Hear the words embroidery, macrame or weaving and you might think of a grandma in a rocking chair.
But fiber arts 鈥� creations made with thread, yarn and other materials 鈥� are getting a branding glow-up thanks to Generation Z and millennials on TikTok and Instagram reels. While fiber art blew up during pandemic lockdowns, it has remained a popular pastime that鈥檚 resonating with creators of all ages.
Think Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion鈥檚 鈥淲AP鈥� playing over a or a video of a woman . Hashtags like #fiberart #fiberartist #crochettok #yarntok are a treasure trove of artists making all kinds of innovative designs from tufted landscapes to knitted tank tops.
is a Richardson-based designer by day and fiber artist by night. She creates embroidery on wood with patterns of geometric shapes. Iqbal said she鈥檚 seeing younger generations take the craft of fiber art in a new direction.
鈥淵ou have these designers that are coming out embroidering subject matter that wasn't something that was embroidered by our grandparents back even 30 or 40 years ago,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey're really pushing the boundaries as far as how they can make materials work and freshen up what that subject matter looks like.鈥�
What Iqbal is talking about is embroidery that鈥檚 stitched with funny sayings that simply weren鈥檛 a thing of the past like 鈥淢otivated by spite鈥� or 鈥淏less This Hizzle Fo鈥� Shizzle.鈥�
Iqbal鈥檚 theories for why fiber arts are taking off? There鈥檚 a way to reference fun pop culture and an underlying theme of sustainability with a rising interest in mending and upcycled materials.
Not to mention, the childhood nostalgia.
Dallas-based fiber artist recalls cross-stitching with her grandma growing up. She returned to fiber arts as an adult with embroidery.
鈥淓mbroidery was something that I could do in my apartment, and it didn't take up very much space and I could put it down easily and come back to it. So that kind of hooked me back in.鈥�
She likes including affirmations in her work like 鈥淚t鈥檚 probably fine鈥� 鈥� which is something she grew up saying as a camp counselor.
For Davidson, embroidery is about peace of mind.
鈥淚t's something I do as kind of a meditative practice to decompress. Like, I already have something in mind and since it is so time consuming, you can fill a shape for quite a long time. I鈥檒l do it watching TV or just to decompress in the evening.鈥�
Iqbal calls embroidery a slow craft, one that requires a lot of time to develop a skill set. She鈥檚 excited that fiber arts is no longer being labeled as a hobby only for grandmas.
鈥淚t really built momentum over the past years with this sort of resurgence of taking an old craft and how can we spin it in a new direction.鈥�
Want to follow more local fiber artists?
- Dallas-based Sam Lao
- Fort Worth-based artist
- Texas-based fiber artist Han Cao
Arts Access is an arts journalism collaboration powered by The Dallas Morning News and 四虎影院.
This community-funded journalism initiative is funded by the Better Together Fund, Carol & Don Glendenning, City of Dallas OAC, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Eugene McDermott Foundation, James & Gayle Halperin Foundation, Jennifer & Peter Altabef and The Meadows Foundation. The News and 四虎影院 retain full editorial control of Arts Access鈥� journalism.
