Rayna Fahey puts the "cross" into cross stitch by using it to draw attention to the big issues.
Rayna Fahey puts the "cross" into cross stitch by using it to draw attention to the big issues.
A Kiwi mum is putting the cross into cross stitch with a new book on how to darn feminist slogans.
The book has instructions on how to create "Damn right we're snowflakes. WINTER IS COMING" or "Same s*** different century".
Mother of three and former Green Party candidate Rayna Fahey has just released her first book, Really Cross Stitch – For When You Just Want to Stab Something A Lot.
It features 40 designs – suitable to both beginners and accomplished cross stitchers – inspired by the banners and signs at recent protest marches.
It is part of the "craftivist" movement which combines both craft and political action.
"It can be strongly political and a way for people who might not be easily able to do so through other means of protest to agitate for change," Fahey said of being a craftivist.
"There is a lot of potential for getting a message across."
She once organised a group of cross-stitchers to make samplers which read "I wanna live here" that were then displayed on prominent fences around her neighbourhood to draw attention to rampant land speculation.
In the UK, the Craftivist Collective led by Sarah Corbett, organised "stitch ins" at Marks & Spencer department stores to produce handkerchiefs emblazoned with messages about paying a living wage. These were handed to shareholders at the 2015 M&S annual general meeting; in 2016, the company announced it would raise wages after praising the Craftivist Collective's campaign as thoughtful and heartfelt.
Radical cross stitcher Rayna Fahey warns we shouldn't underestimate the so-called snowflake generation.
Fahey said while combining craft with protest wasn't new, it was certainly powerful.
"I've got a women's studies degree but until I started this, I had no idea there was this whole history of women using craft and creative activity for change but it makes sense given the visual symbolism and the fact that many who wanted to express a political opinion weren't in a position to do so outwardly. They did through their craftwork instead.
"I think the reason we don't realise how big a role women's craftwork has played in political movements is because it's simply regarded as 'women's work' and therefore undervalued, not viewed as having much importance."
Fahey says it's never too late to take up a needle and protest. She started 12 years ago when, constantly unwell during her first pregnancy, she sought ways to relieve her boredom and take her mind off her sickness.
"I was terrible at crafts as a kid," she says. "My mum tried to teach me how to sew but I just couldn't get it. I found a passion for cross stitching, though, and have been able to combine it with politics."
• Really Cross Stitch — For When You Just Want to Stab Something A Lot by Rayna Fahey (Bloomsbury, $22)
