Paj ntaub designs: snail spiral, elephant foot, ram's horn in three styles

Paj ntaub is the Hmong highlands' flower cloth: reverse appliqué cut through stacked layers, counted cross-stitch on hemp, and beeswax batik drawn with a brass-nibbed pen before an indigo dip. These nine carry a snail spiral, an elephant foot and a ram's horn through folded reverse appliqué, counted cross-stitch and drawn wax line. Ask for a different highland motif and the same three technique styles carry it.

• a fabric or wallpaper swatch
• a textile design reference board
• a cultural-studies handout
• a home decor print
• an appliqué or embroidery reference

Frequently asked questions

What size do these print at?

Each design is drawn as a seamless repeat at A3 proportions with an even margin, so it prints clean at A3 or scales to A4 or a fabric swatch.

Can I ask for a different motif, like a butterfly?

Yes — the direction field takes any highland motif you name, and the same three technique styles render it.

What's the difference between the three styles?

The reverse-appliqué style shows the folded-seam layered look; the counted cross-stitch style renders the same motif as dense hemp stitching; the beeswax-batik style draws it as a fine indigo-dipped wax line.

Is this respectful of real paj ntaub craft?

The set draws on the Hmong highlands' appliqué, cross-stitch and batik techniques as a style reference for a generated print, not a reproduction of any specific maker's or community's cloth, and not a claim to be hand-stitched textile.

About toile

This page is a showcase and a starting point: nine samples already rendered, three readings of the pack crossed with three styles, each shown at the size and ratio it was made for. Take any of them further on the wall with a few words, or ask for all nine again under your own direction; a sign-in keeps what you make, and it is free while Toile is new. The recipe behind each sample — the subject, the style, the palette, the framing — travels with the image rather than staying private to the render: it is in the alt text of every sample and in the page's own structured data, so a search engine reads the same handles a person would.