Mandicrafts News & Views - Teddy Bears & Collectibles: Textile Art Collectibles

Textile Art Collectibles - Introducing Mola Panels

I recently came across what I thought were some interesting quilt blocks at an Estate Sale. Through research I discovered they were actually "Mola Panels". The leap from quilt blocks to Mola Panels took some digging. Being somewhat adverse to picking up a needle and stitching items myself and thus unschooled in quilting, I took hints from other items I had seen around the Estate contents sale and the odd style of the quilt blocks and came up with the idea to search Australian quilts. Turns out, the method used on these blocks was called "reverse appliqué".


Selection of Mola Panels & One Stitch Sampler

Reverse appliqué is a unique method the Australians use in quilting, amongst other unique developments, that are not commonly found in North American quilts. Further searches in trying to identify what my quilt blocks were portraying didn't result in any Australian designs BUT they were ethnic designs and I was led to Panama.

Turns out, what I have are called "Mola Panels". The women of the Kuna Tribe in the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama had also developed reverse appliqué and Mola Panels are an important part of their traditional ethnic style of clothing. Mola is the Kuna word for clothing.

Birdmen Mola Panel

Hand Stitched Reverse Appliqué

Back of Panel

Two complimentary Mola Panels are hand stitched and can take between 2 weeks to 6 months to create each one, depending on the complexity of the design. One is for the front of the blouse and one for the back. Panels are made from at least 2 full layers of fabric, and can consist of many more layers. Using the unique method of reverse appliqué, it gives an effect like puzzle pieces, exposing the underlying fabric colours and the edges around the tiny openings are carefully hand stitched. Small squares of coloured fabric are also added between the full layers for a myriad of very bright and colourful designs. Often designs are enhanced with embroidery embellishments.

Kuna Woman

Kuna Woman Hand Stitching a Mola

The panels mimic the tribal tattoos and body arts of the older generations before the European missionaries arrived bringing the concept of clothing to the island. At first the designs were hand painted on European fabrics and then hand stitched. Often used as currency in trade, now Molas are being produced in Western designs specifically for sale in the tourist trade. Molas worn by the Kuna women are the most prized to a textile collector. These will depict local wildlife, tribal concepts, sea life, and ethnic traditions. When a woman tires of a design she removes it from her blouse and sells it. Some wear, slight fading, marks or evidence of it having been stitched on to a garment indicates the Mola is a genuine piece rather than a product specifically aimed for sale to the tourist trade.

Mola Panel Horse & Crab Design

Some smudges on this crab and horse design show this Mola was once worn by a Kuna woman.

Smudges from wear indicate authenticity

Value and desirability is determined by how many layers of full fabric panels there are, the intricacy of the design, quality of the stitches (should be nearly invisible) and whether the item was once part of a garment worn by a Kuna woman.

3 fabric layers plus small squares of inserted material

This panel is made from 3 full fabric layers as well as small squares of other coloured material inserted between the layers. The panel edges indicate it was once stitched to a blouse.

Mola with a little fading, triple layer fabric, multi-headed snake or lizard design

Mola made with triple fabric layers seemingly depicting a multi-headed snake or lizard with embroidery embellishments. Letters in the centre could be the artists' signature.


The back of the Mola panel showing the base black fabric and intricate stitching.

Mola Panel Two-Headed Deer & Crabs

View of Mola Revers Applique

Two-Headed Deer or Horse with Crabs, in two fabric layers, likely the pair-match to the single horse and crab panel shown above. Having a pair of matched panels is highly sought after.

Collectors or admirers of the Mola Panels will frame them as textile art, make them into placemats or pillow covers, or will incorporate them into a quilt.

Courtesy Skip-Jack-Sam, Mola Memory Quilt

Needlework Sampler Project

Sampler likely stitched in school by a child

In case you were curious about the item shown in the top left corner of the collage at the beginning of this blog, this was another other item I found at the same Estate Contents sale amongst the linens and was what led me to start with looking for Australian quilts. I had stitched something similar when I was little and living in Australia for a school class project. A sampler of stitches, textures, the alphabet and various yarn techniques. I presume this is also a child's school project sampler and rather sweet, likely dating to the 1940s to 60s.

Treasure Hunting and research go hand-in-hand! Educational as well as fun!

Textile Arts, Linens, and other items available at Mandicrafts! Click HERE to view!

Happy Hunting!

Bear Hugs

Mandy