Jacket c. 1920

This open jacket, anonymous and dateless, feels like a conversation. It's sewn in black, with zigzags in pink, orange, and white, dancing around the collar and cuffs. I imagine the maker leaning into the fabric, each stitch a little thought, a tiny decision, a color chosen, a rhythm established. I wonder if they were thinking about the person who would wear it? Or were they just lost in the process, watching the patterns emerge like a painting coming to life? The embroidery feels almost like brushstrokes; each a tiny gesture, built up with intention. The little white zigzags pop against the dark fabric like the highlights in a painting. You can feel the hand in it, the maker’s touch, a kind of knowing. Anonymous, but deeply felt. It reminds me of the paintings of Gee’s Bend quilters or Bill Traylor, outsider artists who conversed through their making, inviting us into a space of shared creation.