‘Boro’ is the cultural and historical textile practice of mending and reinforcing, with its roots dating back to Edo Period Japan, when Japanese women from the agricultural classes employed a patching method known as ‘boro’. This practice involved attaching pieces of fabric to worn-out garments, bed linen, and other textiles to prolong their usage. The patches were sewn onto the garments using a decorative reinforcement stitching technique known as ‘sashiko’, which roughly translates to “piercing with little stabs”.

A number of participants emailed me some photos of their work from the workshop, including completed pieces and works in progress, which are included below. They’re unique in terms of students’ aesthetic choices of what to upcycle from their fabric stashes. The colourways and design choices are quite diverse, which I really like.

Some students took design inspiration from Pinterest, a number of whom plan to incorporate their work into cushion covers, quilt blocks, table runners and placemats. 

I really enjoyed running this online workshop, and I hope to host more soon! If you’re interested in developing your understanding of boro textiles in a face-to-face class setting, I will be hosting a boro workshop at my Brisbane studio on July 19th.