After discovering Japanese Boro we thought our baize offcuts and remnants would make a luxury raw material to use with this ancient Japanese craft.

What is the Japanese craft of Boro?

Boro is an ancient Japanese textile craft that is highly relevant today. In a world where we need to be re-using and recycling more than we do. Boro is a form of textile upcycling. Taking old and worn pieces of cloth and stitching them together. The resulting patchwork, being a new garment, greater than the sum of its parts.

Boro is the textile equivalent to Kintsugi or Kinsukuroi. Another craft where broken ceramics are repaired with gold – making a feature of the damage. Both crafts follow the Japanese aesthetic tradition of Wabi-sabi or the acceptance of imperfection.

Beautiful Stitching

To make the clothes made using this technique more attractive, craftsmen would employ beautiful Sashiko stitching. The geometic patterns of the stitches contrasted harmoniously with the patchwork of fabrics. These decorative stitches served two purposes. To reinforce worn fabrics and to decorate them in an understated way.

Baize for Boro

In Japan boro was used with fabrics made of hemp. However we think the baize offcuts and remnants we stock would work equally well, especially when combined with Sashiko stitching.

Our offcuts are highly varied in terms of shape and size, which would give your boro inspired project an immediate visual interest. Or if you simply want to practice your sashiko stitching, we can cut you a piece of baize to size. Making a fantastic blank canvas to work with.