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Three women are seated in a room with wooden floors and patterned windows, engaged in sewing and fabric work. One woman sits on a wooden stool at a table with a black sewing machine, wearing a yellow and red headscarf and working with red fabric. Another woman sits on the floor in front of her, wearing a purple head covering and a patterned top, also handling red fabric. A third woman sits on a black chair to the right, wearing a yellow patterned outfit, working with fabric in a white tray. A second sewing machine sits on a table in the background near a wooden shelving unit holding various items. A colorful patchwork piece lies on the floor in the foreground.
  • 5 took part
  • 2 facilitators

Monday 12 October 2026

Stitching the Pieces

Facilitated by Shabana K H

What the work needed: people, time, money, space and materials.
What went in
Materials : Prepared 6cm-wide fabric strips, A4printed designs from the kantha app needles and thread.
Time
4 hours
Cost
₹0

What was done with those inputs, step by step.

We continued our Kantha work by joining the fabric strips prepared in earlier sessions. The aim was to practise following a design, aligning fabric strips and keeping hand stitching even.

Each participant used their design from the Kantha app, printed on A4 paper, to select and arrange the matching 6 cm-wide fabric strips. The printouts helped them check the colour order and placement before stitching the strips side by side into fabric panels.

Participants then added rows of Kantha running stitches along the panels. We focused on consistent stitch lengths, even spaces between rows and thread tension, particularly at the thicker seams.

What the activity directly produced: sessions held, people reached, things made.
  • 3 Fabric Panels assembled and embroidered with kantha stitches.

What changed for the people who took part, and what showed it.

Participants followed the printed designs to arrange and join their fabric strips. They added Kantha running stitches across the joined sections, producing aligned strips and neatly spaced stitching.

(We observed it)

What the team will keep or change next time.

Laying the fabric strips directly over the A4 printouts helped participants check the colour order and alignment. Keeping thread tension even was harder at the thicker seams, where pulling too tightly could gather the fabric. Next time, we will try securing the strips with tailor pins before stitching to help keep the seams aligned.

Stitching Clubaikyam fellowsShabana K Haikyam space

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