I have been told the stitch shown here in red and pink thread is called otita or the “oyster” stitch. It’s a beautiful stitch that many papa‘a quilters in the U.S. are awed by, they tell me that they’ve never seen such a stitch. Perhaps it is unique to our māmās?

This concept of the Palu Ava is so important as I know many tamaitai Samoa this is their way of connecting to their traditional Samoan roots.

As a textile designer of Sāmoan heritage. I align with this item on many levels. From a textile design perspective located in Aotearoa, this item portrays visual elements that can be compared to the NZ classic sheepskin. These were the items compared in John William's journals when they visited Sāmoa as a missionary. But what makes this textile different to the NZ sheepskin, is that its entirety is actually made from carefully processed baste fibres from the Hibiscus tree. These baste fibres ...