Fiber arts

Fiber Arts Challenge 2026: Coming Soon

Attention fiber artists! This is your opportunity to demonstrate your skills and artistry. Announcing the Fiber Arts Challenge for the 25th annual KTAA exhibition 2026: The Art of the Fan

Description:

This challenge reimagines the traditional lady's fan as a contemporary fiber art masterpiece. We invite artists to explore the fan not merely as an accessory, but as a sculptural form. Entries should interpret the concept of a "fan" broadly, moving beyond historical replication to create a unique piece that showcases technical innovation, and artistic expression.

Your piece must be inspired by the form, function, or history of the fan. It may be functional, sculptural, or purely decorative. Consider the fan's essence: it can conceal and reveal, create airflow, serve as a symbol of status or communication, or simply be an object of beauty. How can you translate these ideas through fiber?

Technical Requirements:

Form: The work must be a recognizable interpretation of a fan (e.g., a hand-held fan, a folding fan, a fixed fan, or an abstract sculptural representation of the concept).
Construction: The primary structure and decorative elements must be created using fiber art techniques.
Size: While there are no strict size limits, the piece should be manageable for display and judging.

Required Elements:

The piece must be an original design created by the entrant. It cannot be from a commercial pattern or kit.
The fan must incorporate a rigid or semi-rigid structure (e.g., commercially available structure, interfacing, wiring, knitting with wire, coiled techniques, 3D printed base) that allows it to maintain its form.
The surface design must prominently feature at least one fiber art technique.

Judging Criteria:

Entries will be judged on the following:
Creativity & Originality: Uniqueness of concept and interpretation of the theme.
Technical Skill: Proficiency and mastery of the chosen techniques(s).
Design & Aesthetics: Composition, use of color, texture, and overall visual impact.
Adherence to Theme: Success in capturing the essence of a "fan" through fiber.

Fiber Arts Challenge 2025 : Closed

A Look Back: The Fiber Arts Challenge for the 24th Annual KTAA Exhibition 2025

We are no longer accepting submissions, but we invite you to explore the guidelines and winning entries from this celebrated event.

Calling all creative minds and skilled hands in the realm of fiber arts! We invited artists to showcase their talent and craftsmanship in our special Fiber Arts Challenge.

The challenge specifications were simple yet open to interpretation: participants were tasked with crafting a collar that fit perfectly on a mannequin torso. Each creation was required to demonstrate not only technical proficiency but also creativity, innovation, and attention to detail.

The Challenge Guidelines Were:

Materials: Participants were free to use any type of fiber or material suitable for their chosen technique (e.g., yarn, thread, fabric, beads, etc.). The use of unconventional materials was encouraged to showcase creativity.
Technique Diversity: The collar had to prominently feature at least one fiber art technique such as embroidery, crochet, tatting, knitting, weaving, felting, lace-making, macramé, quilting, or any combination of methods.
Originality: All entries were required to be the original creations of the participant. Plagiarism or copying existing designs resulted in disqualification.
Size Requirements: The collar had to be designed to fit a standard mannequin torso, ensuring it would sit comfortably and aesthetically around the neck area. Each participant was responsible for providing their own mannequin bust for the final presentation.

It was an exciting endeavor that pushed the boundaries of fiber arts and celebrated craftsmanship in its most intricate form. We thank everyone who let their imagination flourish and their skills shine. The winning entries truly adorned our mannequins and captured our hearts

Hand-Stitched Memory Cloth: From Individual Thread to Collective Fabric

Title: Hand-Stitched Memory Cloth: From Individual Thread to Collective Fabric

Instructor: Batoul AlSayegh

Hand-Stitched Memory Cloth Workshop
This is a guided slow-stitching session focused on hand stitching as a mindful contemporary art practice. Participants will work with simple stitches and varied materials, embracing imperfection, to translate a personal memory onto cloth. Each individual textile piece will then be physically joined with others to form a single collaborative work for display. The session uses slow hand stitching to reflect on the relationship between the individual maker, the Kuwait Textile Art Association as a collective, and Sadu House as a shared cultural and institutional context.

Materials to Bring

Please bring the following:

10”x10” square piece of fabric (cotton or linen preferred, light to medium weight neutral color)
Hand-sewing needles
Embroidery or sewing thread (neutral or earth tones recommended)
Fabric scraps
Lace, buttons, any embellishments
5”-7” hoop
Small scissors

Prepare in advance:

Before attending, please take a few quiet moments to reflect on one personal memory. This could relate to home, belonging, a woman who taught you something, a place you return to, or a memory connected to KTAA, Sadu House, or what it means to you to be part of this community. You do not need to write it down or share it in advance, simply arrive with this memory in mind. It will quietly guide your stitching during the workshop.

All levels of stitching experience are welcome.

