Stowe Center To Offer Sewing And Learning Workshop: “Harriet Beecher Stowe And The Politics Of Pocket Purses”

The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center will present two virtual Sewing and Learning Workshops on "Harriet Beecher Stowe and the Politics of Pocket Purses." Employed to compensate for restrictive fashions and to address a range of social and cultural needs, pockets and small bags are a microcosm of complex political, gender, and race history.

At 3 pm on December 11, 2021, and January 15, 2022, The Stowe Center will host a virtual sewing circle in which participants will sew, decorate, and discuss a replica of a reticule, a kind of pocket purse, from the Stowe Center collections similar to those made by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Historically, sewing circles offered a woman-centered space for conversation, learning, and activism. In the Stowe Center's contemporary version, participants will gather in a similar style to make, learn, and discuss. The workshop features three speakers. Rebecca Bayreuther Donohue, historic clothing consultant and designer of the pattern based on the c. 1800-1840 reticule, will provide "how-to" instructions as participants begin to cut and sew.

During the sewing portion of the program, Edjohnetta Miller will share a personal and family history of her enslaved great-grandmother's small handbag. Finally, Dr. Shirley Wajda, Director of the Enfield Shaker Museum and an expert on activist fashion history will elaborate on women's pockets and purses. These lively informative presentations will be followed by a lengthy discussion.

Materials and a pattern will be mailed in advance and all will be encouraged to enhance the project with their personal artistry. Participants can share their creation as a friendship gift, or donate their creation to an activist cause about which they are passionate as part of a broader movement of "craftivism" (creating and making crafts as a form of advocacy and/or resistance).

Registration is open now for both dates. Cost is flexible, between $20 and $40. To register or learn more, visit harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/calendar. To see virtual content from last year's Sewing and Learning Workshop, visit HarrietBeecherStoweCenter.org/media-gallery.

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