Pair of shoes

Needlepoint slippers were typically worn with the "kabbah slot" dress. Krio women did needlepoint in wool yarn on canvas. The tops are done toe to toe > < on one canvas. This form is called a “house” locally. The individual designs also have names, this one is "Bitter Kola." When the needlepoint is finished the edges of the canvas are cut away, the back is sewn together and the fabric is lined. A male leatherworker then attaches the top to a leather sole.

Pair of shoes with needlepoint tops and leather soles and an overall repeat pattern in blue and white wool yarn.

Family of Cloris Davis, Freetown, Sierra Leone, 1920s

Lucille Chaveas, collected in Freetown, Sierra Leone, 2003 to 2013

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