Seminole patchwork

Seminole patchwork, referred to by Seminole and Miccosukee women as Taweekaache (design in the Mikasuki language),¹ is a patchwork style made from piecing colorful strips of fabric in horizontal bands.² Seminole patchwork garments are often trimmed with a rickrack border. Early examples of this technique are known from photographs in the 1910s, and its use by Seminole women in garment construction began to flourish in the 1920s.³ Seminole patchwork has historically been an important source of income for many Seminole women, and today remains a source of cultural pride.³ Fashion designers, including Donna Karan, have been criticized for their appropriation of this patchwork style.⁴

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  Seminole patchwork fringed dance shawl, ca. 1980s, by Susie Cypress (Seminole Tribe of Florida) from the Big Cypress Reservation, Florida
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  Ruby Jumper Billie, Big Cypress Reservation, Florida
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  Seminole patchwork in the Museum of the American Indian, ca. 1960
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  Seminole patchwork jacket worn by Iron Arrow Honor Society members, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida