Sainchi Phulkari – Embroidering Stories Through Textiles (Intermediate)
Saturday, October 17, 2026 | 1-4 PM
$40 | General
$30 | Textile Museum Members
Explore the storytelling tradition of Sainchi Phulkari, a narrative style of embroidery that captures scenes of everyday life, communities and celebrations through detailed textile imagery. This workshop offers participants a unique opportunity to view a Sainchi Phulkari textile from the Textile Museum of Canada’s collection and learn how embroidered motifs can preserve memories and cultural histories.
After an introduction to the textile and its storytelling elements, participants will create their own Sainchi-inspired embroidered artwork using a pre-designed motif featuring traditional elements such as domestic animals, lotus flowers, village scenes, and other symbols found in narrative Phulkari.
More than a stitching experience, this workshop invites participants to become storytellers themselves. Each embroidered motif becomes a visual language -connecting people, places, and memories through thread. Participants will leave with a meaningful textile piece that reflects the beauty of storytelling through embroidery.
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.
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