What’s a Quechquemitl? Find out at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca lecture.

Indigenous Mexican clothing is traditionally handwoven on a backstrap loom. Sometimes, it is cut and sewn together so that it can be pulled down over the head as a shoulder cover-up that looks like a short shawl.   The head opening is a virtual square that is formed by the joining of two lengths of cloth. Carla Fernandez in her book, Taller Flora (out of print), talks about this and shows clear diagrams of traditional indigenous clothing construction.

I love quechquemitls.  They are fun and easy to wear.  A wonderful cotton drape over the shoulder to keep the sun off or a snuggy wool covering for chillier winter days and evenings.  I buy my wool quechquemitls in Teotitlan del Valle from Arte y Seda and my cotton ones from Sheri Brautigam.

That’s why I am excited to tell you about a Museo Textile de Oaxaca lecture on Quechquemitls Today by Sheri Brautigam.  Sheri is a textile designer and researcher who spends time in remote Mexican villages documenting traditional textile use and production. The lecture will present the quechquemitls of the Mazahua community of Santa Rosa de Lima, in the State of Mexico and the Nahua community of Cuetzalan, Puebla.

Currently on exhibit at the museo is an extensive collection of antique quechquemitls from the general area of central Mexico where they were worn in many villages until recently. It’s worth a visit, since these garments are exquisite.

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