Arpillera Patchwork Workshop

Drawing from her own Chilean roots, this masterclass will be dedicated to the “Arpillera” patch-working process. Translating into “burlap” in Spanish, the Arpillera is traditionally a brightly- coloured, landscape patchwork picture that was most commonly crafted as a means of secret protest during the 1970s military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Arpilleras were often made in workshops and secretly distributed abroad through human rights groups, all while participants processed their own personal traumas and injustices through the art of picture patchwork making.

This embroidery workshop will encourage participants to emotionally recycle their own personal and sacred materials that can then be made into their own “Arpillera”. In this workshop, we will be processing the collective anxiety and grief universally felt during the pandemic and create our own patchwork picture that will reflect this.

The workshop will begin with a brief presentation of Eloïse’s work, as well as an-depth look at the history of the “Arpillera” and how this traditional textile practice can be used to envision a better world or to simply process one’s current reality through the artistic up- cycling of one’s textile remnants. Very basic embroidery techniques will then be introduced to aid participants in creating their patchwork picture.

Basic embroidery instructions will be provided, as well as a printable set of cut-out patterns for houses, animals, trees, and plants.

About Eloïse Ptito
Originally from Montréal, Eloïse Ptito-Echeverria is a textile designer and curator currently based in Amsterdam, NL. Driven by intelligent print and ethical design, she possesses a particular penchant for textiles, embroidery, and colour. After completing her Fine Arts degree in 2011, she lived in Santiago, Chile for a year where she trained in Rococo hand- embroidery and Shibori. She also studied Precolumbian-Andina textiles at l’Universidad Catolica de Diseño. All of these experiences have collectively impacted her aesthetic vocabulary, resulting in a heavily art-based design ethos that insists upon embedding her work with the empowering qualities of colour, the textile practices of her mixed heritage, and the emotional recycling of personal materials. Paying very little attention to current fads, her ultimate goal is to create soulful heirloom pieces that will be passed down from generation to generation. She is a graduate of the Ryerson Fashion Design Program and was awarded Brettons’ Designer of the Year. Her work has been featured in Selvedge Magazine (UK), Textielplus, The Toronto Star, The Kit, Not Just a Label, Blanc Magazine, and more.