Kelim Cushion Dilhayat 50x35cm

The traditional and timeless patterns of Anatolia make our vintage pillows very special. These mystical symbols from a millennia-old nomadic tradition are believed to bless the home and its inhabitants with love, blessings, and protection. High-quality materials such as hand-spun sheep's wool, goat hair, or cotton connect us with the energy of Mother Earth. This cushion cover was lovingly sewn in the Wild Heart Free Soul studio in Istanbul from a fragment of a hand-woven Midcentury vintage kilim. The back is made of recycled cotton and features a high-quality zipper. The kilim was professionally cleaned before processing; age-related wear and natural irregularities are inevitable with unique, handmade vintage rugs.

Anatolian kilims are far more than textile utility objects – they are woven memories, personal messages, and an expression of lived culture. For generations, women from nomadic tribes and villages wove their wishes, hopes, and stories into the fabric – freely, intuitively, and full of symbolic power.

This kilim was also woven in an Anatolian home – from the wool of their own sheep, shorn, washed, combed, and hand-spun. The dyeing of the yarns often took place with natural pigments from madder, reseda, walnut, or indigo – but from the 1950s onwards, synthetic dyes increasingly found their way into the villages. The world became faster, more colorful – not every kilim remained purely vegetable-dyed. Many pieces from the 1960s and 1970s bear the traces of a cultural transition in their tones: between old and new, craftsmanship and modernity.

Weaving was a ritual act – accompanied by songs, stories, silence. Often, several women sat together at the loom: mother, grandmother, sister, neighbor. Every knot, every line, every symbol carried meaning – protection, fertility, connection, strength. Symbols like the eye (Göz), the cosmic mother (Elibelinde), or the scorpion became carriers of deep messages.

They were used, loved, passed on – and some of them slept long in chests until one day they came back into the light.

Today, we clean and restore these pieces with the utmost respect: washed with olive soap, dried in the Antalya sun, repaired in our Istanbul atelier.

Some pieces are with us for only a few months, others accompany us for years – because we rush nothing. Every kilim is restored with time, care, and respect. Some wait for the right restorer, for the summer months to bathe in the sunlight – for their silent retransformation into a living work of art.

A kilim from Wild Heart Free Soul is not a product.
It is a heritage. A woven wish.
And perhaps a companion for your home of tomorrow.

A kilim is a long-lasting companion – if treated with love and carefully maintained, it can outlast many more generations. It doesn't require elaborate care, but rather the right kind.

We recommend gently vacuuming or shaking out your kilim once or twice a month to remove dust and dirt. Please do not use a beater bar vacuum, but ideally a brush attachment or a gentle hand tool. Too frequent, intensive vacuuming can eventually fatigue the fibers.

Every few months, it's worth turning the kilim over and vacuuming the back as well. If you slightly rotate the rug once a year, you ensure even wear and maintain the balance in the weave.

For deep cleaning, we recommend professional hand washing every 3 to 5 years – with pH-neutral shampoo or olive soap, gently worked in by hand and thoroughly rinsed. Please never dry clean or steam clean your kilim – this would damage the fibers. If you need assistance choosing a suitable cleaner, we are happy to advise you. We work with experienced oriental rug specialists and are happy to pass on our special conditions.

And if an accident does happen: blot fresh stains immediately with a clean, dry cloth. If necessary, carefully dab with a little olive soap and a slightly damp cloth – without rubbing, without saturating. For stubborn dirt, please consult a professional directly. Liquid that spreads along the fibers can be permanently trapped, especially in flat weaves.

Dried food residues can usually be carefully scraped off or brushed out – ideally with a steady hand and without rushing.