Little Storytellers – Phulkari Animals and Insects (Family Workshop)
Saturday, December 5, 2026
1-4 PM
$40 | General
$30 | Textile Museum Members
FREE | Children
One Adult ticket purchase required for every Child ticket purchased.
Introduce children to the joyful world of Phulkari embroidery through a hands-on family-friendly workshop designed for children ages 8 and above with parental supervision.
Participants will explore the history and creativity of Phulkari through an interactive presentation designed especially for young artists. They will learn how traditional embroiderers used flowers, animals, birds, and everyday objects to tell stories through textiles. The session will encourage children to think of embroidery as a form of drawing with thread, where every stitch adds colour, imagination, and personality to their artwork.
Children will embroider playful Phulkari-inspired animals and insects using the traditional darning stitch. Each participant will receive a pre-drawn motif on fabric and will learn the basic technique to transform the design into their own embroidered creation.
This workshop introduces children to cultural heritage while building creativity, patience, and confidence through a fun and accessible textile art experience. Families will leave with a handmade embroidered piece and a new appreciation for the stories hidden within traditional crafts.
All materials are supplied by the artist but if you require reading glasses, it is highly recommended to bring them to this workshop.
Facilitator Bio:
Oakville-based artist dedicated to promoting the intricate art of phulkari embroidery. Phulkari is a South Asian embroidery technique, meaning flower work. Each textile tells its own story, and Phulkari is the language of my craft. Over the past seven years, I’ve hosted more than 50 workshops across the GTA, including at the Textile Museum of Canada, the Art Gallery of Burlington, the University of Toronto, Contemporary Textile Studio and others.
I have successfully built my business ‘Dhaga Art’ in Canada, Dhaga meaning thread in Urdu language. My work is renowned for the unique custom embroidered hoops, and I have carved a niche in the North American market by crafting one-of-a-kind products. In my recent workshop highlights for Ontario Culture Days, I was selected by the municipalities to lead four phulkari workshops in Oakville, Milton, Georgetown and Burlington. The workshops were highly appreciated, and I won the award for the best collaborative program.
This workshop is presented in recognition of Monica Gupta and her generous support of the Textile Museum of Canada.
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