Title: Make Your Own Japanese Clothes: Patterns and Ideas for Modern Wear
Author: John Marshall, Steven Jenner (Photographer)
Stars (of five):
Three and a half
Brief Description: Guide to and patterns for creation of traditional Japanese casual and whimsical clothing, including kimono, haori, obi, vests, hanten and more.
Brief Description: Presents the obi as used in modern interior decoration and design rather than as a garment. Do you know what the seven key uses for obi are?
Brief Description: The colorful and stylized kimono--the national garment of Japan--expresses not only Japanese aesthetic sensibilities but the soul of Japan as well. In this beautifully written and lavishly illustrated book, Liza Dalby, author of the highly acclaimed Geisha and Tale of Murasaki, traces the history of kimono--its uses, aesthetics, and social meanings--to explore Japanese culture. Drawing on a variety of period texts including 17thcentury kimono pattern books, Dalby vividly recreates kimono and those who wore them through the centuries. She discusses the development of the kimono robe from its Chinese origins two thousand years ago to its assimilation as the national dress of Japan. An engaging mix of fashion history and social anthropology, this lively and scholarly book demonstrates in a new way how clothing can illuminate our understanding of culture.
Brief Description: Dramatically colored and finely detailed, the kimono conjures all the elegance and refinement of traditional Japan. This beautiful book, another addition to the popular Images of Asia series, explores the history of the kimono from its antecedents 1,500 years ago, to the height of its splendor during the Momoyama and Edo periods, to contemporary versions by such designers as Kenzo and Issey. Included are chapters on kabuki robes, religious garments, and folk designs.
Brief Description: Any first time visitor to Japan will be struck by that most beautiful symbol of its ancient culture: the kimono. This book contains a selection of the numerous encounters photographer Paul van Riel had with people wearing kimono all over Japan. Although the popularity of the kimono has dwindled somewhat the last twenty five years, the national garment of Japan is still deeply rooted in Japanese culture, as these photographs testify.
In the introduction Liza Dalby shows us how the importance of the kimono changed from daily clothing to formal garment during the twentieth century. Her personal experiences give us a glimpse of the meanings the kimono has for the geisha.
Brief Description: In Design with Japanese Obi, the authors present the obi as it is being used in interiors today, demonstrating simple yet striking techniques for making these exquisite kimono sashes the centerpiece of any room's decor. The focus is on seven key uses for obi that are applicable to nearly any setting imaginable: artistic table arrangements, dining room accents, framing enhancements, and fabric coverings. These and other dramatic and innovative uses of obi in interior design are presented along with such essentials as color coordination, fabric shaping, and accessories for hanging obi. The vivid photographs in this book present some of the most elegant interiors the authors have found, from Tokyo to Washington, D.C., and show the obi being used in today's homes to create a sumptuous, refined, and modern ambiance.
Brief Description: Rao and Mahoney were surprised to discover that their book, first published in Japan and intended as a general background to help the many foreigners transferred to Japan...was a hit among the Japanese themselves. Although the book concentrates on Japanese artifacts, the ideas would apply to any ethnic designs
Brief Description: In this best seller, available for the first time in paperback, Amy Sylvester Katoh introduces stunning interior designs that have successfully blended East and West, traditional and modern. With over 300 color photographs by Shin Kimura, this tour of exquisite homes in the Tokyo area offers new ideas for decorating the Western home. It shows how enhancing table settings, arranging space with carefully selected screens and furnishings, and inviting the season indoors with delicate flower arrangements can create a Japanese aesthetic in the most parochial of rooms. Amy Sylvester Katoh, collector and connoisseur of Japanese Craftss and textiles, includes the latest information on antique markets and hints for where to see the art of living - in galleries, textile and Crafts shops, and restaurants.
