Baby's Hat c. 1920 - 1930

This Turkoman Baby's Hat is an exquisite display of stitched design. It looks like someone carefully plotted the little flower and lozenge shapes, then built them up stitch by tiny stitch. I can just imagine the artist's concentration as they constructed the patterns. A repetitive motif like this becomes meditative, right? Stitch, stitch, stitch... It is very easy to get lost in the rhythm, creating a deeply comforting object. The hat's patterns are made up of these small shapes, in dark red, yellow, green and purple. This tiny world builds up the hat layer by layer, echoing the way in which artists build up a painting. Each mark contributes to the overall image, but also retains its own singular identity, a testament to the hand that made it. It’s as though the artist has poured love and intention into every stitch, creating a little world of protection and care for a newborn child.