish might be made into doll's clothes, small drawsting purses, beanbags, hair decorations or ornaments/charms. This little coral bag probably started out life as a haori. I got the fabric in a scrap grab-bag and sewed it up into a teeny drawstring pouch. It contains my ojami , which are small beanbags used in a traditional Japanese girls' juggling game, called Otedama (Te is the Japanese word for hand). Behind the itty-bitty bag it is a larger bag (containg my larger and less-traditional purple suede gballz juggling balls), made from a panel from a pre-WWII kimono I picked apart (there was too much damage to wear it).
When I see Eiko-san in a few days, I'll have to ask her if she knows how to do Otedama.
When I see Eiko-san in a few days, I'll have to ask her if she knows how to do Otedama.
No comments:
Post a Comment