Recap: Embroidery for Change Workshop
In April, Embroidery for Change brought together a group of educators for a joyful, reflective, and hands-on workshop focused on embroidery! Hosted in partnership with the Hamesha Project, REALSOUL, and Oakland Asian Cultural Center, the 2 hour workshop offered a chance for East Bay educators to unwind after a long week of teaching and dive deep into this art form as a tool of resistance.
We opened with the many ways embroidery holds power, breaking the session into five key themes: reclaiming gendered labor, preservation as resistance, political protest, slowness and care as political acts, and collective making as a form of solidarity. We paid special attention to South Asian textiles, bridging art with histories of empire, resilience, and reinvention.
The highlight, though, had to be the hands-on embroidery session. Inspired by the embroidery of the Ahir community in Gujarat, India, we followed their techniques to create vibrant, intricate, and bold patterns—using the saankdi, or "chain," stitch as the foundation and outline of every design they adorn themselves with.
The chain stitch is quite poetic and symbolic of the Ahir community. With this technique, each stitch builds on the one before it in order to work. The saankdi stitch is also used to secure circular mirrors onto the fabric. First, a circle is created using the chain stitch to lay a foundation; then another circle is stitched on top of the mirror, using the first circle as an anchor.
It’s an embroidery technique that requires a strong foundation, interconnectedness, and multiple layers of support… much like the Ahir community itself!
By the end, folks were not just stitching fabric—they were stitching community!
A huge thank you to the generous support from our GoFundMe campaign, we were able to offer in-workshop materials and snacks donated by incredible local businesses including Uproot Teas, TWRL Milk Tea, Volcano Kimchi, Babo’s Kitchen, and Munchrooms.
We’re so proud of what we created together and can’t wait to bring the Embroidery for Change workshop to even more educators soon!
