結城紬 | Yuki-Tsumugi | Yuki Silk | Fabric #16

Yuki-Tsumugi is a type of traditional Ibaraki silk. Traditionally, Yuki silk is made by taking the silk from boiled Cocoons, and spun by hand into Yarn. The yarns are placed appropriately with Ikat (resist dying) being applied to the yarns in the pattern desired and then using the Jibata hand loom, passing these warp and weft yarns through to create the Tanmono bolt.[1] Yuki Tsumugi is often today used for wearing in the winter as it is a very thick, heavy fabric when made up with linings, which does not chime with the Western idea about what 'silk' should feel like. To make one Kimono takes a weaver 15 days.[3]

Yuki Tsumugi Yarns (2017, CC4.0) タバコはマーダー

Yuki was brought into Japan according to legend around the time of the infamous Carpenter of Nazareth, but more likely somewhere between the introduction of silk around 500 CE or during the tailend of the Heian period, around 1200 CE.[2] It historically accurate to begin Yuki history proper around 1602 when it was presented as a gift to Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616). As a fabric, it is rather plain and has historically been used to siginify an 'earthy' fabric. In 1873, it was used at the Vienna World Exposition to identify a 'Japanese textile', and is currently practiced by 130 known craftspeople. These are backed up by the fact that Yuki has been an IICPJ (Important Intangible Cultural Properties of Japan) since 1956.

[1] See Fabrics #2

[2] See Fabrics #3 under TLDR

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%ABki-tsumugi

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地機 | Jibata | Hand loom | Fabrics #2

Unfortunately a quick one today as I have a rather busy schedule this coming week. The Izaribata/Jibata loom (地機) is a traditional loom used up until the Meiji period (1868-1912). The loom weaves Yuki Tsumugi silk (結城紬) which are made in Yuki, Ibaraki, and is a labour intensive process, as with the creation of Bashofu in Okinawa. Yuki Tsumugi Kimono are generally speaking the darker/rougher fabrics you find in second hand shops and are very sturdy fabrics more suitable for damp weather in my experience. Working with this type of loom is highly personal, and allows for more the handcraft to shine through as the fabrics produced are more obviously created by hand in their finishes, which often use stencil designs, which are a dead give away because of their odd-end/fraying effects around the edge of the design against the base weave. 

It is used for tight weave fabrics which are made of fibers such as hemp or nettle. It also does a wonderful form of ragweaving as well which is useful as a winter fabric. The Tsumugi weave is a tight one, with the warp beaten with the reed (the comb structure) and weaving shuttle, in part this tightness comes from the tension placed on the warp by the weavers back! The loom itself when using support items such as a backstrap can limit therefore what pattern the fabric takes at times.[1] Today the loom is still used by some and retains it place in Japanese handicrafts.[2]

Reference List

[1] http://japanesetextileworkshops.blogspot.com/2010/08/backstrap-looms.html

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%ABki-tsumugi

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