W370xH300mm, China
This shoulder bag is from the Bai tribe of China.
Composed of embroidery, patchwork, though colourful has a beige handwoven cloth as the base for the bag.
White is the colour for the Bai tribe (Bai meaning white), they based their costume on this colour, the noblest of colour.
W820xL130mm, China
This is a section of a patchwork from the Miao tribe. I find the creatures on the patchwork processing a lot charm, as this is handmade even if they are the same kind, are different. This simple beauty is already hard to find in the digital age.
On this patchwork there are flowers, butterfly, fish, birds and dragons. The Miao believes that creatures are interchangeable; a man can become a dragon and vice versa, fish butterfly, flowers and bird can also turn into dragon. Recorded in one of the ancient songs, the butterfly has 12 sons, they had a fight and the water dragon was chased away. He escaped through the waterways and into the ocean, then he realised he has forgotten to bring his money! The fish surrounded his and offered him the money and he was able to become the king of the ocean. There used to be a lot of these ancient songs which get passed down by mouth through generations, sadly only 12 songs were left.
Fabric lovers! For the joint venture of Soil X Mountain Folkcraft, Something Old Something New, Mountain Folkcraft is holding a fabric exhibition. Hand woven fabric such as ikat,lime bean paste resist dye, wax resist dye, brocade, tie dye, discharge dye, patchwork. Also featuring are the creations by artists from Soil; Cotton Car, Denise Chan, Furze and Seung.
Come visit us!
Patch work is a piece of fabric formed by little pieces of fabric. The idea of patchwork started early in ancient Egypt and northern China, possibly because of the shortage of material and the cold climate. It was later developed as an art in Renaissance Europe and then became a popular during the period of new settlement in America. The patchwork quilt at one time was the symbol of reminiscence of their mother countries.
In China, patchwork is called the “hundred swatch quilt”. Upon a child first birthday, village friends and neighbors would each contribute a swatch of fabric, old or new, to the child as a present. The mother would then patch these pieces of fabric to make a vest or a small quilt for her child, depending on the quantity she acquired. The vest or quilt is supposed to embrace hundred of blessins and render the child a happy and healthy life.
Step by step guide for making a patchwork quilt from the International Quilt Study Center and Museum.
W970xL970mm, China
This is one of our baby carrier turn cushion cover series
(x-stitch, patchwork, x-stitch).
Many years ago on one of the shopping trips to Gui Zhou, mother was on a bus when she saw this baby carrier. The baby carrier was not in a shop but carry a baby on the back of a woman. Falling in love with the unusual design mother jumped out of the bus and ran to find the woman with the baby. On closer look, the pattern looked even better, the colour are bright and the design abstract and modern. Mother begged the lady to sell the carrier to her so she can use it as a sample. The lady was very reluctant, as the baby carrier is believed to be an amulet for the child, protecting him throughout his life. After much persuasion here we are – a pattern of birds with flower!
W600xL600mm, China
This cushion cover is made with the “seat” portion of a baby carrier used by the Bia tribe. This carrier is made with the patchwork technique, the coin pattern is made by folding strip of cloth into an oval shape and stitch over a colour patchwork. Traditionally patchwork is a blessing for a baby, mother would made a patchwork duvet using clothes gathered from a varies families, wishing the child will have the blessing from these families.
L1400xW1000mm, China
This is a patchwork embroidery duvet cover of the Miao Zu minority tribe. As the name patchwork embroidery suggests, its a combination of both type of needlework; colours are created by the patchwork and the detail added in by the embroidery. The Miao has their own individual language but not an individual text; their history is passed down the generations by word of mouth in form of songs or as a design on their embroidery. The story is symbolised by the pattern of the embroidery, for example in this work, bird = happiness and freedom, flower = young girl, butterfly = mother, dragon = power, etc.
Mountain Folkcraft 