Japanese Boro

I have just today been plunged into another new love: Boro. Not glass.... but Japanese cloth.

"Boro was born of forgotten values of ‘mottainai’ or ‘too good to waste’. Boro is the clothing that was worn by peasants, merchants or artisans in Japan from Edo up to early Showa (17th – early 19th century). In feudal times, the majority were peasant farmers. Not everyone could afford the lavish silk kimono and vivid obi worn by the aristocracy. Clothes were crafted from cheaper materials, but were no less beautiful than those worn by the upper classes. Literally translated as rags or scraps of cloth, the term boro is also used to describe clothes and household items which have been patched-up and repaired many times."

Delicious.

Now I know what I will do with all the clothes I've saved that were either stained or torn, but I just couldn't bare to part with.  ...Well, when I find the time!