DETAILS:

The Hmong accent pillow was made from sections of an accordion pleated traditional Hmong skirt from Vietnam. The skirt fabric combines time-consuming techniques such as cross stitch embroidery, delicate batik on hand-dyed indigo fabric, and thin decorative lines of applique. This one-of-a-kind throw pillow will be a welcome addition to any room.

• 15” X 23”

• Front—cotton

• Back—linen, in beige

• Zipper closure

• Down feather insert

• Fabric origins: Vietnam

THE STORY:

This decorative lumbar pillow is made entirely from sections of an accordion-pleated traditional Hmong skirt from Vietnam. The orange embroidery in the center is done in a fine cross stitch in shades of orange with white “flower” stitching and green accent embroidery. For embellishment, thin strips of purchased fabric and metallic ribbon are appliqued, joining the embroidery to the indigo batik fabric. The indigo batik pattern on the left is a subtle addition, embellished with red and multi-colored appliqued thin line pattern work and metallic trim. The Blue Hmong are noted for their expertise in creating batiks that have a variety of shades of blue indigo and are the only Hill Tribe to do this technique of batik.

It’s amazing to me that the Hmong women carry out every part of making their own garments. Each is a painstaking labor of love, given all the steps required to make a skirt. These steps include growing plants to make the indigo dye base, raising hemp and processing it to spin into thread for weaving the skirt, making the beeswax for the batik process, applying the pattern, dyeing, embroidering, cutting, piecing, pleating and sewing. A voluminous skirt requires five or six yards of fabric and can take up to a year to make. If you look closely, you can see a trace of the pleating in the pillow. The pleats are permanently embedded in the skirt.

I acquired several of these traditional skirts during visits to Craft Link, a fair trade organization that supports ethnic minority groups and traditional craft producers to revive and promote traditional culture and skills through handicraft production. Craft Link is located in Hanoi. I have visited Vietnam six times but not once did I have the opportunity to visit any of the Hill Tribes in the northern part of Vietnam, which is unfortunate because the textiles made by the Hill Tribes are notably some of my favorites.