quillwork

American  

[kwil-wurk] / ˈkwɪlˌwɜrk /

noun

1. a type of decoration using softened and usually dyed porcupine or bird quills.

2. an American Indian handicraft or utility item decorated in this manner.

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Example Sentences

They’re known for putting a contemporary spin on traditional beadwork, quillwork and dolls.

From New York Times • Aug. 21, 2015

While her fingers swiftly flew at her quillwork, she told the story of how the earth began.

From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich

This must have been a beautiful example of the buffalo-skin tipi, new and white, decorated with quillwork and tufts of hair.

From Villages of the Algonquian, Siouan, and Caddoan Tribes West of the Mississippi by Bushnell, David Ives

On the breast and back of the shirt were quill-worked rosettes representing the sun; the side seams of the leggings and sleeves were covered with strips of quillwork three or four inches wide.

From The Sun Dance of the Blackfoot Indians by Wissler, Clark

His delighted eyes took in quillwork and beadwork and paint, blankets and ribbons, bodies clad in fringed buckskin, warm brown faces, dark, friendly eyes.

From Shaman by Shea, Robert