User:Thom hammond/hmong textile art sandbox

Detail of a Hmong skirt

Hmong women at a market in Sapa, Vietnam.

Hmong Textile Art consists of traditional and modern textile arts and crafts techniques practiced by the Hmong people. Traditional Hmong textile examples include hand-spun hemp cloth production, basket weaving, batik dyeing, and a unique form of embroidery known as flower cloth or Paj Ntaub in the Hmong language RPA. The most widely recognized modern style of Hmong textile art is a derived form of Paj Ntaub popularly referred to as story cloths.

Traditional Hmong textiles like Paj Ntaub play a significant role in Hmong daily life and are often directly associated with larger cultural concerns such as religion, gender, economics, and ethnic identity. Modern textiles like story cloths provide important historical and cultural context and are often used by scholars and educators in and out of the Hmong community as a means to understand and engage with Hmong culture.

Traditional Textiles

Hemp Cloth

Most traditional forms of Hmong textiles were created using hand-spun hemp fabric.

Paj Ntaub or Flower Cloth

Story Cloth