CHERRY BLOSSOM COAT

ABOUT

650 x 1000mm

Recycled clothing

2021

A visible mend on a stained coat that used to be a go-to. After some shellac stains refused to wash out of the coat, I stubbornly wore it anyway knowing it wasn't really dirty, concealing stains near my belt. After a trip to Japan, and encountering the classic sakura motif graphic applied on tickets, stamps, lanterns, guidebooks and textiles, I covered up the stains with them to improve the appearance of the plain grey coat.

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PROCESS

1. Identify the stains you want to cover up, and what pattern and colours would suit the garment best. I used: fabric paint (or acrylic paint mixed with fabric medium) in black and pink (I mixed red and white to make different shades); and 1 strand of embroidery floss (or 1 thread doubled up through the needle) in maroon.

2. With pink fabric paint, paint your flowers in various sizes over as much of the stained area as you can. To draw the classic sakura shape, start by drawing a thin 'V' at the end of the five petals (you can draw a 5 pointed star or pentagram to get the spacing) . Then draw curves from either end of the Vs back toward the centre until they meet. Then fill in the shape with paint.

Step 2. Paint the flowers

3. Draw branches around the flowers carefully with black fabric paint, ensuring the remaining stains are covered.

4. Embroider an asterisk onto the centre of each flower with maroon floss or thread. To make it look more like stamen, at the end of each point on the asterisk, pull your thread up immediately to the left of the line, and back down immediately on the other side of the right of the line, creating a small rounded tip.

Step 3. Paint the branches

Step 4. Embroider the stamen