I love this basic denim dress. It’s so comfortable, but I wanted to change it up a little – without working very hard. 😉 So I settled on this sort-of applique treatment to create my Repurposed Denim Dress.
Japanese Boro stitching utilizes layers of cloth and visible stitches. I admire this centuries-old method of mending. It values the “too good to waste” way of living and transforms it into art. The pieces show a different patina with each layer, and I wonder about the stories they would tell if they could. Check out FurugiStar to learn more about Boro folk fabric.
Learn more about visible mending and boro stitching in our article The Art of Mending: Boro Stitching and Visible Mending, including tips and tricks and how-to visible mend.
My parents and grandparents saved and reused everything and developed thrifty habits. They worked hard to teach these values to their children. The generation that thinks it invented recycling has no idea! Repurposing with the resources at hand was a way of life that nearly everyone shared.
So, with mis-matched cotton scraps and perle cotton thread I arranged the small squares on the denim dress and attached them with a running stitch.
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In keeping with the folk tradition, I did not mark the fabric and left the edges raw – it will be interesting to see what kind of character this folk technique will develop over time!
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