Last week I attended the African Folklore Embroidery workshop and Safari through African Folklore Embroidery lecture by Leora Raikin. It was refreshing, fun, educational and entertaining. Leora grew up in South Africa and learned African Folklore Embroidery from her mother.
The authentic designs are drawn by village women in South Africa and printed onto a sturdy black cotton fabric.
The variegated threads come in the most delicious colorfast colors, and are hand-dyed in South Africa. Different color dyes are poured onto the threads every two inches with a teaspoon, giving a wonderful range of colors in even a short length of thread. What is great is that the employment opportunities created by the market for these beautiful threads has enabled many women to move from shack housing to regular housing with running water and electricity.
The Ndebele tribe has many other wonderful handicrafts, such as this beaded Ndebele Ceremonial doll. You can add beads and other fun stuff to your embroidery as well.
Here is the very charming African Folklore piece that I am working on. The first rule of African Folklore Embroidery is that any color you choose is the right color. And with so many gorgeous colors to pick from, you can’t go wrong!
My daughter Annika chose a cute hippo, and declared the chain stitch used in African Folklore embroidery to be very easy. Picking just one design is what is hard.
African Folklore Embroidery kits, hand-dyed House of Embroidery threads, and Leora Raikin’s book, Safari Through Africa Folklore Embroidery (which covers embroidery, beading, and other wonderful embellishment techniques) are all available at the African Folklore Embroidery site. Or visit Leora’s blog for African safari photos and adventures.