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Ichiroya has graciously allowed me to use
images from their site to illustrate my ramblings. This is not
a financial arrangement I have made - I simply believe them to
be wonderful people with whom I enjoy doing business, and wish
to support their endeavors. Ichiroya is a web based treasure
trove of Japanese textiles, antiques, and information. If you
haven't visited them in the past, just click on the icon to the
left! Or, click on any of the images below to be taken directly
to their page for more images and information.
I'm sure many of you have noticed that
bolts of Japanese fabrics come in a variety of standard
layouts-some with over-all patterns, some with segmented
depictions that must be grouped to create the artist's intended
flow of image. Fabric with a repetitive pattern may be easily
imagined into the finished garment. Not so the segmented images
that may be seen in tsukesage, tomesode, and many other styles
of kimono.
Often when a client went to a gofukuya,
or kimono store, on display were a number of enticing karinui,
along with splendid bolts of colorful fabrics. The karinui are
lightly basted garments, with all of the important images
matched carefully at the seams to help the potential clients
imagine how beautiful the garment would look on them once fully
sewn and accessorized.
Did you realize that kimono are sized?
Kimono may be tailored to the proper Japanese fit through
adjusting seam allowances. The karinui stage helps the
seamstress to achieve just the right balance of fit and
graceful line.
Many people in non-traditional settings
overlook the other potentials of karinui. For those of you who
spend hours picking apart vintage kimono to employ the exotic
patterns and textures, much time may be saved by investing in
this stage of the kimono construction. A few quick snips and
pulls and the garment has been entirely disassembled-with no
trace of stitch line. Since by virtue of definition, karinui
have never been truly worn, other than minor shop wear, they
should have no discoloration at the seams.
Consider using karinui to create elegant
scarves by simply taking the full sleeve of a karinui garment
and finishing the cut ends. The remaining body may be cut at
the shoulders, the pieces laid out flat, stitched to batting
for a truly luxurious pictorial quilt or duvet cover. The okumi
may be used to sew shams if you like. There are, of course,
countless other ways of making use of these exquisite art
pieces.
