At the tail end of Pride month—when the glitter fades and the sound systems quiet—we’re carving out space for something slower, stiller, and just as proud.
Hanky Code in Bloom is a hands-on, heart-forward workshop where queerness is worn, stitched, printed, and honored. We’ll draw from histories both whispered and radiant: Victorian flowers as secret code, hankies worn to speak volumes without words, the gentle signaling that made us visible to one another across decades and systems of silence.
Together, we’ll work with botanical linocuts—meticulously hand-carved by Jess—selecting symbols that speak to your desires, your history, your language of self. You’ll print these onto raw matka silk using fiber-reactive dye in classic hanky code colors or a palette of your own invention. Then we’ll slow down into hand stitching, embroidery, and visible mending to embellish, affirm, and ground the work.
This is a workshop for those who crave something tactile, something tender, something real. A place to land after the parades. A chance to be with others in shared softness. We’ll hold space for queer and trans stories that span centuries and cities—from the old “Do you live on Spruce Street?” to the bold wink of a green carnation, all the way to a silk scarf in your hands that says something only you could say.
This is for the ones who’ve felt overwhelmed by Pride’s volume and longed for something more rooted. For the ones who understand that craft is a kind of ceremony. For anyone drawn to slow joy, quiet making, and lineage expressed through thread and ink.
This is for the introverts and the oversharers, the still ones and the seekers, the ones who crave community in a language deeper than noise. It’s also for anyone who understands that queer craft is sacred, and Pride isn’t just a month—it’s a practice.
Sunday, June 29th, 3–6 PM
Approved Textiles, Philadelphia
with Jess & Loran | 6 seats available.
