Kuba cloths have long been our favorite handmade textiles from Africa. Their simple geometric shapes translate nicely to contemporary designs and influenced modern artists such a Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee. In the past, we have embossed graphic Kuba patterns on such leather goods as napkin rings and waste bins.

So you can imagine how delighted we were to find luxurious pillows made from tactile Kuba cloths from Zambia. Our ethnic pillows feature a cotton backing and are filled with feather and down inserts. Each pillow is hand sewn in the USA of imported cloth, please allow for variation in the color and patterns.

More about Kuba cloth...they get their name from the Kuba tribe of central Congo. The tribe' s women begin the process of creating the cloths by beating palm leaves so that the leaf will separate into fibers. The men then use a loom to weave the fibers.

The process then goes back to the women who decorate the cloth. Sometimes they use a “u” stitch to create a carpet pile like texture as well as motifs. Other times they use appliqué methods to create patterns and motifs. Each cloth can take over a month to make.

In the past the cloth was only made by the most important and wealthy men in the tribe. Their wives were the only women in the tribe who had enough spare time to embroider the cloth. Ordinary women were kept too busy with their work in the fields, cooking and raising their children. Thus the cloth became a symbol of wealth and status.

When a major event occurred such as the induction of a new chief, the women of the tribe would sew many cloths together to make a royal robe. One popular village song describes how, a man was offered a Mercedes Benz car or a Kuba cloth by his mother. He chose the Kuba cloth after wisely noting that it would last longer.