Zhuang Patchwork Quilting with Selina Ben

This class is part of the five-part virtual Hand Sewn Quilting Series III. Classes may be purchased à la carte at $75 or as a five-part package for a discounted price of $350. 

In this class, you will be invited to explore the quilt tradition from the Zhuang, the largest ethnic minority group in China. Selina will walk you through historical Zhuang quilt top examples, explaining the significance of quilts in Chinese culture, and demonstrate how to construct a traditional Zhuang quilt top block from scratch to finish.

Zhuang quilts are rooted in the long tradition of reusing textiles in China. For centuries, Zhuang women created artistic quilt tops by patching and appliquéing their cultural identity and belief with used textiles. A Zhuang girl in the past would save scrap fabrics for a few years and stitch her wishes for a good marriage and a happy future into her wedding quilt top.

With the skills learned in the class, you will be able to apply both the technique and the design approach on your creative projects.

Date + Time

Friday, October 17, 2025, 12:00 - 2:30 pm ET

Location

Zoom, a link will be emailed to participants the day before class.

Cost

$75 for the individual class
$350 for the series

Suggested Class Materials

• Appliqué fabric: medium weight non-stretch woven cotton or linen fabric (denim, bed linen, Azumino-Momen Sashiko fabric). Wash, dry, iron all fabrics in advance to avoid shrinkage and color bleeding.
• Base fabric: 2pcs in similar quality to the appliqué fabric described above. The top layer fabric size should be 19x19cm, the bottom layer fabric size should be 16x16cm.
• Sashiko thread thick type (Olympus, Daruma) or DMC pearl cotton thread #8
• Fusing material: Mistyfuse sheer fusible web white or Vliesofix bondaweb 719
• Needles (2pcs): Sashiko needle (Tulip, Olympus, Clover) or other sharp needles with big eyes
• A pair of sharp paper scissors
• A pair of sharp fabric scissors
• Fabric marker (recommended: heat erasable marker, water soluble marker)
• A ruler longer than 23cm
• An ironing board, an iron and 1pc baking paper for using fusing materials to fuse fabrics

Scholarships 

There are scholarship spots available for this workshop. Please email info@tatter.org to learn more.

Our Teacher

Selina Ben is a textile artist and mender based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. With a professional background in textile product development, her passion for textiles has existed for as long as she can remember.

Selina is inspired by historical textiles around the world. Her curiosity about why the textiles were significant to a place, what materials were used and how they were made stimulates her creativity. With her practice, she hopes to preserve disappearing techniques, honor unknown makers and their cultural heritage.

Witnessing landfills overloaded with textile waste, Selina chooses to work with pre-used fabrics. All the signs of wear and tear on the fabrics are a source of inspiration for her creative process. With her hands, needles and threads, she brings the fabrics to a new phase of their lives so that people can start looking at our relationships with textiles differently.

Selina believes stitching by hand is the best form of meditation. The repetitive motions of arms, wrists, fingers, needle and thread bring peace of mind and a sense of accomplishment. As time goes by, the grounded feeling arises, the positive energy grows, and a new work is born.

Selina’s practice can be found at www.unwrittenstitch.com and Instagram @selinaam05.

*All classes in this series will be recorded. A link to the recording will be emailed to all students following the live session. You may purchase the series as a whole even after the classes have begun. You will be emailed the recordings upon sign-up.