DETAILS:

The Blue Hmong accent pillow features an exquisite hand stitched reverse applique made by Hmong women living in Thailand. The bottom section is ikat from Indonesia which incorporates the warp fringe. Fabric featuring ethnic Hmong embroidery on indigo hemp on the top left is from a vintage jacket made in Vietnam. This one-of-a-kind decorative pillow will grace any room in which it’s placed and will be a stunning conversation starter.

• 24” X 24”

• Front – cotton

• Back – linen, in beige

• Zipper closure

• Down duck feather pillow insert

• Fabric origins: Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia

THE STORY:

The Blue Hmong throw pillow tells such a story about distinctive textile handcrafts from three countries known for their cultural and ethnic diversity. From the first times I traveled to each of these places, I was drawn to their beautiful textiles and so appreciated their traditional cultural reverence.

During the six visits I have made to Vietnam, not once did I have the opportunity to visit the Hill Tribes in the northern part of Vietnam, but I must admit that the textiles produced by the Hill Tribes are notably some of my favorites. The top left section in this pillow is from a vintage Hmong jacket. The indigo hemp fabric is spun, woven, and dyed by hand, then finished with a decorative appliqued fabric featuring traditional Hmong “flower” motif embroidery.

When visiting Craft Link, a fair trade organization in Hanoi whose mission is to support ethnic minority groups and traditional craft producers to revive and promote traditional culture and skills through handicraft production, I was able to collect many beautiful examples of the textiles made by the Hill Tribe women and products from the Craft Link shop as well.

On a trip to Thai Tribal Craft, another fair trade organization based in Chiang Mai, I had the opportunity to travel north and visit several ethnic Hmong communities. One community was working on reverse applique similar to the one on the right side of the pillow. It is made in mirror image by folding the cloth into quadrants, cutting and sewing the design onto the background cloth using tiny invisible stitches. The motif in this piece is often referred to as an elephant’s foot. It’s truly an amazing art form and the appliques are often used to embellish clothing as well as wall décor, bags, hot pads, and other functional items marketed at the handicraft bazaars. Chiang Mai has a fantastic night market which is a tourist destination.

The fabric on the bottom of the pillow is a beautiful contemporary example of the intricate patterns achieved by the traditional Indonesian ikat. Ikat is the exact art of wrapping warp threads to form a resist before submerging the warp into the dye bath. It requires the re-wrapping of threads if more than one color is used in the fabric. It is a very precise technique to ensure a consistent pattern. This pillow also incorporates the ikat warp fringe as a design embellishment. I purchased the Indonesian fabrics used in this pillow from Pekerti, a fair trade organization I have worked with for many years which is located on the island of Java. My first visit was in 1992 as a consultant of SERRV International and then years later, as a Buyer for SERRV. The first visit opened my eyes to the beautiful ikat weaving of Indonesia.