Mosi Jogakbo (Korean Wrapping Cloths) with Youngmin Lee
I enjoyed a fabulous class in “Mosi Jogakbo” with Youngmin Lee at A Verb for Keeping Warm in Oakland last Sunday. Bojagi, Korean wrapping cloths, are used in everyday Korean culture to carry everything from special objects to ordinary items. Jogakbo, or patchwork bojagi, is what Youngmin taught. We worked with Ramie, a natural fiber that looks very similar to linen. Youngmin was a patient teacher, as it took awhile for some of us to master the basics.
Youngmin brought lots of beautiful bojagi, including this gorgeous, diaphanous piece. It is oh so beautiful in person.
Youngmin’s class sample using hand dyed indigo ramie.
A beautiful table runner-note the charming triple running stitch on the blue border…
Close-up of another wrapping cloth. I love the decorative hand stitching.
You can’t tell from the photo but this piece had significant texture to it in addition to the beautiful ombre.
The details make her work so special. The loop in the middle is used to lift the cloth. Youngmin uses it to cover her tea tray-how elegant!
The hand stitching adds so much texture…
More lovely details…
This piece was maybe 18″ square. I love those colors and that hand picked embellishment adds such a pretty touch.
I had to try on the ramie vest! Youngmin has a background in fashion design. It looked better on her…
My output for the day. It was so relaxing and enjoyable to do handwork. It may take awhile to complete a full piece!
The bat is a sign of good fortune in Korean culture. This decorative piece is called a bat and is not very hard to do. I love the texture that it brings to a piece. Youngmin suggested that we thoughtfully sew each stitch, with our minds on positive and loving thoughts for the recipient of the bojagi. That sounds like an excellent suggestion, especially during election season. I do see myself creating jogakbo in the future. I would love to have some enjoyable, low-stress handwork to do. Thank you Youngmin!
I’m linking up with the party at Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday here-it’s always a great linky party!
So glad to see these Korean wrapping cloths, Jenny. Love the ‘bat’. Add so much. Have to agree hand stitching is so relaxing.
Oh there was so much beauty there! And I NEED more hand stitching now.
I got to see a show of Pojagi at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum in Llincoln, NE a few years back. There were over 100 antique and contemporary Korean pojagi. The majority were from the Chojun Textile & Quilt Art Museum of Seoul, South Korea.
Loved it so much! I bought the catalog, and would love to visit the Chojun museum some day.
Thank you for this post!
It is a beautiful and meditative experience to hand sew Jogakbo. And such a wonderful class.
Oh you know I love that handwork! And it is so delicate. I would like to take that class sometime.
Oh take it, take it! You would love it.
The transparent effects of this technique are right up my alley. I did a bit of pojagi in a translucent fabrics class I took. I learned my hand stitching was not a thing of beauty. But it’s an excellent tool to have in the toolbox. Try it with 100 weight kimono silk thread.
Oh my handstitching was not a thing of beauty. I brought along my 100 wt silk but you actually need a stronger thread as you do a lot of tugging. The cotton wrapped poly (Quilter’s Select) actually was perfect because it’s strong but skinnier than Aurifil 50/2. A translucent fabrics class-sounds like a lot of fun!
I love Pojagi! They are very popular in Japan and single layered patchwork is just so beautiful. I tried my hands on it a long time ago but since I live in Ireland I can’t get materials easily and haven’t done since. You are very lucky to get workshop from expert!
You can do this with sheers Tomomi-that is what I want to try next. Also, you might be interested in what my friend Martha Wolfe did: http://www.marthawolfe.com/2015/12/wild-life-maple.html.