Healing & Empowering, One Stitch at a Time

Let’s talk legacy. Let’s talk love. Let’s talk about what happens when culture, care, and craftsmanship come together to protect Black women and babies—with style, purpose, and soul.

Welcome to The Quilt Project, the heart of Baby Yams—a bold and beautiful initiative led by none other than Tatyana Ali, the Trinidadian and Panamanian actress, singer, producer, and lifelong advocate for our people. You may know her from the screen, but trust me, this woman is doing some of her most important work off camera—crafting a movement that’s wrapping our community in care, one stitch at a time.

A Movement Stitched in Power and Pride

Baby Yams isn’t just a wellness initiative. It’s a cultural reclamation. It’s ancestral. It’s revolutionary. And at the center of it all is Tatyana—channeling the strength of her Caribbean roots, her artistry, and her voice into a space where Black women, especially expectant mothers, can heal, thrive, and be seen.

And honey, don’t let the softness of a quilt fool you. This work is fierce. Baby Yams takes the traditional act of quilt-making and transforms it into a powerful tool for storytelling, resistance, and restoration. These aren’t just blankets—they’re banners of survival, sewn together by women who know what it means to carry legacy in their hands and history in their hearts.

The Craft of Collective Healing

In Baby Yams’ Quilt-Making Circles, Black and Indigenous mothers, birth workers, aunties, and artists gather to create—not just fabric art, but safe, sacred space. They stitch while sharing stories, swapping wisdom, and building something stronger than any thread: community.

But this isn’t just about bonding over beauty—it’s about life-saving connection. Tatyana founded Baby Yams in response to the devastating disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes. Black women are still three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women, and our babies are more than twice as likely not to make it past their first year. That’s not just a crisis. That’s a call to action.

And Tatyana Ali? She answered.

Beauty with a Backbone

As your resident fashion and beauty editor, you know I live for a gorgeous textile moment. And these quilts? Baby, they’re rich. They’re textured with history, layered with emotion, and stitched in styles passed down through generations. This is cultural couture. And it’s absolutely stunning.

But let’s be clear—the beauty here goes deeper than design. This is about shifting from generational trauma to generational healing. Through partnerships with on-the-ground organizations and Black and Indigenous birth workers, Baby Yams ensures that the women creating these quilts are also getting access to essential education, resources, and healthcare support.

This is beauty that builds. Fashion that fights. Wellness that works.

This Is What Inheritance Looks Like

Tatyana says it best: “We are providing cover for each other, just as we always have.”
And isn’t that what Black women have always done? Wrapped each other in protection, love, knowledge—and yes, fabric. We turn scraps into symbols. Wounds into wisdom. Pain into power.

The Quilt Project is a living, breathing reflection of that legacy. It’s where artistry meets activism, and where every square sewn says, We’re still here. And we’re not going anywhere.

Your Invitation to the Circle

So whether you’re a mama-to-be, a maker, a birth worker, or just someone with a deep love for community and culture—this is your invitation. Pull up a chair. Pick up a needle. Pass on a story. Add your stitch to the legacy.

Because healing doesn’t always look like hospital gowns and headlines. Sometimes it looks like colorful cotton, soft laughter, and steady hands.

And always, always—one stitch at a time.

From me, Cherisse Singh:
I’ll always love a red lip, a sharp heel, and a fabulous fit. But nothing—and I mean nothing—is more beautiful than Black women building something sacred, together.

And that, my loves, will always be in style.