Kimono Scarves

river1_7_08My passionate love of kimono began maybe twenty years ago at a booth selling old textiles on my college campus. While the students were buying t shirts and jewelry at other stalls, I stood dumbstruck in front of a small display of kimono and haori (the shorter jackets).  I wish I had taken the vendor’s card, since she introduced me to a life-long passion. The textured rust and ivory haori I bought that day is still clear in my memory. Since then, I’ve sewn many jackets, vests, and bags from kimono silk, but scarves are my favorite. Made from at least two different fabrics, they are great fun to put them together.

display16Twenty years ago, it was easy to find kimono in Southern California. Some thrift stores bought them by the bale. A now defunct company called Textuba held several sales a year offering kimono by the thousands. Now they are much harder to find. Most of my fabric comes from ebay, although I still have a few pieces left from my two trips to Japan.

In the early days of Etsy, I had a small shop for my scarves. Now I mainly sell at a local holiday fair in my neighborhood. I can truthfully say that I’m in it for the fabric, since much of the money I make goes right back into kimono. I will never tire of their beautiful colors, designs, and textures.

About the time I discovered kimono, I saw an odd film by Diane Keaton called Heaven where she interviewed people about their personal visions of paradise. She didn’t ask me, but I’ll tell you here—I hope it looks a lot like a Japanese flea market.

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5 Responses to Kimono Scarves

  1. Beautiful fabric!! I love hearing about other people’s textile passions, like wax print cottons, or the African slogan printed fabrics (Emeleigh at Flashback Summer is particularly fond of these), or vintage feedsack (my personal favorite).

  2. Katrina says:

    Oh! I love them too, although I am trying to resist indulging in yet another textile collection. The uniqueness of each one adds even more beauty to the incredible colors and patterns. “If I pass it up, I’ll never find another like it!” Keep me away from flea markets, Japanese or otherwise. 🙂

  3. Carol Erickson says:

    I loved the Texuba shows and miss them very much. I certainly don’t have your collection, Lynn, but share your true passion for Japanese textiles. They are incredible. I think I’ll join you in your version of heaven!

  4. Lizzie says:

    These are stunning! They seem like the perfect scarves for your warm California weather.

  5. JenO says:

    I’m still coveting my kimono’s from Texuba too since I know I’ll never find anything like them again, but breaking them down into their basic yardage element is becoming more more of a temptation.

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