What is mola applique?
Molas are hand-made using a reverse appliqué technique. Several layers (usually two to seven) of different-colored cloth (usually cotton) are sewn together; the design is then formed by cutting away parts of each layer. The edges of the layers are then turned under and sewn down.
What is a mola design?
A mola is an appliqued fabric panel created by Cuna women, an indigenous people from the San Blas Islands of Panama. The term “mola” refers to a traditional blouse made by women to serve as front and back panels of the blouses they wear everyday. Now molas are also sold to collectors and framed and exhibited.
Where are mola textiles from?
The term mola—the Kuna word for “cloth”—refers to brightly colored, intricately patterned textiles produced by the women of the coral archipelago of the San Blas Islands (aka the Kuna Yala) off the Atlantic coast of Panama.
What are molas made of?
Molas, a traditional textile craft, are made from layers of colored fabric that are stitched and cut using applique techniques to create patterns and pictures. They originated in Panama, with the women of the Kuna tribe in the San Blas islands.
What do Molas look like?
Sunfish, or mola, develop their truncated, bullet-like shape because the back fin which they are born with simply never grows. Mola in Latin means “millstone” and describes the ocean sunfish’s somewhat circular shape. They are a silvery color and have a rough skin texture.
What were Molas used for?
Molas were originally used as part of the women’s blouses. Molas are traditionally made and worn by the Kuna women and girls in pairs to serve as front and back panels of the blouses they wear everyday. Nowadays they are also sold to collectors and framed and exhibited.
How do you make a fabric mola?
To make a mola, you are essentially layering several pieces of fabric, and then cutting away the top fabric and hand reverse appliqueing it, one layer at a time, to the fabric beneath, to create a multi-dimensional, multi-layered piece.
How are the molas designs?
Molas are handmade using a reverse appliqué technique. Several layers (usually two to seven) of different-coloured cloth (usually cotton) are sewn together; the design is then formed by cutting away parts of each layer. The edges of the layers are then turned under and sewn down.
What is the purpose of molas?
The traditional purpose of molas was to decorate functional items of clothing. Today, the Kuna sell molas to tourists as a way to earn money.
What do molas look like?
What does Molas mean in Spanish?
It means “Cool”. A synonym in spanish could be: ¡Guay!. The verb “Molar” is used when you want to mean that something or even someone is good for you or you like it. For example, “Este disco mola”, o lo que es lo mismo “este disco está muy bien”.
Where are the Kunas from?
Panama
Kuna, also spelled Cuna, Chibchan-speaking Indian people who once occupied the central region of what is now Panama and the neighbouring San Blas Islands and who still survive in marginal areas.