Machine Pieced Pojagi

Pojagi is a traditional Korean form of patchwork used to make wrapping clothes and ceremonial items. It is pieced using a special technique than encloses all raw edges so that the finished item is lovely from both sides. This patchwork is not layered with batting and back and is not quilted. When placed against the light, which highlights the seams, this type of patchwork is especially beautiful.

Although traditionally pieced by hand using a variety of stitches and methods, I've tried my hand at machine pieced pojagi in the past. More recently, I've discovered that the use of a flat fell foot speeds up the process quite a bit, eliminating several steps.

 

If you'd like to learn this technique, while exploring improv piecing, join me for a Machine Pieced Pojagi class at the Overland Park Bernina store on March 4th. Contact the store for more details.

For lots of pojagi inspiration, you can peruse my Pojagi Pinterest board.

Pojagi Revisited

I first discovered pojagi, a traditional Korean style of patchwork, when my first child was an infant. At the time, I couldn't find any explanations of the technique in English, so I made an American hybrid for his baby quilt. I spotted some lovely examples of pojagi on a trip to Korea, but was still mystified as to how the seams were finished.

Fast forward five years and there is lots of stuff available online, so I checked out SillyBooDilly's tutorial for creating pojagi on the machine. My friend Lauren and I used the second method (look for an amazing window panel from her soon), and it's pretty simple folks.I used a moda solid and a cross weave. The cross weave is perfect for this. You want to use some type of solid, because pojagi is reversible. All the raw edges are enclosed, and it is not layered with batting or quilted. So, it's perfect for window panels, table runners, light scarves, you name it. Here you can see the front and the back.
There will definitely be more pojagi in my future. If you'd like to see some authentic Korean pojagi, search for the work of Chunghie Lee.

Korean Pojagi

Korean pojagi is a style of patchwork. It is not layered with batting and backing and quilted as American quilts are (although my American version was, and it was featured today on One Pretty Thing!). There are some great pictures of authentic pojagi online, but I've never found instructional materials in English. Please comment if you know of any.

I saw some amazing pojagi in Seoul this past March. Gorgeous stuff! It was very expensive though, so I didn't bring any home with me. What I can't figure out is how the seams are finished. They are often made of stiff linen and appear almost transluscent when hung in windows. From the back there are no raw edges. Here's a picture I took of some pojagi in a store window in Insadong in Seoul. I love the limited color palette and the use of solids only.

Korean Pojagi-inspired Quilt

It's finished! I'll try to get some better pictures in the morning, but I had to share the first glimpse of the finished quilt.

I had no pattern, so I followed a method of crazy quilting by Weeks and Ringle. The piecing is random, but if you look closely, you can see that the pieces are sewed into stips of a certain width and pieced in a log cabin (around and around the center) style. The hand quilting is also random. I mostly outlined the larger pieces or groups of pieces, but I snuck some personal symbols in too. Can you spot one below?

It was inspired by Korean piecework called pojagi. I don't know much about this style (most sources are in Korean or Japanese!), but it doesn't appear to be layered or quilted, just pieced. My version is obviously a Korean-American hybrid because I layered it and quilted it the traditonal American way.

Here are some of the photos of real pojagi which inspired me.

Hand Quilting

I finished hand quilting my son's baby quilt tonight (yes, he is 2 1/2, but to be fair I didn't start making it until he was 18 months old). I find hand quilting relaxing and oddly comforting.

I'm ready to get this quilt done though, so it's on to binding. I found a good tutorial here. It completely eliminates the bulky ending of the traditional method.

More about this quilt and its inspiration when I have finished photos!