African American Folklore Embroidery

As we just finished up the unit on African Folklore I wanted to share with the class an example of an African American Folklore Embroidery! This is teaching the next generation to stitch with enthusiasm and creativity! When designs are complete, they can be turned into purses, backpacks, pillows, quilts and clothes. The embroidery kit includes a braid of bright African threads and you pull out from the top of the braid your color choice. The meaning of the embroidery is full of color because it is important to gratify and give thanks to color. That means Africans were chastized for so long for being not of the "ivory complexion" like Caucasians, that they are celebrating their heritage by embroidering these tote bags etc. with vibrant authentic african threads to enjoy and celebrate their culture and heritage. This is a very intriguing tradition!