Brief Description: Indigo and white. What could be more harmonious in your home? The photos in this book prove it. This is an excellent indigo primer that shows examples of dyed textiles such as tsutsugaki, shibori, sashiko and katazome as well as kasuri weaving and sakiori, a way of recycling old textiles by tearing them in strips and weaving them into floor coverings and quilts.
Title: Omiyage : Handmade Gifts from Fabric in the Japanese Tradition
Author: Kumiko Sudo
Stars (of five):
Five
Brief Description: Bestselling author Kumiko Sudo creates 45 exquisite handmade gifts in fabric, each with a flair that is uniquely Japanese. Easy-to-follow patterns, beautiful photographs, and colorful step-by-step drawings help the projects come together quickly--many in less than an hour. Whether they are created in kimono silks or in contemporary cottons, these tiny boxes, purses, decorative toys, incense pouches, and good luck charms all make delightful gifts.
Brief Description: These extraordinary quilt blocks explore themes and images never before encountered in quilts. Some celebrate typically American subjects like the Cadillac and the Charleston, the Indianapolis 500 and Radio City Music Hall. Others explore Japanese images like the rolling waves of a Hokusai ocean or the delicate rituals of the cherry blossom festival. All of them use surprising approaches to color, design, and fabric that will stimulate and inspire any quilter.
Title: Harmonies & Hurricanes : Color and Line in Japanese Quilts
Author: Kumiko Sudo
Stars (of five):
Five
Brief Description: Uniting the riotous colors of kimono silks with age-old Japanese motifs, acclaimed quilt artist Kumiko Sudo adds her own unique way with design to produce exceptional, eye-catching quilts. Inspired by such traditional themes as the sea, Kabuki and Noh theatre, cherry blossoms, and the imperial court, Sudo's explosive quilts are at once dynamic and serene, imbued with a paradoxical balance of tranquility and chaos, calmness and vibrancy--harmony and hurricanes. The artist meditates on the imaginative origins of each quilt, and along with color photos of her creations, she treats us to pattern diagrams, templates, and brief instructions for seven of her extraordinary quilts.
Brief Description: Combines the traditional arts of origami, sashiko, and flower arranging to achieve dazzling, three-dimensional effects never seen before in quilting. These quilt blocks capture the beauty of the morning glory, camelia, dogwood, and two dozen other flowers. Flowers can easily be combined into a stunning quilt, or simply serve as an inspiration for quilters who want to create beautiful flowers of their own. Includes step-by-step instructions for 30 quilt blocks and assembly instructions and templates for six full quilts.
Brief Description: Japanese-inspired textiles and fabrics are now more popular than ever, but their large-scale motifs can be challenging to use in quilts. Award-winning quiltmaker Kitty Pippen shares her expertise and enthusiasm for Japanese textiles with eight exquisite quilt designs and 40 glorious photos of quilts that showcase the beauty of these fine fabrics.
Contains gorgeous patterns for quilters of all skill levels, from simple linked shapes and mosaics to Japanese octagonal designs and Crazy patchwork
Get a comprehensive introduction to Japanese textiles, such as Indigo, Kasuri, Yukata, Shibori, and Aizome
A special section on Sashiko quilting will add incredible richness to any pieced quilt
Includes special adaptations for common quilting techniques, such as machine piecing, paper piecing, and appliqué
Brief Description: Best known in the United States as tie-dye, shibori is a traditional Japanese resist-dye technique that gained popularity along with other folk art movements of the 1960s and 1970s. With the rediscovery of its techniques, shibori's popularity spread worldwide; there have been three international symposiums on shibori, the last in 1999 in Chile. Artisan and author Wada (Shibori: The Inventive Art of Japanese Shaped Resist Dyeing) has promoted and taught this technique for years. Here, the author outlines shibori's transition from craft to fiber art in traditional and nontraditional formats, focusing on the works of several artists.
