Mottainai

Mottainai means ‘waste nothing.’ It’s another way to say, ‘waste not want not’ or ‘reuse, recycle and repurpose.’

For me It means to save and honor even the smallest leftover kimono silk scraps. Throw away my scraps? Nope. I keep most all of them for other projects.

For example, starting with this gorgeous kimono. There was a good amount of fabric in this one. It was made for a formal occasion so the sleeves are extra long. Extra long sleeves, means that much more fabric.

Because they are made to be worn with an obi, there is no need for the design to be in the middle part of the kimono. The obi will cover that area. Instead, kimono design is usually focused on the bottom edge. More elaborate kimonos might also have the designs on the sleeves and the shoulders.

There would not be a wide obi with the jacket I was going to make from this fabric. I wanted the flowers to cover the whole piece.

I disassembled the kimono then arranged and rearranged the pieces to fit the new shape.

I liked the black flower silhouettes at the bottom so wanted to keep that, but then laid out the rest so the entire coat was covered with flowers.

After everything was laid out I pieced and sewed the coat together. That’s usually the end and I’m onto the next project, but with this one, I felt that the pink flowers were lopsided and out of balance. I ended up appliquéing a few pink flowers down the center front. Sometimes that’s all it takes to rebalance a composition, two pink flowers.

A detail to show off the appliqués.

Even though that coat used a lot of the fabric, I still had a pile of leftover pieces. Nothing very big, but enough fabric so that I would be able to piece together another jacket.

I was not done with this amazing fabric.

Such a fun project, to figure out how to make a composition with odds and ends.

The back.

A jacket from scraps, an example of mottainai.

A second example, a jacket sewn from another gorgeous kimono fabric. Can you see all the different birds? And flowers? I went crazy for this kimono when I found it. I used most all of the flowers and birds in this jacket. There wasn’t much fabric remaining besides a few tiny scraps and larger pieces of the deep blue background.

Unlike kimonos which are made from rectangles, western clothes are odd shapes. There will be leftover pieces from the shaped necklines, armholes, collars and sleeves so there are always enough scraps left for a scarf or two.

From the leftover bits of the jacket above, I was able to make a couple of scarves.

The one below has only the parts and edges of flowers and leaves. They’re not easily recognizable and have an abstracted quality. Except for a few flowers and a bird you can’t exactly tell what they are.

I used very small pieces in this second scarf. I love the minimalist look of this one.

Waste nothing, don’t throw out even tiny pieces? I have a lot, large plastic boxes full to the brim. It’s an embarrassment of riches. I cannot complain.

I’m sending you wishes for the happiest and most glorious Spring! New growth, new life and new beginnings!