Grita: Giving Embroidered Textiles a Second Life
A hand-embroidered tablecloth is rarely valued for the hours of labour it contains. Folded into drawers, passed between generations or relegated to second-hand markets, these domestic textiles often survive long after their original stories have been forgotten. For Portuguese maker Cristina Garcia, they represent both a material resource and a record of human care.
Founded in 2024, Garcia's label, Grita, transforms discarded household linens into distinctive, gender-neutral shirts. Working from the village of Serpins in central Portugal, she sources embroidered tablecloths, curtains and sheets from flea markets, thrift stores and online sellers, selecting pieces for their craftsmanship, character and potential. Every garment begins with an existing textile, allowing the embroidery, repairs and traces of use to shape the final design.
Photo: Annie Oakley Waterman
Garcia's path into textiles was an unexpected one. Trained as a social worker, she only learned to sew in 2021. What started as a practical skill soon became a full-time occupation and a way of rethinking the value of overlooked materials. Today, Grita's small monthly collections are eagerly anticipated, with customers waiting for each carefully curated release of around a dozen shirts.
The process is deeply collaborative. Garcia works alongside her mother, Maria Cristina Garcia, whose experience with needle and thread proves invaluable when restoring fragile fabrics. Stains are removed, tears repaired and damaged embroidery revived before the textiles are cut and sewn into new forms. In many cases, more time is spent preparing the cloth than constructing the finished garment itself. Subtle imperfections and evidence of repair become part of their appeal, creating pieces that celebrate longevity rather than novelty.
"Let's Go Hand in Hand!", a one-of-a-kind shirt by Grita. Photo: Annie Oakley Waterman
As part of our Win Win Win promotion for Issue 130, Flower, one reader has the opportunity to win Let's Go Hand in Hand!, a one-of-a-kind shirt by Grita worth £500. Created from an antique hand-embroidered linen tablecloth and finished with buttons made from recycled paper and plastic, it exemplifies Garcia's thoughtful approach to making: preserving the skill embedded in historic textiles while giving them a place in contemporary wardrobes.
Before entering, take five minutes to meet the maker behind the stitches:
Five Minutes with a Friend: Cristina Garcia, founder, Grita
Portrait of Cristina Garcia. Photo: Annie Oakley Waterman.
Cristina, what is your earliest memory of a textile?
When I was faced with this question, I immediately saw myself as a child, wearing the sweaters my mother used to knit for me and my sister. They were always the prettiest sweaters, with little figures and patterns on them, even though at the time we didn’t appreciate them very much.
My mother, my grandmother, and my aunts, whenever they had a moment away from the daily household routines, were always making something with their hands: embroidery, knitting, crochet. It’s impossible for me to imagine them sitting still without creating something.
Photo: Annie Oakley Waterman
Cristina and her sister wearing the hand knitted sweaters knitted by their mother. Photo: Cristina Garcia
How would you describe what draws you to textiles and the world of making?
On one hand, there’s this family history and the fact that I’ve always valued old textiles and the stories behind them. On the other hand, in my case, having made a complete career change, I was also deeply influenced by the professional frustration I felt for some time, combined with this growing need to do something with my hands: to create and to be creative. For a long time, I believed I simply wasn’t good at that, and it was through sewing that I realised I had been mistaken for many years.
Photo: Annie Oakley Waterman
Where do you feel most inspired to work?
The exact place where I work now: my home, located in a small village in central Portugal. I moved here in 2020, and it’s curious that this house, besides once having been a very popular commercial space in the area, was also a place where women learned how to sew. I like to think there is a connection between the house, its past, and the project that eventually came to life here — and which is now my full-time job.
Loja do Sr Falcão. Photo: Cristina Garcia
What has sparked your imagination or inspired you recently?
A place I visited last weekend: a shop (Loja do Sr Falcão) that has been open since 1878. It once functioned as both a tavern and a general store, selling a little bit of everything (just as my house once did). The space still preserves its original aesthetic: the furniture, the decoration.
Today, it no longer sells the same goods, but instead offers Portuguese artisanal products, some of which are becoming increasingly difficult to find. It’s a true journey through time, made possible by the founder’s great-granddaughter, who continues to opens the door every Saturday keeping the space alive. I feel that, in a way, this is also what I try to do with the textiles I rescue and use in my creations, to somehow keep them alive and honour the people who originally made them.
"Signature Cloth" dated 1915. Photo: Cristina Garcia
What is your most treasured textile, and what story does it carry?
A fabric I picked up at a market very recently. Only later, when I looked at it again, did I realise the treasure I had in my hands: a “signature cloth” dated 1915. This cloth led me to discover the tradition of these embroidered pieces that emerged in the 19th century, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. They were textiles, sheets, tablecloths, or quilts, on which different people would leave their names. The names were first written in pencil, and later someone would embroider over them.They were used in many different contexts: fundraising for charitable causes, recording the members of a group, supporting social causes, and commemorating important events.
Where did you first learn your craft, and who shaped your early approach to making?
My craft is actually quite recent and came into my life in a very unexpected way. I started in 2022 when, out of curiosity, I bought a sewing machine. I took a beginner’s course and, ever since then, I simply haven’t stopped. It felt like discovering an entirely new world.
Photo: Annie Oakley Waterman
Is there a piece of music you return to while you work, that sets the rhythm of your
making?
I like to work while listening to podcasts or the radio. But lately, I’ve felt so surrounded by noise that sometimes I switch everything off and stay with nothing but the sounds I can’t control — my dog, the street outside, the nature drifting in through the window.
What material or technique are you currently experimenting with or curious to explore further?
I’ve been creating some pieces using fabric appliqué. I’ve already made a few shirts with this technique, which also allows me to make use of fabric scraps left over from other projects. But I’m very eager to explore this technique further and create more compositions on the garments I make from discarded textiles. I’m very drawn to patchwork, and I already have a few ideas in mind for textile panels that I’m really excited to create
Photo: Annie Oakley Waterman
If you could collaborate with any maker—past or present—who would it be, and why?
With David from the Portuguese project Bailha. We’ve been in touch and are both very eager to create something together. Bailha is a beautiful project that celebrates and elevates Madeira embroidery, honouring the work of the embroiderers while also promoting the culture of such a unique region as the island of Madeira in Portugal. I really admire the way they incorporate embroidery into more contemporary and casual clothing, while still preserving the identity and history of Madeira embroidery. That balance isn’t always easy to achieve, but I think they do it beautifully.
What also connects David and me is the fact that we have both involved our mothers in our projects. David’s mother is a master of Madeira embroidery, and my mother works with me on washing, embroidery, and the finishing of the pieces. They are both our right-hand women.
Photo: Annie Oakley Waterman
What does a perfect day of making look like for you?
A perfect day is a sunny spring day in the village where I live. One where I can walk my dog, don’t have to rush anywhere, and can create freely in my studio, choosing the textiles I want to work with and thinking about how I will transform them always trying to make the best possible use of them.
Thank you, Cristina, for taking us behind the scenes of Grita and your thoughtful approach to making.
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Further Information:
To enter the competition, please click HERE.
Read more about Grita in "BRIGHT AS A NEW PIN: Cristina Garcia breathes new life into old linen", featured in Selvedge Issue 130, Flower.
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Image Credits:
Lead: Cristina Garcia as photographed by Annie Oakley Waterman (@annieoakleywaterman).
All further images as credited in captions.