Seminole Patchwork

by Steffani McChesney

So we all thought strip piecing was something new. Well, guess what. The Native American Seminole of Florida have been using it to make Seminole patchwork for over a century. And without electricity and a rotary cutter.

The word Seminole means wild, like a deer, as opposed to tame or domesticated. Given their history, the name fits. In 1832 President Andrew Jackson ordered all Native Americans removed from the land in Florida and sent to the Indian Territory in what is now Oklahoma because settlers wanted the rich farmland for their own. The Seminoles were not about to go peacefully. After several armed conflicts, referred to in history books as the Indian Wars, all but about 300 individuals were captured and sent to Oklahoma. The remaining Seminoles escaped into the Everglades living in secluded communal villages from 1870 to 1920.

Around 1900 scouts and traders began bringing hand crank sewing machines and fabric into the villages deep in the swamp. When the Seminoles finally emerged in 1920 they were wearing the beautiful and intricate patchwork clothing we know today as Seminole patchwork.

The complicated designs are made by sewing various widths and colors of fabric together in long strips. These strips are then cut into segments and reassembled in various arrangements to form different shapes and patterns. Usually, solid-colored cotton fabric was used, but nowadays, unusual effects can be achieved using printed fabric. Cotton velveteen and silk can also be used. I even made a jacket once out of old denim blue jeans and skirts using this technique. The sky’s the limit.

Early Seminole patchwork was usually made by tearing fabric into strips, sewing the strips together on their hand crank sewing machines, then cutting them apart with scissors. Very tedious. Thank heaven modern quilting technology has made the job a whole lot easier, and more fun too, with rotary cutters, mats and rotary cutting rulers. The results, when used in quilts or as an embellishment for clothing or household items, are striking.

There are some fine books available at quilt stores and bookshops on Seminole patchwork. Two of my favorites for clear instructions and great illustrations are Simply Patchwork by Dorothy Hanisko and Basic Seminole Patchwork by Cheryl Greider Bradkin. Try it, you’ll like it.