Itajime is a traditional Japanese craft technique for making surface patterns by pressing cloth between carved wooden boards. Cloth is pleated and bound between boards, then hand dyed. The shaping & binding processes reserve areas that are recorded as patterns.


When the cloth is returned to its two-dimensional form after dyeing, the pattern that emerges results from the folding and the amount of pressure from the clamp that secured the boards during the cloth’s exposure to the dye. The cloth sensitively records both the form and the pressure; the memory of the wooden shape remains imprinted in the cloth.

The layers of color, wood grain & leather textures illuminate the materials and the artist in surprising ways. Their co-mingling creates a complex and gorgeous memory imprint.

• Made in the fall of 2020
• Wedge bag design by Jill Harrell
• Itajime leather textile by Angelina DeAntonis

Please note that this dye is set and will not run. However, we do not recommend wearing hand-dyed leather with white or light-colored clothing. Repeated surface rubbing may transfer color slightly, not unlike a pair of dark denim jeans.