Brief Description: Only a fortunate few can afford wearable art. For the rest of us, this book provides an overview of current trends in the field and includes profiles of 39 prominent fiber artists, with generous samples of their work and insight into their working methods. Artists working in wearable art create their own fabric and/or use the surface or contours of preexisting fabric as a canvas for creating one-of-a-kind or limited-edition garments. Wearable art surprises the viewer, whose eye may be drawn to a flowing silk shibori fabric or an incredibly complex loom-knitted gown with hand-crocheted embellishments. Attesting to the current popularity of shibori, much of the text is occupied by garments that use this Japanese technique for shaping, securing, and dyeing cloth. This is a good choice for academic and large public libraries.
Title: Shibori: The Inventive Art of Japanese Shaped Resist Dyeing Tradition Techniques Innovation
Author: Yoshiko Wada, Rice, Mary Kellogg and Barton, Jane Wada, et al
Stars (of five):
Five
Brief Description: This book is a thorough and exhaustive study of the art and techniques of shibori, the Japanese style of what is popularly known as tie dye. What this book will show you, however, goes far beyond the simple craft we associate with T shirts. In Japan techniques of stitching, tying, or clamping fabric produce designs of enormous complexity and beauty. The descriptions are detailed and accompanied by photographs and drawings that clearly show both the pattern and the technique used to achieve it. In addition color illustrations show completed pieces, both traditional and modern. Whether you want to try this craft or simply enjoy the art of beautiful textiles, this book is the one to get. It is unfortunate that it has never been published in a less expensive edition, but there is no other book on shibori that is even faintly equivalent.
Title: Shibori: Creating Color and Texture on Silk
Author: Karren K. Brito
Stars (of five):
Five
Brief Description: Shibori is the Japanese art of what is popularly known as tie-dye. But this ancient resist-dyeing technique goes far beyond the simple craft that is typically used to embellish T-shirts. In Shibori: Creating Color & Texture on Silk, artist Karren K. Brito demonstrates the modern American rendition of shibori, or prismatic shibori, in which colored silk is pleated and tied around a pole, then overdyed. Only the tops of the pleats absorb the color fully so the hues shift subtly to create a shimmering iridescence. The book opens with a fascinating overview of the influences on the American version of the shibori technique. Then, it moves on to explain other important aspects of this unique process: "Dyeing Essentials," for example, discusses how to work with silk and acid dyes, which are easier to use and more environmentally sound than fiber-reactive or vat dyes; "Creating Resists" illustrates several styles of resist, each of which produces stunning color combinations and elegant pleated effects. Each step in the process is presented separately so that readers can combine them to create their own unique shibori designs. What's more, this wonderful guide brims with lavish, full-color photography as well as dazzling examples from prominent American shibori artists.
Title: Shibori: The Art of Fabric Tying, Folding, Pleating and Dyeing
Author: Elfriede Moller
Stars (of five):
Three
Brief Description: Someone who wanted a strong and exhaustive overview of of shibori told me that he was disappointed by this book, as it is fairly limited in scope. However, I enjoyed the book very much for what it is. It includes a number of lovely examples of things that are possible with shibori. You will need another book to tell you about the dyes themselves, but most people interested in this book will already have at least one such dyers' book already. This book is well worth its relatively modest price.
Title: Kimono Vanishing Tradition: Japanese Textiles of the 20th Century
Author: Cheryl Imperatore, Paul Maclardy
Stars (of five):
Three
Brief Description: The authors (founders of Arise Inc., a vintage kimono supplier) predict that the kimono, a traditional Japanese garment, will become increasingly collectible as it disappears from Japanese wardrobes. This book surveys different types of kimonos and other related traditional apparel and wearable art. Over 500 color photographs illustrate the beautiful variety of textiles used to create the kimono, and the text explains the uses of each style. Each image is presented with a date, time period for the clothing, and an expected price range for its purchase. The authors don't cite sources for the information they provide, and it appears that much of it is anecdotal, gleaned from working within the industry. Although the images are appealing, the lack of authority for the information provided makes this a marginal purchase.
