I've started turning up the bottom hem on the back to letting it catch as I stitch. The back is really, really close to being finished. I can't remember if I've already noted this or not, but the woven stripe, second from the right is from a piece of handwoven cotton I picked up in the water village of Zhujiajiao, about an hour outside Shanghai. The shop is owned by a husband and wife who weave all the cloth and sell it from the shop. While I went to Mandarin school and tried my best to learn the language, I didn't have anywhere near enough to get their story, which I would have loved to learn. I really wanted to know how long they'd been there, where they'd learn to weave. Here's a photo of them measuring the very cloth I used on the back of my jacket. I used the bulk of it to cover an upholstered headboard, but of course saved every scrap. I know wish I'd bought much more, and may try to find someone to go back for me and see if they're still there.

Buying handwoven cotton stripe in Zhujiajiao, China