In the last few posts we looked at innovative systems to make garments, but also at recycling textiles. So let’s restart the week from there with a couple of brief inspirations – the first picture refers to the Korean bojagi or pojagi, a traditional Korean wrapping cloth.
Made from a variety of materials, including silk, this traditionally square cloth can also be made with patchworked or scrapped materials. In this case it is known as min-bo or chogak bo, and it is made with small segments ("chogak") of fabric, such as those left over from cutting the curves in traditional hanbok clothing.
These textiles were mainly employed to cover food, wrap gift in weddings or in Buddhist rites, as traditional Korean folk religions believed that keeping something wrapped brought good luck.
More recently, these textiles have been recognized as a traditional art form and were often featured in museums: the Museum of Korean Embroidery in Seoul has a collection of 1,500 pieces of bojagi, with a particular focus on chogak bo.
The first three images in this post refer to a bojagi available to buy on the Tatami Antiques site, an independent online marketplace for Japanese antiquities that often offers intriguing textile pieces and ideas for fashion designers.
This patchworked hemp bojagi is sold by the antique dealer kikue, but if you prefer Japanese pieces such as kimono fabrics and textiles, check out this obi sash from the Showa period (early 20th century; sold by antique dealer Jinta). This is a peculiar piece because it incorporates a series of obi sashes stitched together and may be used as a unique fashion accessory or an interior design piece.
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