SHOP OPEN: French Knot Embroidered Blouses from Chiapas

We just received 14 French Knot embroidered cotton blouses from Aguacatenango, Chiapas. The village is about an hour-and-a-half from San Cristobal and is in a fertile valley nestled between the chilly high mountain ranges and the more humid coastal area of Chiapas. Here, women are skilled in the art of needlework and the most skilled among them, like our master embroiderer Francisca, create extraordinary bodice designs of floral motifs. The base cloth is an open-weave Mexican machine-made manta which is 100% cotton muslin fabric. It washes beautifully — cold water, mild soap.

Large Sizes — 6 pieces — $135 each

  • #L1. Short sleeve beige SOLD.
  • #L2. Short sleeve beige SOLD.
  • #L3. Short sleeve red SOLD.
  • #L4. Short sleeve red SOLD.
  • #L5. Short sleeve peacock blue SOLD.

Medium Sizes — 8 pieces — $125 each

  • #M1. Short sleeve beige SOLD.
  • #M2. Short sleeve beige
  • #M3. Short sleeve beige
  • #M4. Short sleeve blue SOLD.
  • #M5. Long sleeve blue SOLD.
  • #M6. Long sleeve blue SOLD.
  • #M7. Long sleeve red
  • #M8. Short sleeve red SOLD.

Small/Petite — 1 Piece — $110 each

  • #S1. Long sleeve beige — 10″ wide bodice

To Buy: Please email me normahawthorne@mac.com with your name, mailing address and item number. I will mark it SOLD, send you a PayPal link to purchase and add $12 for cost of mailing. For PayPal: Please DO NOT SELECT BUYING GOOD OR SERVICES. It will then automatically choose Sending Money to Family and Friends.  We also accept Venmo and I can send you a Square invoice (+3% fee) if you don’t use PayPal. (If PayPal takes a commission, I will need to send you an additional invoice to cover what they deduct.)

See chart below for measurements. Please measure bodice width from top of rib cage across to start of armpit on either side. Most are 28″ long from shoulder to hem.

  • 53cm = 20 inches
  • 56cm = 22 inches
  • 31cm = 12 inches
  • 36cm = 14 inches
Diagram for illustrative purposes only
Blouse is constructed/sewn entirely by hand; extraordinary finish work.

To Buy: Please email me normahawthorne@mac.com with your name, mailing address and item number. I will mark it SOLD, send you a PayPal link to purchase and add $12 for cost of mailing. For PayPal: Please DO NOT SELECT BUYING GOOD OR SERVICES. It will then automatically choose Sending Money to Family and Friends.  We also accept Venmo and I can send you a Square invoice (+3% fee) if you don’t use PayPal. (If PayPal takes a commission, I will need to send you an additional invoice to cover what they deduct.)

Final Sale: There are no returns, exchanges or refunds. Please measure carefully. We have already sent funds to the artisan for her and her cooperative’s work. Thank you for understanding.

Let me know if you have any questions. Thank you, Norma norma.schafer@icloud.com

An Aside from Norma

Because of covid-19, I have been in the USA since March 12. This is the longest period of time I have remained here since 2011. Based on increased number of cases in Oaxaca and limited covid emergency medical care there, I’m thinking it is prudent to stay put in North Carolina until there is a vaccine. Vamos a ver. We shall see.

In this interim, I feel it is most useful for me to work with the artisan women and men I know to bring what they make here to the USA and Canada to offer their pieces for sale. This is about the only way I know how to best help now during these extenuating circumstances. As long as I stay here, I will continue to do this. If I were in Oaxaca now, it would be prohibitively expensive to mail one or two pieces directly to individuals in the USA. This way, I can receive artisan-made textiles and offer them to you at a reasonable cost until we can all meet together again in Mexico and visit these makers personally. Thank you for all you do to support this effort.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Vote.

Comments are closed.