Help with technique

[u/TheAlmightyBuddha]

Hey y'all, does anyone know about or how I can find more information about this technique in some Japanese fashion companies that use boro?

Mainly I'm having little luck (I think for lack of proper terms) finding out what it's called and how they seeming blend different types of denim to look flush or almost like 1 piece of fabric as pictured. I can't tell if it's literally just denim scraps that are boro'd thoroughly to achieve that effect or if they piece together different pieces of denim like it's a quilt.

Any thoughts, ideas, or knowledge on this would be much appreciated

[u/tenor013]

Disclaimer: I'm not an expert on the subject but I hope this helps clear some things up for you

sashiko (刺し子): is a type of hand stitching developed by rural farming families in Japan.

boro: is the end result of continuous sashiko/mending. It is the shortened version of ぼろぼろ (boroboro). Which can be translated as tattered, worn out, ragged.

Authentic boro takes years/decades of continuous mending to achieve. A piece of fabric becomes boro through daily use and frequent mending. To the point that the original fabric is so thin and worn out that it will fall apart if handled too roughly.

Boro-inspired fashion is the modern take on boro. It's like buying new "pre worn" jeans with holes cut into them. But the holes are patched and sewn over to give them the look of boro.

If you want to make something boro-inspired. Look up different videos/guides of sashiko mending. Pick out the patterns/mending methods you like and apply them to your article of clothing. Keep going until you get a general look you like. It's the randomness of the patchworks that gives the fabric its beauty.

You can find more information on the history of boro in the video linked below. The YT channel also has some tutorials on different sashiko patterns. Their website also has more articles on the topic of sashiko and boro.

YT Video link: https://youtu.be/Gcc-WmZRGdA

Website link: https://upcyclestitches.com/category/all-posts/boro/

[u/TheAlmightyBuddha → u/tenor013]

I understand both Sashiko and Boro. This is not what I'm asking for help in. My question is the specific technique in which seasoned brands that are known for their Boro/Sashiko like Kapital Jeans or even Paradoxe make different denim patches/scraps look physically blended together like they are 1 seamless piece of fabric.

Upon further inspection (on Kapital Jeans) it looks like the blending effect mostly comes from seeing the pieces from afar but I swear some of the pieces have mending techniques that make 2 different denims look like they are 1 fabric

[u/tenor013 → u/TheAlmightyBuddha]

oh that's what you meant. Sorry about that!

For specific methods on how to recreate their looks. It looks like it was done all on a sewing machine. Some of the seams in the fabric look like the base material was patched before assembling the finished piece.

In the third image you shared. It looks like they took cotton scraps and tacked them directly to the base fabric with straight and zigzag stitches. Then they gave everything long straight stitches for that sashiko look.

Same with the second image. They tacked down worn fabric layered on top of each other. Before sewing over top of everything with long evenly spaced stitches.

In the second image some of the straight sashiko stitching wrap around the edges of the pocket. So the base material was probably prepared before assembling the jacket, jeans etc

If you want to try it with existing jeans or jacket. Start with tacking down some torn/worn fabric in place. If you're covering a hole use some fusible interface as backing to support the fabric. Then sew over the area with a matching thread to secure everything without standing out too much. As a final step go over the area again with a different thread color in evenly spaced straight lines for a sashiko look. You can play around with different fabric textures, bleach/dye, and thread color for a unique look.

Below are two YT videos on how to use a sewing machine to mend large areas similar to the ones in your photos. It's a lot of back and forth on the sewing machine. And in the cuff repair video they use thick cotton strands to bridge the gap similar to the third image you shared. Where it looks like they used a coarse linen to back the base fabric.

Video 1 Jean Repair with Machine: https://youtu.be/zkyl9REo_wc

Video 2 Cuff repair with Machine: https://youtu.be/4yqDjClcEaM

[u/TheAlmightyBuddha → u/tenor013]

thank u! this was informative! u can see in the second photo at the top and on the pocket hot the black and grey parts blend so nice. I'm assuming those pieces are frayed as much as possible and mended with extreme skill