Stitching The New Year In Block Letters Panama Mola

This one is a greeting rather than a creature. Two long dark bars run across a warm orange ground, the upper bar carrying the Spanish word for year in fat rounded capitals and the lower bar carrying the year itself. Every letter and numeral is built from concentric outlines of magenta, green, gold, white and blue, with tiny triangles and slotted ovals tucked into the gaps where the shapes leave room. It is 16 inches wide and 12 inches high. The lettering was drawn by cutting down through stacked cotton and folding each raw edge under with a needle, the hand worked method known as reverse applique.

A mola is a hand stitched panel made by the Guna people of Panama, once known as the Kuna. Several layers of colored cotton are stacked, then cut down through one layer at a time so the colors underneath show through, and every raw edge is turned and stitched closed by hand. The technique is called reverse appliqué. Guna women have been refining it for generations, and the designs draw on the birds, fish, plants and geometric patterns of the islands and rainforest where they live.

TraderBrock has bought directly from Guna, Embera, Wounaan and Ngäbe artisans since 1991, and sales revenue goes back into those communities for education, medical care, tools and land. This panel came from Guna Yala, the San Blas islands off Panama's Caribbean coast. It is ready to frame, mount, or sew into a pillow or a quilt panel, and it can be hand washed. No two molas are ever alike, and small variations in size, stitching and color are normal in handmade textiles.

Width: 16"
Height: 12"
SKU: PM3551T

MACHINE WASHABLE To clean, machine wash in cold water on gentle cycle tumble dry on low, do not bleach or iron