Seaglass Window Hanging

For the upcoming issue of By Hand Serial Lookbook #15, I experimented with a different form of quilting: pogaji, a traditional Korean fiber art, created by hand stitching scraps of silk, ramie, and linen together in a patchwork of colors and textures.  Because of the translucent nature of these fabrics, pojagi hangings are often used as curtains or screens and play with transparency and light, similar to stained glass. Traditional pojagi are made using flat-felled seam techniques and ramie fabric.

Ramie - a cellulose-based fiber - was the perfect fabric for this technique, because it is both loosely woven, letting a lot of light through, and very stiff, making it easy to work with and adding weight to the piece to allow it to hang straight. However, ramie was extremely difficult to source - I was only able to order it off of Etsy from a few sellers in east Asia, and even then, it was very expensive for small cut pieces. I had hoped to experiment with naturally dying yardage, but the cost quickly became prohibitive.

However, it was feasible for a single window hanging or two, and I love the finished result. I’ve included some photo instructions for creating the flat felled seams; full instructions are printed in Lookbook #15.