The workshop explores how:

Each stitch holds personal memory
Cloth only gains strength when threads come together
Kuwaiti textile heritage (Sadu) is collective by nature→Contemporary textile art reinterprets this idea today

Somethings to keep in mind:

No thread stands alone. No cloth exists without many hands. We are individual makers, but we belong to something larger.

Sadu weaving was never a solitary act
Knowledge was passed hand to hand

Today is not about perfect stitching →It’s about slowing down, remembering, and understanding how our individual stories form a shared textile.

Patterns carried memory, environment, survival
Contemporary textile art asks:
How do we carry that forward today?

-Memory Prompt: Choose ONE memory related to:

→In contemporary art, memory is material. Today, memory becomes thread.

Home, Belonging, A woman who taught you something, A place you return to

-Individual Hand-Stitching

Simple running stitch / repetitive stitch /couching
Slow, intentional movement
No correcting, no perfection→Mistakes are part of the cloth

-Transition: From Individual to Collective (10 minutes)

Today they will join our cloth to a shared textile

→Attach our piece using a few stitches
→Connects edge to edge with others

This mirrors:
Sadu weaving, Kuwaiti social fabric, KTAA as a collective body of artists

Your cloth does not lose its identity by joining others. It becomes stronger.

- Contemporary Art Framing

Contemporary textile art values:
→Process

→Concept

→Collective authorship

→Social meaning

This piece is:
→A collaborative artwork
→A living archive of memory
→A reflection of KTAA today

This is not craft for decoration. This is textile as contemporary art practice.

Couching Embroidery

Instructor: Maddie ElIssawi

Date: December 6th

Couching is a versatile technique that can be used for various purposes, adding texture, depth, and visual interest to your embroidery projects. The technique involves laying one thread across the surface of the fabric and another thread is used to hold it in place. This creates interesting patterns and textures.

Requirements:

Embroidery hoop 10-12”

Piece of light plain color cotton fabric (preferably white) 12” to 14”

T-shirt yarn any color

Fishing net and twine Polyester yarn

Needle

Scissors

Tracing pen

Tips:

Prepare your fabric by placing it in the embroidery hoop, ensuring it's taut. This helps to create even stitches.
Choose a contrasting color for the thread you want to lay on the fabric (couching thread). This thread can be thicker or a different texture than the couching thread.
Experiment with colors and textures. Feel free to experiment with different colors and types of threads for both couching and the couched thread. This can create unique and visually appealing effects.

Couching allows for a great deal of creativity, and you can use this technique to outline shapes, fill areas, or create intricate designs. Practice and experimentation will help you master the art of couching embroidery.

Common Applications:

Textile Art: This can be especially effective in abstract or contemporary embroidery projects.
Decorative Outlines: Create decorative outlines around shapes or patterns in your embroidery.
Filling Areas: This is a great way to add richness and complexity to your embroidery, especially in backgrounds or border designs.
Lettering and Typography: Outline or fill in letters and typography in your embroidery projects.
Surface Embellishments: Enhance the surface of your embroidery by using couching to attach various materials, such as ribbons, yarns, or metallic threads. This is particularly effective for creating mixed-media embroidery.
Textured backgrounds or surfaces for your embroidery. This is effective for adding depth and interest to landscape or nature-themed projects.
Functional Items: Apply couching to functional items like clothing, accessories, or home decor items.

Simple Reversable Fabric basket grandma’s way

Instructor: Batoul AlSayegh

Requirements:

2 complementary square pieces of fabric cut to 12” x 12”

2 strips of the same fabrics cut to 2.5” x 12.5”

1 square batting cut 12” x 12” plus a strip cut to 2.5” x 12.5”

Length of good quality ribbon to match the fabrics you selected cut into eight 8” strips

Sewing tools:

Sewing machine, matching thread, scissors, pins, chop stick, lighter

Instructions:

For the handle:

Place one strip right side up and the second strip right side down.
Place the strip of batting on the top.
Pin in place.
Sew down both sides.
Turn right side out.
Sew a decorative stitch down the middle of the strip.

For the basket:

Place the first fabric right side up
Measure the middle of the square and place the handle you made. Pin in place.
Measure 3” in from each corner and place a piece of 8” ribbon between the two squares and pin in place
Make sure to leave about ½” on ribbon on the outside of the squares.
Do this for each corner (total of 8 ribbons) (see image 1)
Place the second fabric right side down and the batting on the top. (see image 2)
Sew all around the square leaving a 2” opening to turn the basket right side out. (see image 3)
Snip the corners so you get a nice crisp corner when you flip the basket.
Flip and iron well.
Sew around the basket to close up the opening.
Mark a straight line from one ribbon to the ribbon across from it. Sew from one ribbon down to the one across from it. Do this 3 more times. (see image 4)
Burn the end of the ribbons to stop them from unraveling.
Tigh a bow in each corner to finish your basket.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse