WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE LOOK AND FEEL OF THESE OLDER JAPANESE TEXTILES?
Since 1998 on yokodana.com we have been selling mostly bulk kimonos in 10lbs lots, as well as select, and often rare, vintage Japanese textiles - kimono fabrics by yard or piece. We have accumulated these pieces over the years in the course of picking and sorting for our bulk kimonos, and we recently realized that we have far more pieces in our stash than we can ever realistically add to the site under our current staffing arrangements (My husband, Dana, and I). On top of that, we routinely acquire more and more of these special old fabrics from our Arai-Hari Cleaner sources in Japan and add them to our fabrics-by pieces sections regularly.
WHO USES THESE OLD KIMONO FABRICS?
These are very popular with our quilters, costume & fashion designers, as well as sewing enthusiasts, couturière(s) of many stripes, and textile and multi-media artists. In short, we are honoured to serve those whom we call affectionately 'creative types' : folks who love to take the special beauty of older Japanese fabrics and designs from another time, and give them new life and expression in the 21st Century.
So, just who uses yokodana.com's old Japanese fabrics?
Here's our running list of just some of the ways that our customers have told us that they have used our vintage Japanese fabrics creatively (From our special FAQ Page):
- Table Runners
- Centerpiece for Table (maruobi tied into ribbon)
- Place Mats
- Coasters
- Frame border, or frame and make a picture out of it(fabric piece)
- Matting for pictures/framing
- Wall hanging
- Window Treatment (swags, curtains)
- Clothing items (many types, such asvest, or as part of other accessory or built into garments)
- Handbags/purses
- Luggage rack (placed over a folding wooden frame luggage stand)
- Coffee table (used wooden stand, placed obi, then glass top)
- Pillows, cushions Just wear them as obi!
- "Katana" bag (samurai sword holder)
- Tote bag
- Cabinetry, as runner in groove of sliding door of antique cabinet
- Furniture (hand-made chairs and benches; reuphostering)
- High end fashion designers used kimono silks in making one-of-kind designer dresses, garments, accessories(Europe, India, China)
- High end women's high-heel shoes(UK)
- Dyers and mixed media artists used kimono fabrics in their artwork and projects
- Laptop computer bags
- Costume Face Mask
- Lamp Shade
- Anime Cosplay Costumes
- Rock n Roll Singer-Songwriter Wears on-stage when performing
- 18th Century Boys Suit
- Period Re-enactors Costumes
- Bowties
- Hair Accessories, broaches, pins
- COVID19 Face Masks
- Wedding Dress made from vintage furisode kimono
If you know of a use that you've made of something you got from YokoDana Kimono, and it's not our our list, please drop us a line, even send us pics. We love to see/hear about them.
Below are samples of the wide variety of kimono fabric pieces offered on yokodana.com:
