Checkered Patch

Acquired
Checkered Patch

Checkered Patch is built around one of my favorite Japanese textiles I’ve collected over the years. The fabric is an antique indigo katazome with a very rare checkered pattern, and I’m still in awe of the precision it would have taken to apply paste to every one of those white checks.

There are four patched holes with sashiko-stitched repairs, which feel completely at home in the piece.

With the insert, the pillow measures 9" high × 17.5" wide. The cover on its own is the same size. I pair it with a 12" × 21" insert with a 100% cotton cover and 100% polyester filling.

I backed the antique exterior fabric with heavyweight cotton canvas for reinforcement, finished the inside edges with overlocking stitches for durability, and hid the zipper in the seam for easy removal.
Checkered Patch

Nearby works

Other works from the studio

Nearby works that carry the same language of wear, repair, and time.

Into the Blue

Into the Blue

Into the Blue came together in my Brooklyn studio from antique Japanese cotton fabrics dating to the late 1800s and early 1900s, including katazome resist-dyed indigo and bengala iron oxide-dyed cloth.

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Garden Groove

Garden Groove

Garden Groove came together from antique Japanese katazome fabric with an indigo-dyed floral pattern. I added a single hand-sewn patch and backed it with canvas for reinforcement.

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Scripted

Scripted

Scripted is made from beautifully faded antique Japanese tsutsugaki fabric from the early 1900s. What gives this piece its character is the Japanese script across the surface.

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