Japanese Vintage Cotton Stripe Fabric Scraps – Five Pieces of Mid-Showa Indigo for Boro, Quilting, and Slow Stitching
The striped cotton of mid-Showa Japan is one of the most recognizable textiles in Japanese vintage fabric — and one of the most useful. Deep indigo and earthy tones, woven in the stripe patterns that were the visual language of everyday Japanese cloth from the Meiji period through the postwar decades.
These five pieces are scraps — fragments sourced from authentic kimono and workwear fabrics of the mid-Showa period. For those who work with boro, visible mending, quilting, patchwork, sashiko, or slow stitching: this is the material.
The Stripe Cotton of Showa Japan
Striped cotton — shima-ori — was the dominant everyday fabric of Japan from the Edo period through the mid-Showa era. The indigo in these scraps is the indigo of that tradition: deep, slightly faded with age, the color that Japanese cotton takes on after years of use and washing.
What to Make With It
Boro and visible mending: Using these scraps for boro repairs continues a tradition that is centuries old and entirely contemporary at the same time.
Quilting and patchwork: The variation in stripe pattern between the five pieces makes this bundle well-suited for quilting and patchwork.
Sashiko and slow stitching: The weight and weave of mid-Showa cotton stripe is well-suited to sashiko. The stripe provides a natural grid for stitching.
Details and Condition
5 pieces. Size: approx. 33.8 cm × 46–56 cm per piece (varies). Material: cotton. Era: mid-Showa. Washed twice prior to listing.
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Learn more about boro and the Japanese art of repair: Boro: The Complete Guide to Japanese Textile Repair Art →