December

1. From our kimono photo shoot.

2. Zolie, an exchange student from HV Skola (Sweden) wove an obi! There is a little samurai under the cherry tree (left).

3. We had a one-day Japanese bookbinding workshop. Students used their own woven fabric. Japanese post with photos here!

4. Testing colors.

November

1. The leaves are turning color so quickly.

2. Handwoven kimono and obi. You can see the same obi on another kimono here.

3. Emelie (Sweden) checking her weft kasuri thread in the Foundation Kasuri Course. Can you see the  white section on the weft?

4. Johanna (Estonia) using the Nassen technique in the Applied Kasuri Course. This turned into a lovely scarf.

October

1. We are very happy to have five international students this autumn! Here is Jenny (Australia) chaining her warp for her structure sample in the Beginners Course.

2. Emelie and Linnea (Sweden) finishing their first kasuri pieces in the Foundation Kasuri Course.

3. 2nd year student Atsushi Sato's work has been selected to exhibit at Miniartextil Como (Italy).

4. Beautiful, beautiful Gabbeh carpets from Yukihiko Henmi's lecture. Mr. Henmi is the owner of the carpet store, Jahan.

September

1. Dyeing

2. 2nd year students' shifu class (Japanese blog post with photos here).

3. The cloth woven in the backstrap weaving class is now a book cover! -Rei Shibata (Japanese blog post here)

4. 1st year students warping to weave a cloth 7 meters long, which will become a furoshiki (wrapping cloth).

5. Natural dyeing workshop. Our indigo plants beside the dyeing room have been thriving, and we were able to pick over 1kg of fresh leaves. Our last batch this year!

August

1. 2. 2nd year students are studying the history and techniques of backstrap weaving from Makoto Kyota (Maya textile researcher).

3. 1st year students are learning how to spin yarn.

July

1. Fruit punch to celebrate Tanabata (July 7).

2. Leno weave class (2nd year).

3. Kanako Sakae's (1st year) Rabari embroidery replica from Needlework class by Yoko Ueba (Assistant Professor at the National Museum of Ethnology). You can see the original piece in the Japanese blog post here.

4. 5. Two 2nd year students are back from their internship at Kawashima Selkon Textiles. Japanese blog posts: 1 Rie Yamamoto  2 Namiko Kobayashi

June

1. Tapestry weaving class (1st year). They are working on their first piece and learning the basic techniques.

2. Critique for the 2nd year students' rugs using Shihoko Fukumoto's fabric remnants (you can read a little more about the project here). The chosen students will be creating a final piece for Ms. Fukumoto's villa.

3. Patricia from HV Skola has finished her Kasuri courses at KTS. Here is a photo of her with her Nassen Gasuri (stencil dyeing kasuri) scarf.

4. The indigo plants have grown (you can see photos from April here)!

May

1. Plowing the garden for marigolds and chamomiles. We will be using them for natural dyeing!

2. 1st year students are studying weaving structures on the Finnish countermarch looms.

3. 2nd year students warping raw silk for shawls.

4. Mika Naruto (technical study course).

April

1. Our indigo seeds have sprouted! They will be used in July in the Shifu 2 workshop and Natural Dyeing workshop.

2. Backstrap weaving class (1st year)

3. Second year students are making sakiori (rag weaving) samples using fabric remnants from artist Shihoko Fukumoto's work. They were originally made for patch cloths.

4. Nassen Gasuri (stencil dyeing kasuri) class (2nd year)

March

1. graduation exhibition
2. 1st year students working on their independent projects during the exhibition
3. Rie Yamamoto (1st year)
4. wild monkeys (*please be careful)

February

1. final critique
2. group project (1st year)
3. Fumino Hirose (2nd year)
4. Namiko Kobayashi (1st year)