Women belong in every conversation, and when excluded, history has proven the resourcefulness of women in bringing the conversation into traditionally feminine spaces. While we may think of needlework as something void of politics, the women of 19th century America and Britain co-opted this craft to carry the message of Abolition, granting access to information that many women would have otherwise never absorbed. Two major practices which furthered the Abolitionist cause were sewing circles and their associated anti-slavery fairs; and the coded quilts signposting the Underground Railroad.
Sewing circles gave women political agency and access to information in a traditionally feminine space. Through the creation of an Abolitionist material culture, women were able to further the cause by selling their embroidered goods to fundraise and by exposing women to educational material. According to Abolitionist Newspaper The Liberator, “sewing circles are among the best means for agitating and keeping alive the question of anti-slavery.”
Lydia Maria Child & Maria Weston Chapman, two Massachusetts women, organised the first anti-slavery fair in Boston, 1834. These fairs were the culmination of the Abolitionist sewing circles’ labours - sewn goods were sold in order to fundraise for the cause as well as spread Abolitionist symbols and ideas, including Chapman’s publication “The Liberty Bell,” an abolitionist pamphlet. According to Chapman, “When pincushions are periodicals, and needlebooks are tracts, discussion can hardly be stifled or slavery perpetuated.” She recognised the power and potential when her fellow women joined together and harnessed this energy for the good of the cause.
In addition to Abolitionist sewing circles, historians have posed that coded quilting may have been used by African Americans to help guide those escaping slavery along the Underground Railroad. While textual evidence for this theory is lacking, research has drawn upon both legend and oral history. According to the evidence gathered, African American women designed quilts containing codes in the form of symbols to communicate safe passage or warn of obstacles; for example, a star representing the North Star would indicate direction, a bear claw would signal an animal track, and a log cabin would indicate a safehouse. They would then hang these quilts on clotheslines for escapees to interpret as they travelled North to freedom.
We believe in the power of reclaiming gendered actions for political use. Sophie Hayes Foundation has used needlecraft as a means of expressing the experiences and healing journeys of survivors of modern slavery with the creation of our Freedom Quilt, currently exhibited in International Slavery Museum in Liverpool. Women survivors from across the country created and completed a unique set of 3 regional Freedom Quilts compromised of 247 individual squares crafted from iconic Liberty fabrics, assisted by quilting expert Jenni Smith. Each square represents the past and future hopes and dreams of participants of the Sophie Hayes Employability Programme, stitched together to illustrate a beautiful community of creative, resilient, empowered women.
We hope to continue bringing women together through needlecraft - weaving community, knowledge, and empowerment into their lives. To find out more about our work and events sign up for our latest news and updates.
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