When I was a little girl my paternal grandmother (yes, THAT one) taught me some basic hand embroidery, but it was what SHE thought I should learn, not an authentic embroidery project for ME, geared toward my interests.
Did I enjoy learning something new I could make with my hands? Sure!
But I tired of it long before I finished her project of little leaves and vines bordering a set of placements.
Hand Stitching For Me
Fast forward a few decades and I have made a habit of designing and hand sewing felt dolls for my munchkin as a way to create, decompress, and keep my hands busy (and screen-free) in less active daily moments.
It’s perfect to work on during one of munchkin’s classes, while she’s reading to herself, or while I chat with her bestie’s Mom as the girls play.
Options, Options, Options
Yet I need diversity in my creative ventures. I can’t just create one type of thing over and over.
I like doing things with my hands, my fingers. That’s why the piano and I have been besties since I could reach the keys. But the piano isn’t exactly portable or easy to multi-task with.
I wanted a different way to enjoy the freeing yet powerful feeling of creating with hand stitching.
I have piles of embroidery floss, hoops, and cross-stitch designs, but I also wanted something more open to interpretation than a cross-stitch pattern. I’m trying to break out of the prescribed and molded in my life, and this was a piece of that.
What about embroidery??!
An old college friend had started sharing her new embroidery hobby on her social media (looking at you, Kristen Wettlaufer).
It looked like a great mix of something structured enough that I didn’t have to think too hard, yet open to creative interpretation.
But I’d be damned if I was going to do those typical vines and flowers I did when I was young. I needed an authentic embroidery project. Authentic to ME and who I am working to be.
Feminist Embroidery
I had seen a new wave of ‘feminist’ embroidery here and there on social media so I did some Google, Etsy, and Pinterest searching. Because really, Google, Etsy, and Pinterest are where creatives usually search for things.
If you didn’t know, now you do *wink*.
I got some lovely ideas and saw such a wide range of ‘feminist,’ ‘naughty,’ or ‘modern’ embroidery. I was very excited to see this typically vintage stitching past-time was getting new life!
However, I wanted something that would be provocative, but still feel appropriate to be stitching with my daughter around (no ‘adult’ words or erotic images). I was planning to bring this project on our upcoming staycation, so she would most certainly be paying attention.
That was a tricky keyword search to figure out, lol.
Easy & Analog Instructions
Originally, I intended to get a free design with stitching instructions. However, I wanted something all-in-one that I could take with me; a design with quality stitching instructions I wouldn’t need to watch videos with.
That was trickier than I expected, honestly, at least if I wanted it to be free. Soooo….maybe not free this time.
Etsy to the rescue. *superhero theme music*
On Etsy, I found some great female empowering, body positive designs. However, I was also searching for a store that made it clear they taught the stitches required in an easy to understand way. (Reviewers are stellar for figuring that out!)
Authentic embroidery
An Etsy store named GirlGotThread
had rave reviews about her stitching explanations,
and NO internet videos required.
Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
Finding My Authentic Design
I have struggled with a negative body image most of my life, like the majority of American women, unfortunately. However, since I learned I was having a daughter, I have been actively working on changing this.
Thus, the following pattern spoke to me. A way to look at an authentic, bigger than ‘media standard’ body (which mine currently is), with love and appreciation for beauty.
Even as I saw the gorgeous black woman depicted here, I knew I needed to change the design just enough to make her look like me. To stitch myself into this beautiful scene.
Thus, authentic embroidery for me would be something that spoke to me, appealed to my visual desire for beauty, and aided in my personal growth. It would also end up being a teachable moment with my daughter.
Stitching As Self-Love
My little munchkin really enjoyed watching me start my new hand-sewing project. She was asking questions about the hoop, the fabric, the stitches, and why I was doing it.
She also simply enjoyed curling up next to me for a few minutes to watch and then do her own thing while I was present enough to talk with her or help her, but also quietly enjoying an art of my own. Mommy and daughter parallel play.
When I started making the woman’s body portion of the design, at one point she asked the question I had been waiting for:
“Mommy, Why is She Naked?”
Fabulous question, right?! I mean parents have to explain to children at an early age that certain parts of their bodies are not to be seen or touched without their permission. Parents also have to explain why kids who love to be naked can’t do so in public.
So what made it okay for me to be creating a naked body that, to my daughter, was public (anyone could see it)?
I love how little minds work and wonder.
It also makes my own mind think and reflect. How do I explain that our bodies are wonderful just the way they are? That we can be free and naked and there is nothing wrong with that.
Yet, also explain in an age appropriate way that for various reasons (societal expectations, legal restrictions, safety concerns) we also cover up this beautiful body.
It often seems simple until you try to form a response to a great kid question. lol.
New Generation, New Mindset
So I focused on body positivity. Which was my personal journey with this authentic embroidery project.
We talked a minute about what we think of our bodies. Why we wear different kinds of clothes. What she thought of her body. I even explained how it can be difficult for people to love their own bodies when there are mixed messages about bodies in the world, and gave her a few examples of what messages we see every day.
Mom’s Are Human Too
Then I shared that many people often need help loving their bodies more for their beauty and power just as they are, including myself.
I focused more on how my body has been through many changes and surgeries since she was born, because she knows that and has seen that process. How those things can make us forget how amazing our body is because it looks different or acts different now.
Art is Power
Thus, the embroidery image I was making is a reminder that our bodies are fantastic, gorgeous, powerful containers for our glorious souls.
That there is artwork from ancient times appreciating the forms of human bodies (Googling some Greek statues as examples for her).
Reminding her that art is someone sharing what they are thinking and feeling, so look at how much these artists revered the human body: the scientific brilliance of it, the visual beauty of it, the emotions they could show through it.
That led to me asking her how this embroidery design made her feel.
Basically, she and I agreed that it was beautiful. We felt like smiling when we saw it.
Authentic Change
Weeks, even months later, munchkin will look at my finished design and tell me yet again ‘this is so beautiful, Mommy. You did a great job!’
What a glorious reminder that she is seeing a bigger than ‘media standard’ naked woman’s form and loving it, smiling at it, and enjoying its beauty.
On top of that fact, she knows that it is a representation of my body.
What about myself?
Has this authentic embroidery project made any difference for me?
I can actually say definitively yes.
As a Creation Medium
As I was stitching this design, I had such a positive experience. The directions were easy to use, the stitches were fun and diverse, and I found I really enjoy embroidery. It allows for color interpretation. It allows for adding or subtracting as I choose. It can easily be personalized.
The design itself is also powerful for me. As I stitched this, I really loved how it turned out. The design truly did turn out beautiful, especially as I tailored it to look like me physically.
As A Healing Medium
This project currently hangs on my bedroom wall. I see it as I get up for the day and go to bed. Each time it makes me smile.
Smiling at this stitched rendition of myself in my current body size absolutely has an effect on my personal body positivity and acceptance.
Has it ‘fixed’ my vision of myself? Hah. No. One embroidery project won’t do that. It has helped, though!
Seeing a stitched version of my body shape that makes me smile. You know that is making some positive changes in synapses, one little smile at a time. The magic of art and creation.
What’s Next??
What would you like to make as an authentic embroidery or authentic creation project?
Let me know in the comments!
(Or send me a private message here.)
