Category Archives: My Work

Antique Japanese Shifu: Paper and Cotton Textile

October 2, 2016Boro, Cotton, My Work, Textiles, Thread and YarnAntique, Japan, Japanese, paper, shifu, thread, vintageNathan S

I found this fabric in Tokyo back in July. at first I thought it was just a piece of indigo dyed cotton, but after picking it up and noticing the texture and light weight I inspected it closer and found that it has a cotton warp and a paper weft. The fabric must date to around the early 20th century.

Above you can clearly see the paper weft threads in one of the ragged ends of the fabric. Below I placed a skein of my handmade paper thread next to the fabric.

While visiting Kyoto I went to Gallery Kei, the gallery had recently exhibited a huge collection of antique paper fabrics. Below is a link to the exhibit at Gallery Kei and some photos of the interior of this beautiful shop. http://gallerykei.jp/event-index.html

Katazome Experiment

July 30, 2016Cotton, My Work, TextilesAntique, Cotton, flower, Indigo, Japanese, Katazome, persimmonNathan S

Katazome is a type of fabric that is decorated through the use of paste resist stencil designs. The technique has been used in China and Japan for hundreds of years. I wanted to try the technique, but felt overwhelmed by the large number of supplies needed. This was my short cut experiment in katazome. I began by cutting out a stencil from some small squares of kakishibu treated paper. Kakishibu is a dye made from the fermented juice of green astringent persimmons. It is often used to dye fabric or to waterproof paper. I copied the chrysanthemum and sea holly patterns from some antique fabrics, and I made a simple rice paste glue by cooking glutinous rice flour in hot water for a few minutes. I left the paste to thicken up and cool down in the refrigerator.

The base fabric was dampened with a spray bottle and the stencil was also moistened so that it would lay flat on the damp fabric. I used a small spatula to push the paste through the stencil before removing the stencil and allowing the paste to dry in the sun for about an hour.

After the paste was no longer tacky I dyed some of the fabric pieces with indigo and the rest using kakishibu. The kakishibu dyed fabrics need to be exposed to strong sunlight in order to deepen the color of the dyed fabric. I am pleased with the simplified katazome fabrics that this experiment produced. I wrapped the fabrics up as gifts with some antique Japanese paper from old daifukucho.

Indigo Plants

June 8, 2016Garden, My WorkIndigo, Japan, JapaneseNathan S

A small bed of Japanese Indigo plants I started from seed.

Kami-Ito, Paper Thread Making

April 19, 2016Bast fibers, Fiber, My Work, Thread and YarnHand Spun, kami ito, kozo, paper, shifu, threadNathan S

Newly spun kami-ito, paper thread, on homemade bamboo bobbins. I made this paper thread from beautiful hand made kozo paper from Korea. I first cut the kozo paper into thin strips leaving both ends attached, then left the paper strips under a damp towel overnight, in the morning I rolled the moist paper on concrete blocks, and then spun the thread using a Japanese spinning wheel. This thread still needs to be boiled or steamed to set the twist. This is my first real attempt at making paper thread.

Reading About Kami-Ito and Shifu

March 28, 2016Bast fibers, Fiber, My Work, Textiles, Thread and YarnAntique, daifukucho, Hand Spun, Hand Woven, Japan, Japanese, kami ito, kozo, paper, shifu, threadNathan S

I recently found these two wonderful books on shifu, paper thread making and paper thread weaving. The first book Kigami and Kami-ito is beautifully laid out and the images are inspiring. A Song Of Praise For Shifu is exceptionally full of information about paper making, as well as, the regional variations and history of shifu.

I have been collecting antique daifukucho, or account books. Some of these daifukucho date to the 1840’s and were used by a lumber company, but most of them date to the 1880’s and 1890’s. In the past it was common for these books to be taken apart and the strong kozo paper cut up to make paper thread which would be used as weft threads on a hemp or cotton warp. I bought many of these thinking that I might try my hand at making shifu using antique paper, but each page is like a work of art and I don’t know if I can ever bring myself to use them. You can purchase late 19th century daifukucho through my shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/luckyredbat?ref=hdr_shop_menu

I recently ordered some beautiful hand made kozo paper and tried making kami-ito, paper thread using the books on kami-ito and shifu I mentioned above. I cut the kozo paper into thin strips leaving both ends attached, then I left the paper strips under a damp towel overnight, in the morning I rolled the moist paper on concrete blocks, and then spun the thread using a Japanese spinning wheel.

Antique Japanese Spinning Wheel

March 27, 2016Bast fibers, Cotton, Fiber, My Work, Textiles, Thread and YarnAntique, Hand Spun, Japanese, spinning, spinning wheelNathan S

I recently found this antique Japanese spinning wheel. I had to beg the owner to ship it to me in North Carolina. After tinkering with the spindle I love the way it spins.

Brown Cotton from the Garden

August 30, 2015Cotton, Fiber, Garden, My Workbrown, Cotton, momen, naturalNathan S

Brown cotton grown in the garden this year. It has a beautiful light color, short staple, and light soft texture.

Strip Woven Project using Hand Spun Cotton

August 23, 2015Cotton, Fiber, Garden, My Work, Textiles, Thread and YarnAfrican, Cotton, Hand Spun, Hand Woven, Home Grown, mali, momen, strip woven, thread, weavingNathan S

I have been inspired recently by African strip woven cotton fabrics, many of which are dyed with indigo. I used my own hand spun cotton to weave a strip 20′ long by 8″ wide. After the strip was woven It was dyed in old indigo to leave an inconsistent pattern on the fabric. The strip was cut into shorter sections and then sewn together with hand spun thread before being over dyed with a strong indigo dye to darken the fabric. The over dying left the fabric with a beautiful mottled color that matches well with the inconsistencies of the hand spun thread.

New Weaving Project: Cotton and Kudzu

October 6, 2014Bast fibers, Cotton, Fiber, Garden, My Work, Textiles, Thread and YarnCotton, Hand Spun, Hand Woven, Indigo, kudzu, kuzu, momen, new, project, thread, weaving, yarnNathan S

I started a new project a few days ago. I used a natural linen for the warp with hand spun indigo dyed cotton and kudzu for the warp. I am pleased with how it is coming along.

Kudzu fiber

September 21, 2014Bast fibers, Fiber, Garden, My Work, Thread and Yarnbast, fiber, kudzu, kuzuNathan S

Over the last month I have been trying to get better at taking fiber from kudzu vines. This was my last attempt and I’m pleased with the results. I gathered the vines from the forest floor where it was easy for me to find vines that were straight and were growing with almost no leaves. I boiled the vines for one hour and then allowed them to rot under a piece of old roofing tin for about 4 or 5 days before stripping the fiber from the vines and washing it with warm water and castile soap. The fiber is a very light golden color and the remaining bark is easily removed.