Yellow embroidered cape

This cape is from a sub-group of the Miao culture that resides near the town of Nankai in western Guizhou province. It is part of the elaborate clothing worn by Miao women, which includes a jacket, skirt, apron and gaiters for the lower legs. Girls are taught to spin, weave, dye and embroider by female relatives, and traditional clothes are worn during festivals and for weddings. The textiles incorporate a number of techniques such as plain and twill weaves, various embroidery stitches, the use of supplementary weft yarns that are added during weaving, and appliqué where other pieces of fabric are stitched to the base cloth. This cape comprises appliquéd strips around rectangles filled with cross-stitch embroidered motifs.

Asian Art Department, AGNSW, September 2011