Touched by Indigo - Royal Ontario Museum

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metrically arranged white dots. Two names have been
given to lines of this shape. People living in western
Hunan province refer to them as "centipede" lines;
women of the Bai ethnic group in Yunnan province
simply call them "caterpillars."
The floret in the centre of each open-square
unit is made by stitching and tying. Each centre is
first marked with a circle. The circle is folded in half
and running stitches are made along the semi-circumference.
The thread is then drawn up tight and
tied around the base of the resulting protrusion.
The cloth is dyed after all the steps for creating
the lines and florets have been completed. The
regularity inherent in this overall pattern is offset
by a great variety of subtle shapes and tonal gradations
engendered by the diverse ways the wrinkles in
the cloth are formed when the threads used for stitching are drawn
up. The variegated pattern imparts a strong sense of unpredictability
within a predictable design format.
THIS LINED SHORT JACKET is cut in the modern style. The
front opening is edged with a wide dark blue band having a narrow
silk trim in light purplish blue. The band is extended around the
trimmed standup collar. This is also used as a decorative detail for
the side vents. Five pairs of loops and knotted buttons made from the
same trimming material are used for closing the opening.
The fabric's design shows three kinds of floral motifs. The largest
one is a six-petalled flower. Each petal is first marked in oval
shape on the cloth and each is worked by stitching along the edge
of the two adjacent arc-shaped folds of cloth that have been pinched
together. The rest of the process and the method of making the
flower centre are similar to those described for the line and floret
in No. 10.
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The round flower head is produced in a way also
similar to the floret described in No. 10, except that after
tying at the base the protrusion is further bound tightly
with thread. This extra step creates a network of filaments
in the dyed image and enhances visual interest.
Because of this special effect, women of the Bai ethnic
group call this motif zhizhu hua (spider flower).
The smallest motif is the most popular one. It
has acquired several names, all based on different
interpretations of its image. These include hudie
hua (butterfly-shaped flower), gou zuzhua hua
(dog's claws-shaped flower), and ezi hua or e'e hua
(both meaning wasp-shaped flower).7 This motif
does not need preliminarily marked guiding lines.
At the desired spot the cloth is first folded into two
halves. Both layers are then folded two more times,
once forward and once backward, to form a triangle with an apex
shaped with a 60-degree angle. The apex is then bent down to one
side and secured with stitches forming a V shape. After dyeing and
removing the thread an image showing a cluster of five white oval
spots and one oval spot with only a white outline will emerge.8 This
delightful motif may be viewed as a flower or a butterfly. On this jacket
it is probably meant to be butterflies fluttering among interspersed
flowers. The tiny greyish dots visible along most of the outlines of the
motifs are preliminary marks made to guide the needleworker who
does the stitching. Although not planned for as part of the design,
their chance presence gives a stronger sense of depth to the design.
11. WOMAN'S JACKET, Cotton, 1999, Lanzhou, Cansu province, On loan from
Mrs. Sara Irwin, L2004.7.J, L 615 cm
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