What’s that, you say? Remember the indigo I polled about last week? It’s here. And boy, was I surprised when I pulled it from the package. This is not quite what I expected, but I sure do like it!

Engi mon zukushi translates roughly to a collection of small treasures. What I had at first glance assumed to be small mon (crests) turned out to be quite large ones at 4″ (10 cm) around. That was surprise #1.

Surprise #2 came when I unwrapped the bolt from its cellophane cocoon and felt how soft it was. The fabric has excellent drape and a weave broad enough to take a thick sashiko needle easily, but not too broad to make the fabric feel coarse or flimsy.

Olympus, the same company that manufactures the needles, thimbles, thread and kits I carry in my shop, also makes this kofu, or traditional print cotton. The designs represent familiar and well-loved Japanese motifs, including the butterfly and moon rabbit that I find so charming.

I will be offering this fabric by the half meter. Many of the 44″ wide fabrics I order from Japan have a thin paper measuring tape folded in with the bolt, just so I can keep track of how much I have left. It’s very clever, and the reason why I’d prefer to sell this one in meters rather than yards. If you are troubled by trying to convert yards into meters, just remember that a meter is 3.5 inches longer than a yard and you’ll be fine.