"Pocket Club" Pockets change a garment. They carry your phone, wallet, keys and other objects of identity and protection that you want to have with you and often need as you navigate the world. However, many pants, shorts, and dresses–especially those designed for and marketed to femmes–do not have any pockets, or instead include small pouches that are more decorative than functional. These pocket-limited clothes are often sold at higher prices than similar clothes designed for men, which often have deeper pockets. Not only are pockets an issue of utility and comfort, but also social aesthetics and gender equity. This workshop seeks to highlight and subvert these inequities while enabling people to add bigger pockets to their clothes. In this workshop, participants will learn how to alter clothes to make their pockets larger. They will also be taught how to add pockets to garments that are missing them. We will figure out how to source functional pockets from damaged or recycled clothes and add them to other items, as well as how to design, cut, and install new pockets from a fabric of your choosing. Together, we will discuss the cultural, personal, and political significance of pockets.

In this 3.5 hour seasonal dye class with Emily Auchincloss and Maggie Ruth Haaland, we will work with two beloved plants, nettles and indigo, to coax color onto cloth in a fun and welcoming environment. Participants will learn the basics of preparing an indigo vat, dyeing with nettles and indigo,  and how to layer the two colors to get even more shades. There will be instruction in the medicinal and historical uses of these two powerful plants, as well as plenty of time to experiment and play with tie dye and other mechanical resist techniques. Two bandanas included in the cost of the class. Join us for an afternoon learning and creating in community! 

In the Expanded Quilt workshop, we will be stretching and bending our ideas of quilting through the use of materials and process, using the “crazy” quilt as a starting point  This workshop is focused on skill building as well as play and experimentation.  It is open to all levels and all ideas are welcome for experimentation and a togetherness in brainstorming and problem solving in order to make our ideas a reality. Supplies will be available, but you may want to bring fabrics and in progress projects that are meaningful to you.

This workshop is led by Beckett Brueggemann (he/him) a weaver, quilter, and installation artist currently working in Boston. He graduated with his BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and is currently pursuing his Masters of Art Teaching at Tufts University. In his practice, Beckett explores safety and healing in structure, pattern, and soft escapism. His work encourages gentle touch, fluid time, and steps into otherworldly spaces. He engages with the histories of craft in conjunction with the developing aesthetics of glitch art as he studies the language and observations of astrophysics. In this, he finds inspiration in the descriptions of the universe: the fabric of reality, the warping of time, and the holes in our space/time continuum.

In this workshop we will discuss the history and context around amulet-making, exploring and expanding the definition of an amulet to include contemporary materials. Using birth control packaging, lace, ribbon, fabric and other politicized/and or gendered items we will construct objects that bestow sacred attention upon contemporary struggles. Techniques include hand sewing, beading, and soft sculpture.

Charlie Dov Schön is an emerging textile and found object artist working in Boston. She graduated from Hamilton College with a degree in Art and Environmental Studies. Her work engages with data-based processes, Jewish iconography, and repurposed materials; creating new ritual/political objects.