DESCRIPTION OF THE SKIRT
绣XIU is the collection of our Miao embroidery decorations and accessories. This is a finely pleated green skirt bound at the waist with a plain black band and decorative border at the hem. Blue ties are attached to each side of the band. The middle, broadest part of the skirt is of plain weave in green hemp, with a horizontal striped band in pink, blue, white and orange embroidery stitched to the lower part of the skirt. The green color is achieved through over dying yellow weld with indigo blue. This vintage skirt is created between 1990s and 2000s, very well preserved and rarely find in the region.
Technique: This kind of pleated and often elaborately ornamented hemp skirt is most common to the Miao minority in Guizhou. Making a skirt begins with fabric that is specially hand-loomed. Bean starch, red peppers, egg-white and persimmon juice, home-made ox-hide glue, roots or leaves are often used. After the fabric is starched, it is hand-pleated using swift and exact finger motions of both hands. These finger motions are very fast, a woman who has the skill to do this fast and be able to keep the depth of the pleats even and identical is admired amongst village people. The fabric is again sprayed with sticky substances and the pleats are sewn into place. This pleating process may take several days to complete. The skirt is then hanged like cocoons while it is left to dry.
Material: cotton
Size: 80cm*100cm
Artisan: Mrs.Yang is the textile artisan from Huangping, Guizhou. She has been working in Miao embroidery and textile construction for 20 years. Yang learned the skills of natural dyeing, weaving and different stitches from her grandmother and mother.
CARE INSTRUCTIONS
-Dry clean or hand wash in mild temperature-Do not iron
-Do not bleach
-Do not wring
-Wash like colors together
*Due to the natural dyeing there may be color transfer. Please avoid contact with light colored fabrics or upholstery.
ABOUT THE EMBROIDERY ITEMS
Guizhou is one of the few remaining places in the world where women are still involved in all the process to make their finest clothes, baby carriers and other living pieces by hand through spinning, weaving, cross-stitching, brocading, wax printing, and sewing. Because of the complicated process, this usually takes two to five years. Miao embroidery is some of the most intricate and beautiful embroidery in the world which involves unique and complex stitches and is worked in brightly coloured lustrous floss silk with natural dyes. Because Miao embroidery is all made by hand, which is time-consuming and laborious, few people are engaged in it now, and few people are interested in and willing to learn. There were around 90 different stitching techniques in the past whereas only 20 stitches are found nowadays. This unique handicraft is on the verge of being lost.
We work with women artisans from Huangping, Kaili and other remote regions in Guizhou, China to recreate the accessories and decorations from the vintage embroidery, constructing which with new fabrics and embroidery. The new pieces imply high artistic and collection value. We hope to assist these women artisans to become role models to their communities in order to break the cycle of poverty. We also would like to cooperate with museums, institutions and individuals in order to let more people have opportunities to appreciate and study from these disappearing embroidery pieces and technique.