OverDressed for Life

Illustration by Jessica Lanan from Good Fortune in a Wrapping Cloth. (Shen’s Books)

Feel the fabrics … Ramie, light and easy to stitch. Cotton, cool in summer and warm when quilted for winter. Hemp, strong like an iron kettle. Choose fabrics of the same weight and place them in matching piles … Colors should blend like blues in the sky and yellows in the sunrise over mountains or contrast like purple and gold in iris flowers. 

From the picture book Good Fortune in a Wrapping Cloth by Joan Schoettler. Illustrations by Jessica Lanan.

It’s a treat for me when I find a quote for OverDressedforLife in unexpected places.

Bojagi, image from Ewha Women’s University Museum.

Wrapping cloth, called bojagi in Korean, is traditionally made from fabric remnants and then used for many a practical purpose such as gift wrap, covering plates of food, bags for storage or transport. What a charming and environmentally friendly alternative to paper and plastic.

Bojagi is similar to western quilts but in my opinion much more interesting in terms of the fabric and the very different techniques used.

I learned about bojagi on a textile trip to Seoul, South Korea last fall. The craft of bojagi has been around a long time and was commonly used in the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). It fell out of favor mid-20th century but as with many traditional Korean crafts, it is making a comeback as a serious art form.

Intrigued by this craft, I’m taking a basic bojagi class with Korean textile artist Youngmin Lee. It’s always such fun trying something new and I’m interested to see how bojagi might be used in fashion.

Wish me luck!