March 28, 2011

I've mentioned before that I like to make tote bags out of vintage barkcloth. Someone who reads my blogs (thanks, Pamela) asked what is barkcloth, so I looked up the definition. Wikipedia defines it as "a soft, thick, slightly textured cotton fabric, so named because it has a rough surface like that of tree bark." In fact, vintage barkcloth was made by beating strips of the fibrous inner bark of trees into sheets.

I associate barkcloth with 1940s-through-1960s home fashions, particularly in tropical, abstract, atomic and boomerang prints. The tote bag I made yesterday (see photo) was created using two different patterns of barkcloth that share most of the same colors. I developed this tote bag pattern specifically so I can mix and match fabrics.  

Today I'm creating a set of pillows. I think I'm going to use a heavy linen and African mud cloth. I'll look up Wikipedia's definition of mud cloth for tomorrow's blog, but "class" is dismissed for today.