Over the next two weeks I am planning to give you a tutorial on Seminole Patchwork. At the end of the two weeks, if you follow along, you will have all the patches required to make a sampler. I will also give you the directions for the sampler at the end. It will be a sort of "mystery quilt", for me as well as you, since I haven't designed it yet. I have taught classes in this technique for years and would like to share it with my readers.
Today I'm going to give you some background and pictures. I'll start the tutorial on Monday.
The jacket pictured here is from the Miccosukee tribe in South Florida. I've had it for over 20 years and use it when I teach a class. The Miccosukee are a branch of the Seminole. In the mid 1980's I was a graduate student at the University of Miami in Textile Design. Often while shopping in local fabric stores, I would see some of the Indian women wearing their traditional outfits, with bands of patchwork, like the bands on the jacket. I became determined to learn the technique. On day I struck up a conversation with one of these women and she invited me to come to the reservation and observe the women at work.
Several times over the next few months, I drove out the Tamiami Trail to a place where the tribe had a gift shop. There the women sewed in a chickee, which is a sort of pole barn with open sides and a palm frond roof. Most sewed on treadle sewing machines. One thing that impressed me was the fact that they tore all the cloth strips for the patchwork. At that time, they were only using solid colors, but they told me that in the early part of the 20th century, they had used calico because it was easier to obtain. Since the 1930's they had also begun to incorporate narrow rick-rack into their designs.
Today I'm going to give you some background and pictures. I'll start the tutorial on Monday.
The jacket pictured here is from the Miccosukee tribe in South Florida. I've had it for over 20 years and use it when I teach a class. The Miccosukee are a branch of the Seminole. In the mid 1980's I was a graduate student at the University of Miami in Textile Design. Often while shopping in local fabric stores, I would see some of the Indian women wearing their traditional outfits, with bands of patchwork, like the bands on the jacket. I became determined to learn the technique. On day I struck up a conversation with one of these women and she invited me to come to the reservation and observe the women at work.
Several times over the next few months, I drove out the Tamiami Trail to a place where the tribe had a gift shop. There the women sewed in a chickee, which is a sort of pole barn with open sides and a palm frond roof. Most sewed on treadle sewing machines. One thing that impressed me was the fact that they tore all the cloth strips for the patchwork. At that time, they were only using solid colors, but they told me that in the early part of the 20th century, they had used calico because it was easier to obtain. Since the 1930's they had also begun to incorporate narrow rick-rack into their designs.
This is a detail of the jacket.
This is a skirt that was made by the Miccosukee for the tourist market. I bought it in a thrift shop in Miami in the 1980's and wore it for many years.
The origin of this style of sewing is unclear, but I have read that it may have developed during the War Between the States when slaves escaped to the Everglades and introduced the Indians to the tradition of narrow band weaving that originated in Africa. The weaving skills may not have been practical or were not known, but the look could be accomplished with patchwork fabric bands.
I'm not sure how much of this tradition survives today. The Seminole have gotten rich with casinos and some of this may be lost. Although I occasionally visit South Florida (my son and family live there), I have never been to one of the casinos and have not had the time to drive out to the Everglades.
Below are closeups of a jacket I made a few years ago using some of the techniques that I will be showing you in the coming posts.
I hope that you will follow along with me as I sew on this project or watch and then try it later. If you do make a sampler with me, I will post it on a later blog if you send me a photo.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend and the Super Bowl tomorrow. I'm not much of a football fan, but I do love the commercials and its a great excuse to eat junk food!
Hey Kitty, I hope this goes through. I keep trying. Anyway, I'm part American Indiann ot this tribe, but I find it all so interesting. I'm looking forward to your posts.
ReplyDelete