Your Apartment Needs These Period-Inspired Knits

If you're all about menstruation and womanhood but in a subtle, artful way, these period-inspired wall hangings need to get into your home decor, stat. The woven wall tapestries are the creations of master artist Jackie Dives, and can be purchased from her Etsy store for between $14 and $80 — which is a bargain compared to the relative cost of tampons, pads, birth control, and reproductive health checks. Dive's wall hangings are inspired by all the bloody things that happen between a menstruating woman's legs once a month, and she's interested in changing the dialogue we're having about women's natural cycles.

Dives told Mashable that her tapestries were inspired by her own experiences with anxiety and depression, which would intensify when she was menstruating. Dives said, "That's what led me to figuring out more about how my period affects me as a woman. And through that, I started to find my voice as a feminist. In this moment, in this time in my life, feminism for me is talking about things that women shouldn't be ashamed of anymore." Dives uses the weaving process as a form of relaxing therapy but also to create a conversation about representations of women and women's bodies, with the ultimate aim of de-stigmatizing the female period.

Day Two | One of a Kind Handmade Weaving by Jackie Dives, $80, Etsy.com

Dives also told Mashable, "By weaving about it and making something that's tactile and that you can actually put on your wall to show people like, 'This is a part of me, this is my feminism right here.' This representationally bloody piece that's kind of fun and beautiful and all of these things that I am. And also, kind of weird, and could be seen as ugly even. It's just right here. I'm OK with that. I'm OK with talking about it now."

Mini Menses III | One of a Kind Handmade Weaving by Jackie Dives, $22, Etsy.com

She continues, "I think a year ago, I wouldn't have been able to make a weaving about menstruation and put it on Etsy, or hang it in my home. But through making more and more menstruation-related art, I'm able to come to terms with this part of me and be more able to show it to more people."

My Period in New York | One of a Kind Handmade Weaving by Jackie Dives, $46, Etsy.com

Dives was inspired to begin making the pieces after a trip to New York, where she showed a short documentary about periods and women's experiences with menstruation. The weavings are made to order, so get to ordering if what you're into is Dives' self-proclaimed, "feminism in fiber arts form." Made from 100 percent natural fibers, including cotton and wool, you can now put your period where your walls are, in a way that is much, much prettier and more tactful than it sounds.

Menstruation Weaving I | One of a Kind Handmade Weaving by Jackie Dives, $16, Etsy.com

Images: Jackie Dives/Etsy