Silk Sew Kit

Some time ago, I made this handy little sew kit to stick into a drawer, handy for quick fixes or mends.

It is quite small as you can see from the size of the embroidery scissors. (Beautiful little scissors, a gift from my daughter-in-law one Christmas.)

The outer fabric is a choice bit of special kimono silk done in the shibori style.

At first glance, it is hard to comprehend how complicated the fabric's construction and dye treatment is, but even after studying all this time, I'm not sure I understand all the process and tedium needed to produce it.

I can't imagine an entire kimono of this, but it must have been a stunner. The mind boggles at the work!

Perhaps it was just part of an obi, the sash that goes around a kimono.

The silk is very fine and soft; of the first quality.

It was first dyed in pastel pink and green background dyes.

Then, using fine thread and a fine needle, the maker made tiny tufts or peaks of fabric. These were spaced uniformly all over the piece so that the peaks stood up higher than the ground or background of the fabric.

Usually the next step is to plunge the whole thing in a dye bath that is of darker color than the sewn sections. Sewing tightly keeps the dye from getting to those parts and they usually remain lighter than the general background colors.

But in this case, the peaks are darker. The only conclusion I can come to is that each one of them was individually died with the light charcoal pigment, using an extremely fine brush.

I just can't imagine the hours it took.

Inside, there are two soft pockets for scissors, thread, a thimble, etc. The pockets are tacked at the center in order to keep things tucked inside them securely.

I had a couple of tiny antique celluloid buttons that worked perfectly here. One is round and the other is an oval.

The center fabric is kimono lining silk made with a faint woven pattern--Another choice piece.

The center pin cushion is stuffed tightly with polyester 'fluff' for pins on the sides and a needle or two at the center. It also acts as a spine for the kit.

Another antique celluloid button is used to close the kit with a satin loop. This one has subtle graining to look like ivory.

The inner lining (under the pockets) was sewn to the outer layer using two adjacent rows of hand stitches to secure the layers to each other and give the outside some structure and strength.

The satin binding and loop was made of a leftover piece from vest-like top I made for myself many years ago.

The top went with a formal full- length skirt of softer fabric.

I still have a few more scraps of this beautiful fabric.

The sewing kit measures about 8 inches by 5 inches and is all made by hand.

There is a softness to things put together by hand that is absent in machine-sewn things. You can coax the shape more easily and shape the fabric into a softer form.

I really should treat the whole thing with Scotch-Guard or something. Until now, I hadn't even thought of washing it, since it is hardly ever handled except to sew something. Will have to test a scrap to be sure the dyes won't run.....