Bojagi: The Art of Korean Textiles is by artist and educator Youngmin Lee. Lee's publisher, Herbert Press, an imprint of Bloomsbury Books, generously sent me a copy for review and I can't wait to share with you what's inside.
Bojagi: The Art of Korean Textiles by Youngmin Lee
What is Bojagi?
Bojagi: The Art of Korean Textiles is a beginner-friendly look at the history of bojagi as well as a step-by-step guide to creating traditional bojagi projects. Bojagi is a creative guide to a unique form of Korean textile art. If you're not familiar with bojagi, they are textiles that wrap, cover, carry, and store objects. These textiles can be whole pieces of fabric or pieced together to create new textiles. This book offers insight into the rich Korean history of bojagi, materials and techniques, illustrated tutorials, in-depth projects to create 17 bojagi projects, as well as a look at Lee's past bojaji work.
Why You'll Enjoy Bojagi
Bojagi: The Art of Korean Textiles is a beautiful book from cover to cover. I was first introduced to bojagi through Instagram, when I saw a gauzy patchwork window covering. Ever since then bojagi has been on my crafting bucket list. While I'm familiar with hand sewing and machine sewing basics, I didn't really know where to start with bojagi. Thankfully Bojagi breaks down the rich history, materials, and techniques needed in an easy to read and engaging book.
Bojagi feels a bit like delving into a thoughtfully curated museum exhibit and a hands-on workshop. I loved reading about Lee's personal anecdotes, like her childhood of playing with fabric scraps and was instantly brought back to my childhood of playing in my own mother's fabric scrap bin, as well as learning more about the history and cultural importance of bojagi. I had no idea these thoughtful and time consuming projects were used as wrapping cloths for daily life (as well as special occasions.)
Even if you haven't tried hand sewing before, Bojagi breaks down techniques and stitches into easy to understand instructions, diagrams, and photos. I thought it was very helpful to include the illustrated diagram and actual image of stitching side by side.
Bojagi includes 17 projects that give this traditional Korean textile art a modern twist. I really enjoyed reading about the history of each project before getting stated with the materials and then the step-by-step instruction.
The projects I most want to try are the Jogakbo Tote Bag (pg 98) and Window Covering (pg 106).
Where You Can Order Bojagi
Bojagi can be found at most major book stores and on Amazon (affiliate link). If your local bookstore doesn't have Bojagi in stock, you can have them order it for you or request a copy at your local library.
***Thanks for reviewing my recommendations. This post contains affiliate links. Should you purchase an item listed, I may receive a small portion of the sale.***
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