Bengali Sewing Group

Following consultation with our local communities in Bethnal Green, we provided a series of free-to-access sewing sessions in our Create Place for Bangladeshi women, led by a Bengali-speaking practitioner.

The sewing sessions enabled local Bangladeshi women to connect with each other, make new friends, and learn new sewing skills, gaining confidence in using a machine to make and alter different items including making pillowcases, tote bags, card wallets and much more.

Over the course of the sessions, participants gained confidence in their work and felt empowered to express their own creativity, bringing in their own fabrics to use, and decorating their items with beads and embroidery.

Feedback from participants included:

“We love learning from Shama, she is helping us so much to make good things”

“I am learning sewing skills so I can help with my daughter-in-law’s wedding: she wants to make lots of cushions for the wedding and now I know how to make them!”

Continued consultation with the group has led to the creation of a new workshop series focusing on kantha embroidery, a traditional embroidery technique originating in Bangladesh. This series will engage participants in learning the techniques of kantha embroidery to create a collective artwork.