Chue Yang

Chue Yang from Springfield, Massachusetts was involved as an artist in the Southern New England Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program from 2006-2008, working with other Hmong embroiderers including Mai Lee from Massachusetts and Mai See Her and May Xiong from Connecticut. Chue is a talented seamstress and embroiderer of traditional Hmong textiles and needlework of all kinds: paj ndau, skirts sewn entirely by hand, reverse appliqué, cross stitch, hats, making the entire costume in the different Hmong styles. Like many older Hmong women over 40, their mothers taught them traditional textile skills around the age of 14, in their Hmong villages in northern Laos. First they learned how to make the cross-stitched collars for the back of the shirt, then they learned the rest of the outfit, with the embroidered apron last. They also learned the paj ndau-story cloths from mothers and female family members. She and other Hmong women make whatever clothing people in need, especially for the New Year celebration in November.