Shibori artist Debbie Maddy loves introducing people to the beauty of Japan through fabric. In her latest fabric collection Yukata, she captures the beauty and appeal of Boro and traditional Kimono fabrics.
Yukata is a reproduction line of vintage fabrics based on designs purchased on her last trip to Kyoto, Japan. It may come as no surprise that the word Yukata is the name for an unlined summer kimono.
Boro is a traditional technique that dates back hundreds of years, and has a significant history in Japan with peoples of lower socioeconomic status—often peasant farmers and the impoverished. People would layer and patch worn fabrics to extend the life of textiles out of necessity to keep warm in low temperatures. These patches were sewn on with a running stitch called sashiko. The result is a dynamic, beautifully scrappy and visually pleasing aesthetic.
