All images: (c) Ekta Kaul.

Our Kantha Stitching workshop with award-winning textile artist and teacher Ekta Kaul will now be a virtual workshop, hosted on Zoom, on Saturday 27 June. The price of the workshop includes a materials pack, which will be sent to you ahead of time so that you have everything you need to participate from the comfort of your home. Kantha is a beautiful stitch technique from the Indian subcontinent with a rich heritage rooted in storytelling and upcycling. Used fabrics are layered, embroidered and repurposed into textiles for function or display. Ekta recommends that you gather a selection of your own fabrics to experiment with during the workshop, including preloved fabrics and items from your wardrobe that you no longer use.

Ekta’s creative voice is rooted in the plural - a unique assimilation of her Indian heritage and British training. She creates ‘StoryMaps’ - narrative embroidered maps that explore place, history and belonging through stitch. Her textiles are imbued with character, they speak of exquisite craftsmanship, careful attention to detail and a sensitive use of colour and materials. Her recent projects include commissions from Gunnersbury Park Museum, Watermans Art Centre and a bespoke StoryMap for Liberty’s permanent collection. Ekta’s work can be seen select group of galleries in the UK and internationally including The New Craftsmen, Contemporary Applied Arts, Ruthin Craft Centre, Museum of Art and Design NYC, Conran Shop Tokyo among others. She has received awards from the Crafts Council, the Arts Council and was the finalist in Jerwood Makers Open 2019. She works from her studio at Cockpit Arts in Bloomsbury, London.

Speaking about Kantha, Ekta says, “Kantha is one of my favourite stitches to use. I love its ethos of repurposing, mending and storytelling. Despite its simplicity Kantha is an incredibly versatile stitch as it can be used to create motifs, textures and quilt multiple fabric layers together. I enjoy teaching ways of interpreting this stitch, sharing its history and the joy of making a meaningful and sustainable textile.”

For more information and to book tickets visit Kantha Stitching, Virtual Workshop with Ekta Kaul

We recommend booking by 22 June for your materials to arrive on time.

This workshop is now sold out, but you can add your name to the waiting list via the link above. We are adding new workshops daily.