Kuba Tcaka or Dance Skirt

Brown and cream squares alternate like a chessboard where every piece is a squiggle.

This tcaka or dance skirt is Kuba, from Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is applique raffia. Uneven or crooked stitches are seen as attractive imperfections showing the cloth was made carefully by hand, and its patterns, passed down through generations, can be repetitive or entirely spontaneous. Tall narrow strip of alternating cream and dark brown blocks, each marked with angular hooks, dots and small key shapes. A cream border frames the length, and the edges are slightly rumpled and uneven. It is 30 inches wide and 121 long.

Order of a sort, and doodling of the best sort.