RAISE hosts an embroidery event to foster community
Photo courtesy of Mohamed Rizly/Pexels
On Thursday, Apr. 9 from 4 to 6 p.m., students joined the Residential Assistants for International Student Experience (RAISE) to embroider and decorate provided items in the Hunt Room in the MacVittie College Union. There, students could choose to embroider or paint items such as tote bags, hats, or small handheld bags using a variety of colored paints and string. The event welcomed everyone of any skill level, and was a laid-back, relaxing way to spend time with friends, or to make new ones. Everything from embroidery hoops and needles to string and fabric paints was provided.
From the start of the event, attendees could choose from a selection of items and embroider them as they saw fit. Additionally, fabric paints, paint brushes of varying sizes, and stencils were provided for more ways to decorate and personalize your item of choice. Stencils ranged from flowers to butterflies and frogs, giving a multitude of decorative options when paired with multiple paint marker colors. For those who wanted to try their hand at embroidery, there was a large selection of threads in various colors, needles, and hoops provided.
This embroidery activity was very welcoming to people from various levels of experience, and did not make participants feel obligated to only embroider their bags or hats. Although the event was primarily promoted as an embroidery-focused activity, there were a couple of ways to decorate your item besides embroidery.
As someone who has never embroidered before, I was grateful that embroidery was not the only option to participate. The combination of the two mediums served as a way to explore embroidery while still leaving with something you have decorated as you please. For those who wanted to try to embroider but did not know how, one of the RAISEs helped students learn simpler stitches to make designs like flags, and also played how-to videos on embroidering beginner stitches.
Overall, the event was fun and relaxing. Students were hanging out with friends and making new ones, compliments were given to each other’s work, and everyone was overall having a good time. Tips and tricks were given to beginners from more experienced embroiderers, suggestions were offered on designs and patterns, and tools like scissors were shared amongst groups when supplies were spread across the room, which made the experience inviting and the embroidering so much more enjoyable as someone who is new to the craft.
Besides decorating items, this event was a fun way to get out of your comfort zone and experience something new, whether it be testing the waters of trying a new craft like embroidery or meeting new people. It was a calm environment where students could go and experience something new and exciting with their friends or even on their own. The flexibility in choices of design made the event enjoyable for everyone and allowed students to create something they could be proud of. Overall, the activity was a fun and creative way to spend the evening. Students left with knowledge in something they could continue to explore and pursue during their free time in the future, leaving a lasting impression on the students who attended, and promoting and encouraging future events similar to this one.