I don’t want to rank my favorite things in the house (you can hear me!), but our vintage rag cafe curtain panels are definitely in the top five. For those of you who have been following me (thank you!), you know that I have been collecting this fabric for years and years and buy it directly from a Japanese fabric distributor (for the most part, Etsy). When I first started collecting (6 years ago), there was (unfortunately) no big discussion about appropriation and appreciation. We’ve all been fools in a million ways (and we still have a long way to go). But since then it has become a bigger conversation and I have learned and been empowered by it. I worried that my favorite quilted hand-stitched indigo-plaid fabric would be off-limits to me, a white Oregon woman. The more I delved into the difference between appreciation and appropriation, I found that it has a lot to do with context, recognition, awareness, and historical achievement. It’s certainly subtle. As people who do not belong to the culture from which a particular artefact originates, mainly white people, there is an absolute need to be keenly aware of its cultural significance (i.e., spiritual elements, colonial-plundered artefacts, etc.). is in Above all, it is a bare minimum to ensure that these purchases benefit people in the culture in which the work originated. I’m no expert or perfect, but I wanted to make sure this is something we continue to discuss and learn.
Boro crafts have their roots in rural 19th-century Japan, where working-class people patched fabrics into clothes and repaired holes to extend the life of fabrics and clothes. I was. Mostly indigo, plaid and denim, no two are the same. This hand sewing technique resonates with me a lot. Because we are all full of holes and needn’t be completely scrapped, just repaired with love. Works are inherited, never thrown away, and continue to be made for years and decades. It is completely irreproducible, practical and very special. Japanese design and culture are nothing but inspiration, but even that expression feels short and lame.
Good art is good art and good design is good design. When we love it, we should all be able to collect it (ethically), recognize its provenance, recognize its craft, and share the joy. I think there are countless right and wrong ways to do this. The goal is to think carefully and try to financially support the culture that produced the piece (an example is buying Indigenous jewelry from an Indigenous maker instead of buying it from an Indigenous maker) Free places like People). Again, I know I have a myriad of things to learn and I don’t always get it right (and I feel weak talking about it knowing its importance). ), but I wanted to recognize the conversation and know that it was always what we were thinking. Also, if you are a large retailer reading this, please don’t try to make a version of this. It doesn’t work and it doesn’t look good. Vintage/antiques from other countries are not what we copy.
I wanted to display these fabrics in this house, but where, how and what would they actually make sense? but it is not used very often). You know, I’ve been trying to hang it somewhere as a curtain. For use as a curtain, to cover the washer/dryer, under the powder sink. such as vanity skirts.I had a dream that if enough things worked, I would sew them together. Adam Pogue And I tried to make them real art statements, but for some reason it just didn’t feel quite right to me.
So one day, I was playing with a cafe curtain on the back frame of the double window in the living room. These he two window sills are almost 10 inches. This is because the walls had to be thickened to accommodate the tracks for the landscape doors. I tried hanging the fabric on the tension rod and loved it (see above). Suddenly the depth of the window made sense. And while I was finishing the house, I was still playing with vintage rags – pillows? Long waist for sofa? It’s a pillow for the dining corner, but I felt like I was turning something very special into an everyday decor item. So I took Bolo off the phone and when the light came in, I thought, ‘Oh, there she is. It was just SUNG and highlighted in the most beautiful way.
So the problem is that there are two adjacent windows, but not enough yards to fit one piece of fabric. So I tried using two different fabrics for each window. It looked very nice. There was enough to divide each one down the middle to create a more traditional cafe “curtain”.
However, the quilting pattern loses a little of its beauty when bundled sideways. Hanging it like a panel gave it even more power. So I decided to hang it like an art panel instead of a cafe curtain.
I sewed (i.e. glued) a tab to the top with fabric I stole from another rag. And I cut it to a nearly perfect matching size with no hemming anywhere. Had to patch up holes here and there, but that’s obviously part of the beauty.
I can’t express how much I love this result. Love. I also like that these panels do not compete with others. decor view curtains It sits above a scenic door that is bright neutral and more traditional (you’ll see what I mean by public 🙂 ). This combination looks very intentional yet interesting. It’s always nice to feel like you’ve perfected a design element to perfection.
Opening image credit: Photo by Kaitlyn Green
