My grandmother grew up with twelve siblings on a farm in rural Indiana. One unfortunate night she remembers waking up feeling unusually warm, only to realize that their home was on fire. Everyone escaped safely, but watching from a neighbor's  window they witnessed their childhood home burn to the ground. Members of the community gathered and donated old clothing, but much of it was torn, stained, and ill fitting. My Great Grandmother, a proud woman, refused to put her children in the ratty clothes and instead cut them into strips, braided them, and sewed them together to create a large rug. The rug was made up of thirteen circles, one for each child.

I created this skirt using scraps of moth-eaten wool blankets, which I braided and sewed together using hand spun and dyed wool. I made the buttons by pinching clay (leaving my finger and palm prints) and slightly burning them in the oven.